Aries Idea Of Childhood As A Social Construction

In the study Lareau conducted, it can be see that working class and poor families differ slightly in that being poor means less resources and a means of a greater struggle for the child. The similarities found explain why being lower class has it benefits in some areas then if you were middle or upper class. Now Lareau is not telling people to raise their children one way or that being rich is better because even the rich have many disadvantages their children encounter. Lareau emphasizes, “Overall, daily life for working-class and poor children is slower paced, less pressured, and less structured than for their middle- and

1.1. Describe the social, economic and cultural factors that will impact on the lives of children

People during the Renaissance learned to value individuality. According to Document A, medieval artists made paintings more focused on religion before the Renaissance started. For example, Duccio Di Buoninsegna made a painting that shows the Mother Mary on the throne while holding the baby Jesus in her arms.

Here the author talks about couple of kids who belong to different social class and race. She mainly focuses on how economical condition affects parenting. Although most of the parents want the best from their kids but indeed they have to balance between their work and financial situation and tune it with their parenting style.

Childhood is a social construct that has been weaved together by societal norms and domineering perspectives. Childhood is not a physical or mental state but an abstraction that has been melded by society as time has progressed. In Karen Sanchez-Eppler’s excerpt titled “Childhood” from the novel Keywords for Children’s Literature, she explains how the attitudes and atmosphere surrounding childhood have vastly changed throughout history to yield the general, modern conception of childhood. Children have been deemed adults in the Middle Ages and childhood has been a vaguely regarded concept. However, as society has become more progressive and developed, an interest in distinguishing the young from the older individuals

The various essays comprising Children in Colonial America look at different characteristics of childhood in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Children coming to the American colonies came from many different nations and through these essays, authors analyze children from every range of social class, race, and ability in order to present a broad picture of childhood in these times. While each essay deals with an individual topic pertaining to childhood, they all combine to provide a strong argument that children were extremely valued in society, were not tiny adults, and were active participants in society.

One of the main features of childhood studies is the idea that childhood is socially constructed. This means that not all childhoods are the same and that it may differ depending on the time in which it is taking place, as well as the social environment or the place that it is taking place. This can be seen at the Museum of Childhood, and how different times have shown changes in the way children act, play, dress, or ultimately are treated in society. Additionally it draws on key differences in the human societies affecting different childhoods in any given period or place, and can examine how the childhood in that given period is constructed. Furthermore a social constructionist looks at the consequences of any given factor and the impact it has on children.

puberty bring with it a complex tradition of restrictions and behavioral guidelines. Kincaid’s poem reveals the rigidity and complexity of the social confines the girl is expected to operate underl. A girl is an induction into the women community as well as an orientation into the act of womanhood (Walkerdine et. al.). The lectured instructions given to the silent girl child vary from the housekeeping, “this is how you sweep a whole house”, to dealing with intimate relationships, “this is how a man bullies you; …how to bully a man” to medicine, “this is how to make good medicine (to abort)” (Kincaid).The inane patriarchal society expects gender stereotypes to prevail. The mother is tasked to give her daughter instructions on how to be a good woman in the stereotyped society. The advice the mother gives to the daughter cements the gender stereotype and portrays limitations on a woman (Bailey and Carol 107).

Accordint to the author Gonzalez-Mena, “The Status—that is, the family’s position in society—affects socialization and can in turn affect expectations as well as where children find themselves” (p.126). That is, children socialization is greatly affected by the status of the family due to, the different expectation between children belonging to rich families and that children living in poverty.

The portrayal of children in Ancient Greece changed from the Archaic period (610 - 480 BC) to their portrayal in the Hellenistic age (323 - 31 BC). Through art, scholars can piece together the status and roles of children, including how their lives were different in various city states. Art became became more personal and more detailed during the Hellenistic age; for example, the portrayal of children during this time depicted their physical and mental state--often a playful scene free from the worry and stress that weigh down adults; while during the Archaic period, artist tended to depict children as adults that were simply smaller in size. Another interesting and different depiction of children in Ancient Greece can be found in comparing

Through art, man started to change their view on themselves. Paintings during The Middle Ages focused a lot on God and religious views, but not a lot on man itself. During The Renaissance, however, paintings shifted to being much more realistic with humanistic features. Berlinghiero’s Madonna and Child from 1228 shows a woman holding a small child (Doc. A). There are a few facial and body features added such as on the nose and the hands. It shows Mary holding her child, showing that he is “the way to salvation” (Doc. A).

Childhood is usually understood as a set of experiences and behaviours, gained in the early stages of the human existence, considered as the preparation for the adult world. However, the history of childhood is a very complex topic and it has become a very influential area of study in recent years. In 1962, the ‘Centuries of Childhood’ by Philippe Ariés introduced the idea that childhood was a new creation developed in recent centuries and as a concept it was believed to be nonexistent before the seventeenth century. This concept means that there was no awareness of the process of childhood. In several studies of the medieval period, Ariés noticed that childhood was not acknowledged or even attempted to be portrayed during this period. For

From the start the girlchild was given gifts that stained in her mind as what she was suppose to become in life. With the little dolls, GE stoves and irons, and lipstick her parents put this ideal image of the perfect woman in her head. With these types of presents the girlchild is already learning her role in society.

Since the view of childhood changes in the nineteenth century, the potential of children’s literature becomes evident. With the reference to the sources of children’s literature, they can be traced back to alterations in translation and in the literature for adults, where a child or childhood are essential concepts; moreover folk literature is concerned to be a wide source for this literary genre. According to Peter Hunt

Medieval Europe was a challenging time for children and their lives were anything but normal. Children were classified by their families social group which they had no part in. Children had a lot of different stages in their lives and were put through difficulties that would be hard to achieve as a child. Their daily lives varied among their social status and family status. Their education, work, play, and many other things were affected by their family’s social status. Infancy was a challenging time in Medieval Europe as many of them did not make it due to malnutrition and poor living conditions. Living conditions were not ideal for some families due to the income that was coming in. The income was usually not a big portion which made it hard to provide for children and a family. Children had to provide and fend for themselves in some situations. Mothers were also at risk when they gave birth to children due to weak bodies and malnutrition. Providing for the child was often difficult for some due to the work and stress that was on the mother’s body.