Terre Sychterz's Rethinking Childhood Innocence?

Children have a reputation for being innocent and naive. This is mainly because their experiences with the world are few and sheltered. As the children grow up they are exposed to more and more of the unfiltered world. Some parents do everything they can to keep their children from seeing that world. That is because as they see more of the world they become less innocent. Normally adults are the only ones who have truly lost their innocence. Unfortunately, there are exceptions, as there are to every rule, and they are not good. Children who have lost their innocence have had horrible things happen. Elie Wiesel writes in the novella Night how he lost his innocence. Elie has suffered a loss of innocence because he is desensitized, he has lost

In the article, “In a war, children without a childhood,” by Los Angeles Times, the central idea was that children lose their innocence because they lost their childhood. For example, many children lost their childhood because they’ve watched their parents become victims of murder. According to the article, “Children have seen their parents killed and watched as boys and girls just like them were hurt.” Well, when children see their parents get killed, they tend to grow up with brutal, aggressive tendencies, which causes them to lose their innocence. In addition to being orphaned, children will grow up making mature, adult decisions, also causing them to lose their youth. In conclusion, when children lose their childhood, they lose their

Neglect and abuse towards children still occurs in society today as it did in pre-industrial times. Adult control over children can take the extreme form of physical neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Some may say due to figures from charities such as Child Line rising there is a ‘dark side’ to family life, where children are victims. This shows in some cases the status of children hasn’t changed over time.

This book examines the distinctive contribution of sociology to debates on children and childhood although this is not at the exclusion of other disciplines such as education, geography or psychology. The book is structured around three core ideas; they are children, childhood and generation. Leonard examines the relationship between structure (e.g. laws, culture, religion and policy) and agency (e.g. the ways in which children can take action or influence and change their lives). Leonard argues that the lives of adults and children are inter-linked and conceptualises this as ‘generagency’. The author cites a wide range of research studies exploring children’s lives to support her argument. This text may support undergraduates and post-graduates

Innocence may be preserved in a child indefinitely. However, influences from both family and society impose standards of maturity on children which gradually strip the youthfulness away from a child. Additionally, children may isolate themselves or face ostracization, which leads to the degradation of a child’s purity as he begins creating his own unique worldview apart of his community.

What kind of society allows the sexualisation of toddlers to be considered acceptable? The hit reality TV show ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ has received negative attention and caused controversy all over the media. Toddlers and Tiaras is a reality TV show which gives viewers an idea of what happens behind the scenes of the appalling, competitive world of child beauty pageants.

It is no lie when it’s said that media influences human decisions. For adults, it could be the newest fashion trends. Perhaps which restaurant has the highest rating and seems to be the most luxurious. For children, it’s the same. Nobody is spared from society and the media’s norms.

TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras takes this too far, sexually exposing children in the world of child beauty pageants, which produces and disseminates the idea of hegemonic gendering about girlhood and girl identity” (TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras: Way Too Much or Just Enough?). Young girls are being taught at a young age that beauty is what gets them further in life. The idea that the most beautiful is always the happiest and most successful. Editor Maggie Furlong, touches about how the show really alters the minds of young girls, “’ Facial beauty is the most important thing, in life and in pageants,’ Daisey Mae says, almost too matter-of-factly. And she also has some advice for parents looking to expose their children to the pageant circuit: ‘If you think your kid is ugly or sumpin’, you might not want to do pageants because you’re not going to win or anything.’”

For many years, it has been controversially debated whether or not exposing children to adult issues will have a detrimental effect on their developmental health due to their lack of maturity and lack of real world experience. While some believe that children exposed to these issues at an early age will grow up to live normal healthy lives that idea is not commonly accepted. In order to protect children from adult issues such as violence, children have become what is known as an protected audience. What children are protected from varies from one area to another. In some countries, young children are protected from media that displays violence while in other countries these images are more socially acceptable and as a result children

The first poem discussed was “God has Pity on Kindergarten Children”. The group leaders questioned the innocence of the children. “Where they really innocent” the reply given was “to some extent yes and no”. Every kid knows from right or wrong but they do not know the consequences

Important questions arise when understanding childhood. Do children have a certain degree of innocence that is lost in adults? According to most British Romantic Poets, the answer is yes. The Romantic Period can be described as a time when a variety of advancements were made involving, amongst other things, art, literature, and philosophies on a range of subjects, including childhood. Romanticism swept across Europe and America, starting around 1750. Pursuing emotion and individuality instead of logic and reason, Romanticism started as a way to escape the rigid, conventional thoughts of the previous era. By the time the Romantic Period ended in the late 1800s, many new ideas had been established. As stated in “Perceptions of Childhood”:

Did you know child beauty pageants display real life sexualised dolls? They also show off toddler girls who are told to tease judges by flirting and pouting. Young beauty contestants wear heavily coated makeup in order to look like adult women (Reist). These sugar-coated and glamorized events communicate to the younger age group that it is OK to wear smiles after the unpleasant process of preparation that beauty pageants demand. More and more people who watch these activities are starting to see the harm and effect it can have on the kids involved. The public is realizing that child beauty pageants are a disturbing social issue in our society because they support blatant exploitation, puts an overemphasis on physical appearance and increases

The focus of kindergarten has changed from providing a play-based curriculum to one that is skills-based (Elkind, 2012). The new climate of the kindergarten classroom has forever altered the kindergarten experience. Even though Kindergarten schools in the United States became more prevalent on public school campuses, each was allowed to function as a unique learning environment, different than the elementary grades (Cuban, 1992). The two education systems operated in harmony for many years. In the early 1900s, however, a curricular shift began when kindergarten schools merged with the primary schools and officially became part of the public school system, With the merger, it became necessary for kindergarten programs to adhere to the mandates

Television is affecting childhood on many different levels. “Many parents have misgivings about the influence of television” states Marie Winn author of “The End of Play”. (Winn 76) One concern is the introduction of adult issues. Marie Winn’s article reflects on what children are being exposed to. Stating today’s “Counterculture kids were [are] casually exposed to all sorts of adult matters-drug taking, sexual intercourse”. (Winn 77) She then points out the “interest in boy-girl interactions is replacing play in preadolescents”. (Winn 78)

In a world that is constantly changing and evolving, it is not difficult for humans to forget that life has not always been the way that it is today. As time evolves, new movements and belief systems develop and these changes have a strong influence in society and everyone living in a society. In modern times, such as today, Children are seen as innocent and precious and the majority of people will go through tremendous lengths to preserve a child’s innocence, since it is seen as one of the most precious states in the world; although it is evident that there are still many exceptions to this statement, it is understood by a vast majority that this is the way that children should be seen and treated. However, this has not always been the case.