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Centuries of Childhood (1962) Philippe

Aries

The concept of childhood did not exist in medieval


Europe
Based on contemporary letters, diaries and other
documents as well as the way children were
depicted at the time
Weaned little adults and treated as such
Worked alongside adults
Behaved like adults in many ways

Why might there be problems in using


evidence such as paintings and diaries to
understand life?

Developed from the separation of children


from the work of adults
Began in the 16th C upper classes sent their
children to schools to be educated
Industrial revolution child labour
19th C factory acts banned employment of
children in mines and factories
End of 19th C elementary state education
became compulsory in European countries

Children now had a separate legal status


Accompanied by development of adults
specialising in children
Aries
Our world is obsessed with the physical, moral and
sexual problems of childhood

Children have different needs

Criticised for overstating his case


There were laws in medieval Europe e.g.
Prohibition of the marriage of children under 12

Many historians agree with this view,


however.

Wendy Rogers (2001)


Social construction of
childhood in 20th C Europe
innocent and wholesome
child and wicked and
sinful child
Each image suggests a way
of acting toward children
These views suggest that
adults should be concerned
with children and take
responsibility for their
upbringing

Welfare View
Forms the basis of social policy
toward children in the UK today
Children Act of 1989
when a court determines any
question with respect to the
upbringing of a childthe
childs welfare shall be the
courts paramount
consideration

Control View
Argues that children are
unable to control their
anti-social tendencies
Rogers
there is no natural
distinction that marks
off children as a certain
category of person
meaning given to
childhood at a time and
place

In pairs, describe a
day in the life of a
5-year old in Britain
today. How many
times a day might
that child be
controlled by adults?
Use the headings:

Control over time


Control over space
Control over bodies
Access to resources

Argues that over the past few centuries the


position of children in Western societies has
been steadily improving and today it is better
than it has ever been
De Mause (1974)
The history of childhood is a nightmare from which
we have only recently begun to awaken. The further
back in history one goes, the lower the level of
childcare, and the more likely children are to be
killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorised or sexually
abused

Aries has a March of Progress View

Children are more valued


Better care
More protection
Better educated
Better health
More rights

Think about the IMR as well


Family has become child centred
Society has also become child centred
Tweens

March of Progress view is false


Society is based on conflict
There are inequalities between children risk and
care, many remain unprotected
Inequalities between children and adults
experience greater control, oppression and
dependency, not care and protection

In 2006 31,400 children were on child


protection registers (mostly seen at risk from
their own parents)
ChildLine 20,000 calls a year (sexual or
physical abuse)
Dark side of the family

no schoolchildren
Surveillance
Road safety
1971 80% of 7-8 yr olds allowed to go to school
without supervision
1990 fallen to 9%
Hugh Cunningham (2007)
Areas in which children are allowed to travel alone has
shrunk to one ninth of the size it was 25 years ago

Cindi Katz (1993)


Rural Sudanese children roam freely around the village and
outside of it

Samoans too young never


given as an excuse

Adults have control and prevent


the child from touching their own
bodies in certain ways too
Contrast with Trobriand Islands

Money!
Labour laws
Compulsory schooling
Child benefit goes to the.parents
Pocket money given by.parents (control)

Katz

Sudanese children already engaged in productive


work from three or four

Reasons for this age patriarchy children


cannot make rational choices (welfare view)
In the same way, children are not totally
powerless:
1989 Children Act and the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child children
have a legal right to be protected and consulted

Postman (1994) childhood is


disappearing at a dazzling
speed
Similarity in clothing
Same rights as adults
Reason: the rise and fall of print
culture and then TV culture

Suggest 3 examples of ways in


which childrens activities,
leisure, dress or food and
those of adults have become
similar in recent years

Postman has been criticised for


overstating his case:
Childhood is a long way from
disappearing
Children have become a major economic
force:
Taste in consumer goods have a major
influence on what is produced and
purchased (Buckingham, 2000)

Nick Lee (2001)


Children are
both
dependent
and
independent

Childhood has become more


complex and ambiguous

Children are dependent on their


parents but in another sense are
independent mass market

Opie (1993) childhood is not


disappearing. Argues that
there is strong evidence of the
continued existence of a
separate childrens culture.
The lifetime study on childrens
games, rhymes and songs shows
that children can do and create
their own independent culture
separate of that of adults

Palmer (2006) toxic


childhood
Computer games, junk
food, long work by parents
have damaged childrens
development
Commercialisation of
childhood

Margo & Dixon (2006) UK youth are at or near

the top of international league tables for obesity, self


harm, drug abuse, violence, sexual experiences and
teenage pregnancies.
2007 UNICEF survey ranked UK 21st of 25 for
childrens well being

What does this say about childhood?

Why do you think this has happened?

Kids

with Guns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB2gPZRs
z0Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bojx9BDp
Jks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaZONLa
B1aQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmWiflT0
pvc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faRlFsYm
keY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1203clO
Zt4

In groups create a tv advert that crosses


two generations think of a product
(toy, game, film) you could sell that appeals
to both adults and children alike
You have 15 minutes to come up with your
advert then you will show the rest of the class

Childhood
Child Centred
Social Construction
Economic asset
Economic burden/liability
Infant mortality rate
March of progress view
Cross-cultural
Disappearance of childhood
Social blurring
Age patriarchy

Assess sociological explanations of changes in the


status of childhood
(24 marks)

Examine the reasons for the change in the status of


children since industrialisation
(24 marks)

Examine the reasons for changes in the position of


children in the last 200 years
(24 marks)

Assess the view that childhood is not a fixed


universal experience
(24 marks)

1.

2.

3.

4.
5.

6.

Explain what is meant by the social construction of


childhood
Benedict identifies three ways in which childhood in nonindustrial cultures often differs from childhood in the west.
State two of these
Why are children less of an economic asset to their parents
today than they were in the past
Give one example of class differences between children
What is age patriarchy?
Why does Postman believe childhood is disappearing?

1. What is meant by childhood differs between societies and depends on


time, place and culture.
2. Children take responsibility at an earlier age: less value placed on them
showing obedience; their sexual behaviour is often viewed differently.
3. Because they cannot work, even part-time, until they are at least 13 years
old.
4. Among poorer children these are more likely: low birth weight; delayed
development; higher infant mortality rates; longstanding illness; hyperactivity
and conduct disorders; falling behind at school; being on the child protection
register
5. Adult domination/ control and child dependence.
6. Because television is destroying the information hierarchy between adults
and children and giving children access to knowledge that hitherto only
adults only possessed.

Examine the ways in which childhood can be


said to be socially constructed. (24 marks)

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