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dress, products and services just for children (toys, food, play areas, etc). Golden age- emphasises this separate period by seeing it as a stage of happiness and innocence- children's lives are protected and apart from adults in terms of family and education, and a lot of their times is for leisure and play, as they're excluded from paid work. Wagg (1992)- this separateness isn't found in all societies, childhood is socially constructed so there's no universal definition of it. EG: Western society sees children as vulnerable, but other cultures/past European societies don't have as big of a difference between adults/children. Childhood as a social construct Why has children's position changed? Changes during the 20th century: Laws restrict child labour and excluding them from paid work- children go from economic assets to economic liabilities that rely on parents. ● He says the 20th century is the century of the child and that we've moved away from seeing childhood as nothing special. ● Historical differences in childhood: Ariès (1960)- childhood didn't exist in the Middle Ages- children were mini-adults who would enter work early, had same needs as adults and also have the same laws/punishments applied to them. Shorter (1975)- high death rates encouraged indifferences/neglect to children, like naming a baby after their dead sibling and calling the baby 'it'. The modern cult of childhood: Ariès says elements of modern childhood emerged after the 13th century-schools for the young, distinction in child/adult clothes, and 18th century childrearing books/child-centred families. Pollock (1983)- criticises by saying the Middle Ages did have childhood, just a different concept of it than today. Ariès- theory still valuable in showing how ideas about children/their social status have changed cross-temporally. Compulsory schooling- in 1980s for all classes of children, making age of dependency longer. Child protection/welfare legislation-1989 Children Act makes children's welfare fundamental principle of agencies like social services. Children's right ideas growing- like Children Act defines parents as having responsibilities to children and policies that ensure their healthcare, education, no abuse, etc. Smaller family size & lower infant mortality- parents invest more financially/emotionally less children. Donzelot (1977)- theories of child development came in the 19th century and stressed the need for their supervision/protection. Laws/policies just for children- minimum ages for sex, smoking, etc reinforces idea that children are different to adults, so we need different rules for them. Industrialisation- modern industry needs educated workers so children need to go through school instead of working from young ages. ● Disappearance of childhood: Postman (1994)- argues childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed, as there's a trend towards children having the same rights as adults, there being less 'transitional' unsupervised children's games, child/adult clothes becoming similar and even children committing adult crimes like murder. Says the emergence and disappearance of childhood comes from the rise/fall of print culture and television culture replacing it. Information hierarchy- adults/children became separate with the rise of literacy in 19th century as printed word children can't read gave adults 'secrets' about money, violence, sex, illness, etc. However- TV blurs distinction between childhood/adulthood as you don't need to read to access the info- the boundary is broken down, both adult authority and child innocence are lessened. ● The future of childhood Childhood in postmodernity: Jenks (2005)- doesn't believe childhood is disappearing, just that it's changing. He also believes childhood was a creation of modern society. Modern/20th century is concerned with futurity- childhood is preparation for becoming a productive adult in the future. This is achieved by nurturing, protecting and controlling a vulnerable child with a child-centred family and the education system. He argues childhood in postmodernity is changing- adult's relationships go from stable to fast-paced and unstable- like an increase in divorce. This will lead to children being supervised even more as adults will focus on their children as the one thing in their lives that is still certain. EG- children will be seen as more vulnerable than before and will be constantly protected from the smallest risks of danger/child abuse. Evaluation: Opie (1993)- childhood isn't disappearing, research into children's unsupervised games, songs and rhymes show strong evidence of existence of a separate child's culture over the years. Postman- study shows how different communication tech like print and TV can influence how childhood is constructed, though he overemphasises TV as a single influential factor. Evaluation: There's little evidence for/against Jenks' idea. EG: there's some evidence showing that parents their relationship with their children as more important than ones with partners, and that they're concerned with dangers they might face. The studies supporting this are small and