State Policy - Impacts of Policy on Childhood

Types of policies:

Direct policies: Policies aimed at changing or reinforcing gender roles- e.g. shared parental leave
Indirect policies: Policies that may not have intended to impact gender roles but have had a subsequent impact- e.g. closure of Sure Start centres

Changes to childhood:

Children depend on adults for longer:

Cuts to student grants and introduction of tuition fees- more students going to local universities and staying at home
Changes to employment laws- creation of zero-hour contracts and temporary contracts- increased the volume of boomerang kids
Extension to compulsory schooling- Children require adult financial support for longer

Childhood is disappearing:

Impact of educational policy on children’s mental health
Impact of Austerity on working families and lone-person Families
Increase in the number of child carers and the lack of support in social care
Increased conflict due to family break-ups -divorce reform and child support agency

Society has become more child-centred:

Children’s Act- promoted the rights of children
Contraception and abortion- reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies
Reduction in the number of children- policies that have promoted equality in the workplace and compulsory education which has made children economic burdens
The marketisation of education- the importance of parental involvement in education for children to get ahead

Different experiences of childhood:

Migration policies- impacted on families with families unable to live together
Social class- working-class children and lone-parent families disadvantaged by austerity policies, such as universal credit, bedroom tax and cuts to child tax credits and free school meals
Gender- privatisation policies have impacted the future career prospects for men in traditionally masculine jobs
Different family types- changes to legislation mean that children may gave 2 parents of the same sex