Construction Of Childhood

Sociologists argue about what the term ‘childhood’ actually means. They claim that childhood is a social construction, rather than biological or natural. In this essay I will therefore attempt to assess whether there have been any changes in the status of childhood. I will be looking at the views of various sociologists and how society is changing the way in which children are treated. This essay will look at whether the changes, if any, are the most beneficial for the child.
Neil Postman (1994) says that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’. He says that the cause of the appearance and disappearance of childhood lies in the rise and fall of the print culture and its replacement by television culture and this has meant that children
Children today are protected from harm and exploitation by laws against child abuse and child labour. Nowadays, children have a range of professionals to cater for their educational, psychological and medical needs (in 2007/8 the government spent an estimated £64 billion pounds on education). Better healthcare and higher standards of living mean that babies now have a much better chance of survival than a century ago. Higher living standards and smaller family sizes mean that parents are now able to provide for the children properly. It is estimated that once a child reaches their 21st birthday, they will have cost their parents £186,000 (2007). March of progress sociologists say that the family has become child-centred and that they are now the focal point of the family. Parents now invest a lot of time into caring for their children emotionally as well as supporting them financially. Parents have high aspirations for their children and encourage them to have a better life and greater opportunities than they had themselves. Having this strong dependency on their parents contradicts the views on childhood in the Middle-Ages. This is a positive view as it discourages the exploitation of children in order to earn
According to this view, some groups have more wealth, power or have a higher status than the other. The conflict sociologists, like Hillman (1993) and Bonke (1999), see the relationship between groups as one of dominance and subservience. They critique the march of progress view by saying that it is based on a false and idealised image that ignores the important inequalities: there are many inequalities between children in terms of the opportunities they have, and the risks they face. Many children today remain unprotected and badly cared for. The inequalities between the children are worse now that they have ever been; children experience greater control, oppression and dependency, not better care and protection. Howard (2001) says that children who are born into poor families are more likely to die in infancy or childhood, to suffer a long term illness, fall behind in class, be put on the child protection register and be physically and intellectually undeveloped.
Age patriarchy, which refers to the idea that adults are the dominant figure in a family, is brought about by the evolution of childhood. Firestone (1979) and Holt (1974) on the other hand, argue that the things that march of progress writers see as a positive thing are in fact just new forms of oppression and control. An example is that ‘protection’ from paid