Most western societies, children are considered undeveloped, immature, vulnerable and in need of special protection
Many sociologists argued the idea of childhood as a separate phase of life when children should be separate from adults so very modern invention and not accepted in many societies around the world
Childhood can be seen as a social construction as created by society attitudes and assumptions about children in our culture
Changes in Childhood
Cross-cultural and historical differences in childhood
In UK today, the social status of childhood extends well beyond the age when most children reach physical maturity
Many sociologists would argue that we have extended childhood for longer than most other societies in history such as historian Lawrence Stone (1990) argues that up until 18th century, children were extra workers to help their parents
Boys would inherit title and girls would be married off
In modern times there was a notion that children need to be loved and protected has emerged
Emergence of Modern Childhood
Sociologists and historians argue that it has only been in modern times
In western societies the children have become separated from adult world such as children have been excluded from the world of work and confined to educational institutions
Specific foods, clothes and leisure activities aimed at children
Families have become child-centred
Instead children being regarded as there to serve the needs of adults, families revolve around children’s needs
A far greater proportion of family income is now spent on children to the extent that parents make considerable societies
Mostly fathers also spend more time in actively parenting children than they did in the pats
Number of changes in society have been identified by sociologists as contributing to the emergence of this modern attitude to childhood:
- Smaller families as more love, attention and financial resources are lavished
- Shorter working hours so parents, spend more time on children
- Greater influence as improved living standards and higher wages mean there is more disposable income
- Extension of education so became compulsory in England in 1880s
Before these working-class children were sent out of work early
Since this, the school leaving age went from 10 to 16 and now 18
Extends the period of children being dependent on parents for much longer and also further separates children from adult world
- Social policy so successive governments have given greater emphasis to child welfare
Seen in greater range of benefits designed to assist parents in maintaining and caring for children
Greater emphasis on child protection as it is evident in the willingness where they are abused or neglected
- Children’s rights so the united nations convention on the rights of the child (1989) extended the idea of human rights
Suggest that children had specific rights in addition to hose of adults
In UK the 1989 and 2003 children’s acts established legal rights such as divorce cases so courts must give priority to the needs and wishes of children
- Child expenses so since 19th century a range of medical, psychological and educational experts have put forward scientific theories about how children are brought up
Children no longer seen as simply naturally developing into adults
Parents are increasingly turning to childcare books written by specialists
- Concerns about children as parents have become more concerned about threats to the children due to risks of accidents
Fearing stranger danger and paedophiles
Frank Furedi (2001) argued this is a large moral panic which is encouraged by the media
One consequence is that children have become more closely supervised by parents
Hugh Cunningham (2007) suggests the home habitat of typical 8-year olds has shrunk to 1/9 in 25 years
- Children as consumers as big business has created a consumer market targeted at children
Not only toys and games but also foods, clothes and leisure activities aimed at children have become important
Children play a big role as using pester power to encourage parents to buy them things
According to an article in the Telegraph saying
‘parents spend around £460 a year on average on things
they do not need after giving in to the pestering of their children.’
Diversity in Childhood Experiences
In developing countries may not have the same quality of childhood as children in UK such as may die from disease
Social construction of childhood can be illustrated by looking at different experiences
| Experience of childhood according to social class | Experience of childhood according to gender |
| Upper class children may find spending most of their informative years in boarding schools | Barn (2006) observes children from ethnic backgrounds similar levels of deprivation |
| Middle class children have been encouraged from an early age to aim for university | Bhatti (1999) observed Asian children in UK are more strictly brought up so stronger sense of duty. Generational conflict is therefore less likely or more to be hidden |
| Working class childhood made more difficult by the experience of poverty | Girls may experience more restrictions in terms of how to behave |
Power relations between parents and children
Argued that the balance of power between parents and children has shifted
Families have become more democratic not only in relationships between woman and men but also in relationships between parents and children such as children have more rights and are given greater protection by law
Children have become the centre of family life so having more money spent on them than ever before
Argued that in a number of respects children still far from equal with adults in most families
Refer to the idea of age patriarchy to describe the idea that adults are more powerful than children and young people
Children are still financially dependent on parents as they cannot enter full time work until at least 10 and usually do not earn an adult wage
Law offers rights and protection to children as it also gives parents authority over their children such as ensuring their children attend school
Children still do not receive full adult rights until they are 18 such as cannot vote
Children can be seen to have more influence over decision-making in families such as in relation to consumer spending.
