Then And Now : Transformation 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 itself is a slightly ambiguous term, and is not a fixed definite period of life. The book “AS level sociology” written by Rob webb, Hal Westergaard, Kieth Trobe and Liz Steel defines childhood as “ a socially defined age status” going on to say that there are major differences in how childhood is defined, both historically, and culturally, similarly, Stephen Wagg says of childhood;

In this writing it will be discussing childhood development, as well as some vital issues that might come along during those stages of development. Child development consist of the stage where the child is developing physically, cognitively, socially and spiritually. During these stages of development a child is maturing from infancy to becoming a young adult. For many years theorist such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Lev Vygotsky’s have researched how children mature from infants to adulthood. Each of the theorist have profound facts to how children develop, but which of the three men are correct on their findings?

The conversion from childhood to womanhood is an extremely significant event in practically any culture. This event is known as a Quinceañera, also called fiesta de quince años, fiesta de quinceañera, quince años, quinceañero or commonly known as quince which is consisted of a celebration of a girl 's fifteenth birthday with cultural roots in Latin America but celebrated all over America. Nonetheless, Hispanics, recognize this occasion by doing the celebration of a Quinceañera. The Quinceañera tradition is believed to have initiated several years ago when the Spanish conquerors initiated the tradition in Mexico while others believe the tradition began with the Aztecs. During that ancestral home of the Aztec Indians, whose empire succeeded

Children deserve and need the best possible start in their lives in order for them to fulfil their full potential in their learning and development (Terry, 2009). A happy, healthy and supportive childhood will help children to achieve the best that they possibly can (Smeyers and Wring, 2007).

Discuss the basic tenants and evaluate the utility of the new sociology of childhood in gaining a better understanding of young people.

Children are arguably one of the most beloved creatures on the face of planet earth. Sooner or later, a child will have to start developing into a man or woman, something every kid has to experience within his or her lifetime. Kids have to develop in a environment which they can grow up to be strong intellectual adults. They typically live in a safe environment with their parents and go to school on a daily basis while coming home to their families who happen to live within a very safe environment.

A normal day can turn into a day filled with icy cold snow and warm hot chocolate just by one call. One call that gives everyone around the school district a sigh of relief that they can curl up back in their comfy beds and sleep for an extra two or more hours. Some may wonder how one call makes everyone’s day so much better: it is because it is a call from the school saying there is no school today due to icy conditions. Upon hearing this one can be sure that their phone will be buzzing with ones friends asking what they are doing today, or maybe one snoozes through all the texts and continues to curl up in one’s warm blankets, with dogs heating ones feet. No matter what one chooses to do there always seems to be a trend as one gets older. This trend is that in the grades kindergarten through fifth grade, children love snow days to stay outside and play; then in grades sixth through ninth, children love snow days to stay inside and watch movies; finally children tenth through twelfth grade, children love snow days to again go outside and play.

Throughout the history of childhood development poor social and economic conditions contributed to the many hardships and poor treatment of children. During the early Middle Ages the "paternalist" family concept evolved and the father had authority and control over family matters including the welfare and safety of his wife and children. Discipline was severe, young children both poor and wealthy were subjected to strict rules and regulations and often beaten if disobedient. Children took on the responsibilities of adults at an early age, sharing in the work of siblings and parents. Girls from affluent families were educated at home and married in their teens. Some males were educated at a monastery and others became apprentices to

There is no single set of beliefs about children; childhood is a social and cultural construct. Social constructionism is concerned with ideas about children, not facts about them. Indeed, many social constructionists would deny the existence of any universal facts about children (Woodhead and Montgomery 2003:46). Ideas about children change because they are dependent on their social, cultural and historical context. The ideas held concerning children have consequences, they affect the way children are treated and thought about (James and James 2008:122). Postman (1994) believes that childhood in its’ current conception is ‘disappearing.’ The following text will critically discuss Postman’s (1994) theory, principally it will consider

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

The transition from childhood to adulthood is a defining phase in the lives of many people. For some, it involves tradition and celebration; while for others it occurs in a defining moment. For me, the transition was a gradual process involving growth through leadership in middle school and high school.

Even though childhood has change for the better there is an argument stating that childhood is disappearing “at a dazzling speed” (Postman, 1996) says that there is a closing gap between childhood and adulthood. Neil Postman (1996) claims this in his book “The Disappearance of Childhood”. Postman theory was purely based on the way that communications through technology were made which shapes society today. He thinks that due to the technology such as television and the Internet children nowadays are much likely to have more access to the ‘adult world’, thus childhood to be disappearing (Postman, 1982). He claims its “Frankenstein Syndrome” consequence of the mass media is mainly the responsible for the usage of television, and the social media.

The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori Maria Montessori passionately reveals to us the inner workings of children as they develop into their full potential in an effort to assist adults in understanding and supporting this process. The ideas and methods shared have become the foundation for the Montessori model of education. In the introduction, Maria Montessori asserts “there is no real place for children” in today’s modern society where parents are working, cities are crowded and deemed dangerous, and the home is often filled with furnishings off limits to children. We are asked to consider where children feel they belong and are understood. Though Maria believed that great progress was underway when writing this book, with an