unrepresentative. Jenks overgeneralises- makes sweeping statements that assume all children are in the same position, despite today's (and post-modern) diversity in family types. ● • ● ● ● March of progress view: Mause (1974)- the history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only recently begun to awaken. Means western society's children's position is steadily improving and is at its best today. Ariès & Shorter- argue today's children are more valued, better cared for, educated and have more healthcare/rights than previous generations. EG: today's children are protected from laws against child abuse and labour, and care/investment is put into their education/healthcare. Better healthcare/living standards- babies more likely to survive, the mortality rate is now 4/1,000 instead of 154/1,000 in 1900. Conflict view: The child-centred family: Brought about by lower mortality rate, . as people are having smaller families that they can better provide for. One estimate says 1 child costs parents £227,000 by their 21st birthday. March of progress says the family is child-centred- no longer 'seen and not heard' like Victorian times. They're not the family's focal point that parents invest in emotionally and financially. Society as a whole is more child- centred- EG: a lot of media- output/activities are made with child in mind. Argue march of progress is based on a false/idealised view of children, ignoring inequality. They ignore children's inequality in the opportunities and risks they face, and the inequalities between children/adults- like children being more controlled. Inequalities among children: Not all children have same status/experiences, like different nationalities will get different opportunities and experiences of childhood. EG: 90% of low-weight births are from developing countries. Hillman (1993)- there's gender differences, like boys are more likely to be allowed to cross/cycle on roads, use buses and go out after dark alone. Bonke (1999)- girls do more domestic labour, 5x more than boys if they're in lone-parent families. Brannen (1994)- there's ethnic differences, like Asian parents are more likely to be strict on their daughters. Class differences- poor mothers will have low-weight children, affecting their development. Children of unskilled manual workers are more likely to experience conduct disorders, and poor families' children are more likely to die in infancy, fall behind at school and be on the child protection register. ● ● Palmer (2007;2010- Toxic childhood: Today children are experiencing toxic childhood, where rapidly improving tech and cultural changes have damaged their physical/emotional/intellectual development. Changes like- junk food, computer games, more testing at school, parents working long hours. There's also concerns about children's health/behaviour, like the UK having above average rates for their engagement in self-harm, drug/alcohol abuse, pregnancy, Age patriarchy: etc. Has children's position improved? . ● Gittins (1998)- uses term to describe inequalities among adults and children- there's an age patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency. There's evidence that children find childhood oppressive in the strategies they use to resist the status of child. Hockey & James (1993)- children will 'act up' by doing adult things like smoking, drinking, underage sex, etc. They ay also act down (younger than their age) as a way to resit adult control. Criticism- some control over children is justified, as they can't always safeguard themselves and act rationally. Inequalities among children and adults: Firestone (1979)- things march of progress sees as care/protection are just a way of controlling and oppressing children, like excluding them from paid work. Neglect/abuse- an extreme from of adult control, in 2013 43,000 were deemed at risk of abuse and put on child protection plans. Control over space- areas they can/can't go, like shops with no children signs and surveillance for places they aren't meant to be during school hours. Cunningham (2007)- home habitat of children has shrunk to 1/9th of the size. Control over time- adults set their routines and control the speed they grow up by deeming things too young/old for them. Control over bodies- adults control how they sit, dress, run, etc, and touching like kissing, hugging, and smacking for discipline. Control over access to resources- they are economically dependant on adults due to labour laws/compulsory schooling, child benefit that goes to the parent and pocket money with 'strings attached' like good behaviour. ● New sociology of childhood: Mayall (2004)- looking at children through laws, industrialisation, the family, etc is an adultist viewpoint. Instead, new sociology sees children as active agents who create their own childhood. Smart (2011)- new approach included the views/experiences of children going through childhood helps us explore the diverse, multiple childhoods that can exist in just 1 society. Smart (2001)- children were actively involved in trying to make the situation better for everyone in divorce, and Mason & Tipper (2008)- children create their own definitions of 'family'- includes non-blood.