However, many parents make major decisions such as moving to a new house
Many children suffer abuse at the hands of family members or other adults
The idea the experience of childhood ha improved for most children over the last 100 years is a myth
According to Sue Palmer (2007) many children now experience a toxic childhood due to children being damaged by a diet of junk food excessive exposure to computer games and lack of love or discipline from parents forced to work long hours
Child abuse and Neglect in the UK – Radford et al (2011)
Children can experience a range of forms of abuse, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse
1 in 5 children experience severe maltreatment
Children abused by parents or careers are 3x more likely to witness family violence
1 in 20 children have been sexually abused and 1 in 3 children sexually abused by an adult did not tell anyone at the time
All types of abuse and neglect are associated with poorer mental health
Strong associations between maltreatment, sexual abuse, physical violence and poorer emotional wellbeing
Diversity in Childhood Experiences
Social class
According to official governments statistics there are 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK today
Julia Margo and Mike Dixon (2006) wealthier parents often spend considerable amounts of their income on activities such as dance or music lessons
Poorer children are likely to have a much more restricted range of activities and may be forced to take part-time jobs to pay for things you want
Gender
Childhood remains heavily gendered
Parents still tend to socialise children very differently in terms of gender such as toys and expectations about girls and boy’s contribution to households’ chores and greater protectiveness and restriction on freedom
Ethnicity
Ghazala Bhatti (1999) observed Asian children are generally more strictly brought up than most other ethnic groups
Asian families there is a strong emphasis on izzat or family honour and bad behaviour by children as reflecting on the whole family
Asian girls in particular are likely to be more closely supervised by parents and brothers
Ravinder Barn (2006) black, Pakistani and Bangladesh families in UK are likely to be associated with low incomes, unemployment and poor housing which leads to difficulties is raising children
Among all minority ethnic groups extended families appear to be an important source of support
Changes in Parenting
Deborah Chambers (2012) ideas about good parenting began change in the period after 1970s for two reasons:
- Growth of employment of woman with children
- Rise in divorce rates
Suggests that this has led to a good deal of public debate about parenting
However same time roles men and woman in two parent families remain strongly gendered meaning couples often still fall into traditional roles as mothers and fathers
Motherhood
Jane Ribbens McCarthy and her colleagues (2003) argue woman still feel the need to conform to traditional norms about what constitutes a good mother and includes making sure that children receive good fathering
Mothers are still perceived as ones who have ultimate responsibility for emotionally stabilising families and keeping whole family together
Families break up and mothers try to bring children up alone as who are often branded by the media as scroungers and bad parents
Shelly Park (2014) points out that significant minority of children are now raised by more than one mother figure
She criticised what she calls the ideology of monomaternalism the dominant view in society that children can have one real mother
She points out that many contemporary families do not fit this view:
- Children may be raised by a foster or adoptive mother while also having a biological mother
- Children have a biological mother and a step-mother
- May be brought up by two mothers in same sex
- Brought up by polygamous families where mothering is between two or more wives to the same husband
Monomaternalism tends to undermine the ability of other woman to share in mothering children because one mother tends to be portrayed as not a real mother
Critic to Park it is still comparatively rare for children in UK to have two mothers due to same-sex parenting or polygamy
Monomaternalism may simply reflect the reality of majority of families
Patriarichal ideology therefore expects woman to take on jobs that are compatible with family commitment
Fatherhood
Linked to ideas about good mothers as ideas about good fathers
This was strongly linked to the role of male breadwinner
- Higher divorce rates so men often have more limited contact with their children after divorce or lose contact completely
Estimated that a quarter of divorced fathers have not seen their father in the year and under half have not paid any child maintance
- New concepts of masculinity as sociologist referred to the rise of the new man
New men are seen to be more willing to display their emotions and take an equal responsibility for childcare
- Changing patterns of male employment as decline in jobs involving heavy physical labour in industrials
In some parts of UK there has been high levels of long-term male unemployment
Men have moved into what were traditionally perceived as feminine jobs in service sector
Anne Gray (2006) found that many fathers emphasised the need for quality time with their children
Fathers view time spent with children on outings, sport and paly rather than domestic work
Many fathers felt pressure of long hours of work meant that they were not able to be involved with their children as much as they would have liked
Esther Dermott (2003) carried out in depth interview with 25 fathers and commented how many insisted they wanted a closer and intimate relationship with their children
Miller says responsibilities and practices associated with fatherhood are not clear cut or as morally regulated
Time Budget Diaries – Sevilla (2014)
Fathers spend 7x as much time interacting with their children than their own fathers
Average is fairly low at 35 mins but it is far higher than the 5 mins registered in 1974
Mothers quality time with their children has also risen over the same period from 15 mins to 1 hour
However, she noted that well-educated middle-class parents were more likely to spend time with their children
Fathers are not legally entitled to 2 weeks paid paternity leave and up to 4 weeks unpaid paternity leave
Share paternity leave of up to 52 weeks
Michael Thompson (2005) on 1’200 working fathers of infants aged between 3 to 15 months concluded that new dads are more willing than ever to combine work and staying at home
8/10 working fathers revealed that they would be happy to stay at home and look after their baby while 9/10 felt as confident as their partner would care for it
Average amount to take leave from fathers is slightly more 2/3 take it
Range of evidence to suggest that important changes are taking place in ideas of fatherhood with fathers becoming involved in child’s life
Equal share parenting reason:
- Fathers spend considerably less time one parenting than mothers
- Considerable diversity in the involvement of fathers as the study carried out Hatter (2012)
- Many fathers are still constrained by long working hours and limited access to parental leave and flexible working so unable to spend time on parenting
- High rates of separation and divorce mean that many fathers lose contact
Grandparents
June Statham (2011) said grandparent care can take many forms from occasional babysitting through regular help with childcare to be the sole or main provider of childcare
They may also care for grandchildren who parents are unable or unwilling to do
HSBC report in 2007 costed the number of parents would spend on childcare so if grandparents were no used it was a staggering £50 billion
Grandparentsplus (2009) said they tend to be more flexible and asked to fill the gaps between formal childcare and parental care
Care for children who are sick and also provide important source of support
Deborah Chambers (2013) highlights some issues:
- Grandparenting is gendered as grandmothers play a larger role as they are gendered nature
Supports the feminist view
- Still employed or retired so may have an active social life and are not always able to or willing to play active part
- Extended families often dispersed over geographical distances
- Rising rates of divorce so lose contact with grandchildren
Most children live with mothers after family break up so paternal grandparents are affected
Maternal grandparents are likely to be involved in offering support