Is Childhood in Crisis?
Is Childhood in crisis? 2,500
The nature of childhood, has changed significantly over time. Reference for definitions The word ‘childhood’ can be defined as being ‘the period during which a person is a child’ and is seen as the period between birth and adolesance. Childhood is built up by a range of different aspects for example: development socially, educationally etc. The idea of childhood being in crisis, can relate to a range of different issues i.e. family breakdown, increase in technology, culture/society changes etc. A crisis can be defined as being a time of intense difficulty. Whether childhood is in crisis or not it is extremely important to support a child’s development through childhood. Childhood is made up of three different stages: Early childhood (play age), Middle childhood (school age) and adolesance (puberty age). During the course of this essay, the phrase will be examined, giving the history of childhood and how it has changed through time. An individual’s childhood can shape ‘who’ they are and how they live their life in the future. The key issues that will be highlighted will be how childhood has changed focusing on the idea of culture, peer groups, technology, and media.
Throughout time, the concept of childhood has continually changed and developed. During the 17th-century painting and furniture have shown that children were represented as ‘mini-adults’. They were expected to behave and dress as adults coming across as miniature replicates of their parents. During this era there was no real existence of childhood (Aries 1961) as we understand it. The concept of childhood did not exists in the medieval times; to grow up as a child would have been brutal and an uncaring experience. A lot of families were in poverty and there was a high infant mortality rate, (over a third of babies died) there was also no education available for the majority of children. Children born in this era were seen as a benefit to the family as the child could go
The nature of childhood, has changed significantly over time. Reference for definitions The word ‘childhood’ can be defined as being ‘the period during which a person is a child’ and is seen as the period between birth and adolesance. Childhood is built up by a range of different aspects for example: development socially, educationally etc. The idea of childhood being in crisis, can relate to a range of different issues i.e. family breakdown, increase in technology, culture/society changes etc. A crisis can be defined as being a time of intense difficulty. Whether childhood is in crisis or not it is extremely important to support a child’s development through childhood. Childhood is made up of three different stages: Early childhood (play age), Middle childhood (school age) and adolesance (puberty age). During the course of this essay, the phrase will be examined, giving the history of childhood and how it has changed through time. An individual’s childhood can shape ‘who’ they are and how they live their life in the future. The key issues that will be highlighted will be how childhood has changed focusing on the idea of culture, peer groups, technology, and media.
Throughout time, the concept of childhood has continually changed and developed. During the 17th-century painting and furniture have shown that children were represented as ‘mini-adults’. They were expected to behave and dress as adults coming across as miniature replicates of their parents. During this era there was no real existence of childhood (Aries 1961) as we understand it. The concept of childhood did not exists in the medieval times; to grow up as a child would have been brutal and an uncaring experience. A lot of families were in poverty and there was a high infant mortality rate, (over a third of babies died) there was also no education available for the majority of children. Children born in this era were seen as a benefit to the family as the child could go
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