CHILDHOODPART 1: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF

CHILDHOODL.O to understand the

changing role of children in families

Questions to get you thinking;

• What is childhood?• Should childhood be a

particularly happy time? • Why/why not?• Do you think it is a good idea to

make children labour for a living?

• Are your views on childhood traditional or a recent development?

SOME CONTRASTING EXPERIENCES OF

CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD

DOMESTIC LABOUR

CHILD LABOUR

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), some 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 work for a living, worldwide.

CHILD SOLDIERS

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• In 1998 it was estimated that up to 300,000 children were actively involved in armed conflict in government armed forces, government militias and in a range of armed opposition groups.

Persecution

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD

• Phillip Aires (1962) suggested that our contemporary conception of childhood is a social construct

• In pre-industrial society there was no such divide between adults and children; children wore adult style clothes and were employed in the same context

• Children were seen as small adults• Attitudes towards children had changed

significantly by the mid 1800s, by this time there was some different styles of clothing for upper-class children

CHILDHOODPART 2:

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

L.O to understand the changing role of children in

families

ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON YOUNG PEOPLE AND CHILDREN

• voting?• Driving?

• Can you think of any others?

A MARCH OF PROGRESS?

• Functionalist sociologists argue that the changing status of children in society is part of a march of progress

• This ideas asserts that children’s lives have improved

• This is evident in the amount of revenue devoted to education, health care and the protection of children’s rights

• However, this approach has been criticised by conflict approaches that suggest this theory to be over-simplified

• Do Children have more rights or restrictions?

The Child-centred Society

• To what extent is the phrase children should be seen and not heard relevant today?

• Aries argued that we now have a ‘cult of childhood’ meaning that society is very child centred

• We can see examples of how much of the available leisure facilities are created with children in mind

• This is also eviden in the legislation that is designed to protect children

To what extent is the phrase children should be seen and not heard relevant today?

Aries argued that we now have a ‘cult of childhood’ meaning that society is very child centred

We can see examples of how much of the available leisure facilities are created with children in mind

This is also eviden in the legislation that is designed to protect children

To what extent is the phrase children should be seen and not heard relevant today?

Aries argued that we now have a ‘cult of childhood’ meaning that society is very child centred

We can see examples of how much of the available leisure facilities are created with children in mind

This is also evident in the legislation that is designed to protect children

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF CHILDHOOD

• According to Postman television is blurring the distinction between childhood and adulthood, because it makes information available to all in spite of literary levels

• Phillips (1997) also argues that popular culture encourages girls to embrace a sexual identity at a younger age

THE TOXIC CHILDHOOD

• Palmer (2006) discusses cultural changes that affect children in today’s society

• She argues that children are pacified with TV, video games and junk food