Sociology of Childhood

There is little evidence of what it was really like in the past so it is difficult for a lot of people to re-construct the life of a child, however from what I have researched, and in my own opinion I am going to summarise the historical changes in childhood experience and relate these changes to childhood development and rights.

There are various discourses of childhood that help us understand how childhood is viewed and how children themselves are seen. It is important to also look outside the system world and look towards the life worlds as it gives a more realistic view of various childhoods and shows how diverse the concept of childhood is because children do not share the same experiences. Regardless if you are looking at the system or life world the notions of rights, opportunities and capabilities are often discussed. These notions aids us in understanding childhood, however they can often obstruct us as well.

“childhood is socially constructed. It is in other words, what members of particular societies, at particular times, and in particular places, say it is. There is no single universal childhood experienced by all. So childhood isn't 'natural' and should be distinguished from mere biological immaturity”

Chapter 3 of Essential of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach by James M. Henslin discusses the topic of socialization, which is the process by which people learn the characteristics of their group—the knowledge, attitudes, skills, norms, values, and actions thought appropriate for them. Sociologists try to determine how much of a person’s characteristics comes from “nature” (heredity) and how much from “nurture” (social environment). Studying feral, isolated, and institutionalized children, such as The Skeels/Dye Experiment, have helped them understand how “society makes us human.” The theories and research of Charles Horton Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Piaget to explain socialization into the self and mind. Cooley’s looking-glass self theory focuses on how we believe others perceive us.

Different discourses of childhood have different ideas of childhood which has different implications on the way in which children are treated. Within the social constructionist theory there are 3 main discourses - romantic, puritan and tabula rasa. This essay will look

Childhood, as we all know, is the state or period of being a child; the early period in the development of something (Merriam-Webster). The movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) illustrates five different children with each having different behavior, and they have one thing in common they are the only child in their family. These children are in the middle childhood, primary school age, around age seven or eight. What makes them different from each other is interesting. It allows the viewers to think if their behavior is either result of their experience or how they were raised. How they perceive things and how they behave are part of their cognitive development. The major domain of early childhood development is their cognitive development and the arguable aspects of the Nature-Nurture.

Gender is a concept constructed entirely by society. We base gender off of what we perceive and what others perceive of us. Until fairly recently, it has been categorized as one of two things: male or female. When we watched the documentary in class, we saw evidence of society 's socialization of young children. Commercials for Nerf Guns, action figures, and cars and trucks were all depicted with young boys as their users. Never did we see a girl playing with GI Joes or with Hot Wheels, only boys played with those. Meanwhile, dolls, baking sets, and make up kits were only advertised to girls, and no boys were shown playing with Barbies or Bratz. Society begins to shape gender notions from a very early age, where people are shown that they are one or the other, either male or female.

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.

The concept of childhood, is not a natural state, but it has been socially constructed through society and can only exist in a society that understand the term this has been reinforced through history. Another issue is how much of ‘childhood’ has been socially constructed (created and

Childhood is socially construted, this means it is only a human concept and the only reason that 'childhood ' exists is because society makes it that way. Over time childhood has changed as different norms and values over each century of life have been different and is still changing at present. Also in different places of the world there are different cultures and ethics so therefore their veiw of childhood will also be different. As Wagg (1992) states ‘Childhood is socially constructed. It is, in other words, what members of particular societies, at particular times, and in particular places, say it is. There is no single universal childhood, experienced by all. So, childhood isnt “natural” and should be distinguished from mere

Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence and its non-specific for it can imply a varying range of years in human development reference. The age ranges anywhere from 12 years to 15years with 18years being most common. Previous research done by sociologists focused on children primarily in terms of socialization and within the context of the family. The ‘new sociology of childhood’ argues that children inhabit more than one world, worlds that may well conflict those of adults, those of children 's own making, and those that children

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

Childhood as disappearing/not disappearing will be discussed within this essay. There is no universal definition for childhood however in the western culture childhood is a period of dependency, characterised by learning the norms and values of society, innocence and freedom from responsibilities. Sociologists such as Postman and Jenks would argue that childhood is disappearing however Opie and Opie and Palmer would contradict this.

Social constructionism gives meaning to phenomenon in social context and connections between culture and society build up realities in their circumstances. The studies of this idea have been conducted more than thirty years by a number of North American, British and continental writers (Burr, 1995). However, in childhood studies this notion appears later on. It is mostly held universally, childhood is a stage that biologically existing in human life in early years. It should be considered this childhood is constructed in the society. As a social being, it brings into the mind the relationship between society and child, inevitably. However, the dominant understanding of childhood attributes biological and social

To start with an overview of social constructionism in very general terms leads to build understandings of child and childhood in a social world more explicitly. Notion of social construction is defined in diverse disciplines and instead of generating a description there are a number of thoughts. “It is sometimes called a movement, at other times a position, a theory, a theoretical orientation, an approach; psychologists remain unsure of its status (Stam 2001, p. 294)”. Vivien (1995, p. 10) points the origin of social constructionism stems from two to three hundred years ago in the period of enlightenment, modernism and postmodernism. By all means, Berger and Luckmann’ (1966) book The Social