

Note down as many words as you can that
you associate with childhood and adulthood
2 minutes
EG – FUN, GAMES…
EG – OLD,
RESPONSIBILITY….

For sociologists childhood is socially
constructed

Created and defined by society

What people mean by childhood and the
position that children occupy in society, is not
fixed, it differs between different times,
places and cultures
Childhood is
separate to
adulthood, it is a
clear and distinct
stage
Read through the following statements do you
agree / disagree?
 Children are fundamentally different from
adults
 Physically & psychologically immature
 Not competent to run their own lives
 They need a long period of socialising and
care before they are ready for adult society
Suggest 3 examples of ways in which childhood
is seen as ‘a clear and distinct life stage’
 Dress
 Play
 Regulations (laws)
 Innocence/vulnerable
 Kept ‘quarantined’
‘Childhood is socially constructed. It is in other
words, what members of societies, at
particular times and in particular places, say
it is. There is no single universal childhood,
experienced by all.’
Stephen Wagg 1992


How do you think childhood has varied over
time?
What was it like to be a child in the middle
ages (1100 – 1400)?
Middle ages childhood did not exist





Children – ‘mini adults’
Same rights, duties and skills
Law often made no distinction
Used art to support his ideas
Now we live in a society obsessed with
childhood – ‘cult of childhood’

How does childhood vary culturally
Different countries, different cultures?

T-P-S

Non industrial societies

Laws and
regulations? UK Vs Europe & US
•They take responsibility at an
early age
•Less value is placed on children
showing obedience to adult
authority
•Children’s sexual behaviour is
often viewed differently

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SBcNMzQvv
hU

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hNnXGV4Kj
Ew

Note down key statistics you can use in your
essay as you watch the clip
What do these images tell us about childhood
around the world?


Rural Bolivia – children expected to work
once they are 5, they take on this task
without question/hesitation
YES – ‘March of
progress’
sociologists
No conflict
theory – Marxist
& Feminist
sociologists

By the time a child reaches their 21st birthday
they will have cost their parents an average of
£186, 000

The government spends an estimated £64
Billion on education

In 1900 the infant mortality rate was 154 per
1000 births, today it is 5 per 1000


Aries (1960) & Shorter (1975)
Today’s children are;






more valued
better cared for
Protected & educated
Enjoy better health
Have more rights
What evidence is there to support their view?





Children are protected from harm and
exploitation by laws against child abuse &
child labour (1989 UN Rights of a child)
Specialists look after their educational,
psychological & medical needs (64 billion
spent on education)
Babies have a much higher chance of survival
Higher living standards & smaller family sizes
Family & society has become ‘Child-centred’
The ‘march of progress’ view is that the
position of children has improved
dramatically in a relatively short space of
time.
However conflict
sociologists such as
Marxists and feminists
dispute this

The march of progress view is based on a
false and idealised image that ignores
important inequalities
There are inequalities
among children in terms
of the opportunities and
risks they face: many
today remain unprotected
and badly cared for
The inequalities
between children and
adults are greater than
ever: children today
experience greater
control, oppression and
dependency



Childhood is only possible if children can be
protected from the adult world.
Mass media have brought the adult world
into the lives of children. Secrecy has been
wiped out by TV.
The boundaries between the worlds of
children and adults are breaking down – this
means the end of childhood.




Postman has been criticised for exaggerating.
TV and media have brought adult concerns
into the lives of children, but childhood is not
disappearing.
E.g. Children have become a major economic
force
Lee - childhood has not disappeared, it has
become more complex and ambiguous.
Assess the view that the
position of childhood has
improved in contemporary
society (30 marks).

Work in pairs to complete your planning grid
– looking over your notes and writing them in
either the for/against column

Key points – arguments for/against

Evidence – statistics / sociologists
Point
Explanation
Evidence
Link
P – ‘March of progress’ sociologists believe that the
position of children has improved dramatically
 E – They believe that compared to childhood in
previous centuries in the 2oth century children have a
much more positive experience
 E – Shorter 1975 argues that today’s children are
better cared for protected and educated. This can be
seen in that the government now spends an
estimated 64 million on education.
 L – By spending a number of years in education
children in today’s society do not have to work and are
therefore able to enjoy their childhood making it a
more positive experience





P-However conflict sociologists disagree,
they highlight that even in contemporary
British society childhood is not positive for
everyone.
E- Abuse
E- Statistics – Handout NSPCC
L
P- It can also be argued childhood varies and is
experienced differently in different cultures and
countries (cross cultural variation).
 E – Not all children have a positive experience it
is dependent on the country they are born in.
 E - In Bolivia children are expected to work from
the age of 5 and in some countries in Africa
children become soldiers as young as 5 & 6.
 L – For children in these situations today their
position has not improved. However the UN
Rights of a Child Act- 1989 has tried to improve
the experience of all children worldwide.





P - Due to media exposure, some sociologist
argue that childhood innocence does not last
vey long and children are becoming exposed
to the adult world too soon.
EE – Neil Postman argues that the Media mean
childhood is no longer protected
L
In groups using your notes construct a plan as
to how you would tackle this question using
the PEEL format

Key terms snake;
Using your notes complete your studies
tables for the studies we have covered so
far…
Key studies;
 Postman
 Phillipe Aries


Add in any additional studies/criticism from
you handout

Must gain a D grade to be entered for your
January Exam

Otherwise you will sit this in the Summer
alongside your Education paper