What Is Childhood A Social Construct?

Conflict view sociologists believe that the inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever, and that children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency, not greater care and protection. This view suggests that children’s wellbeing, personal freedom and resources are all controlled more so than they were before the supposed ‘March of progress’ and there is a vast amount of inequality between children still. For example, class inequalities are very present, as children of unskilled manual workers are over three times more likely to experience conduct disorders than the children of professionals (Caroline Woodroffe 1993). In addition to this, children born into poor families are also more likely to die in infancy or childhood (Marilyn Howard 2001).

In the UK, particularly in England and Wales, children’s life chances are determined by the economic status of the families into which they are a part of. Children from poor households are more likely to suffer the consequences of their families’ condition. They will have to endure the stigma of poverty in a profoundly lopsided society where the socioeconomic standing of individuals is determined by their capacity to buy. These poor children also have less access to quality educational opportunities (Welbourne, 2012). Furthermore, children living in poverty at present are likely to remain poor for the rest of their lives because of intergenerational cycles of poverty

Essay Title: Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess sociological explanations of changes in the status of childhood (24 marks)

The impact of poverty on families can affect a child's growth and development. “Poverty and the Effects on parents and Children,” Nagel states, “Families in poverty, when parents are working, are influenced by the kind of occupations in which the parents work. Kohn has found that lower-class parents look at their children's behavior with a focus on its immediate consequences and its external characteristics, whereas middle-class parents explore their children's motives and the attitudes expressed by their behavior.” Growing up with negative and disciplinary parents, it can impact a child's moral and emotional growth through life. Children grow up by the examples and actions of their progenitor, and if they have meager parents then they may grow up to be just like them. “Another study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education found that for every year a child spends in poverty, there is the chance that the child will fall behind grade level by age 18.” Pupils that live in poverty that don't get

When a child’s early experiences are chaotic and one or both parents are absent these causes the brain to become stressed and make the child feel insecure. The NCCP states, “Many children whose mothers suffer from depression lack healthy brain development” (NCCP). This can lead the child to have trouble connecting with classmates and lack of social skills. The article also mentions, “Daily interaction plays an important role in a child’s emotional and mental development” (NCCP). Positive interactions not only with classmates but also parents or adults can also help a child become more secure of themselves and allow them to ambition greater things than that of their parents. Overall, relationships between teachers and students are important. Poverty is a factor to the lack of social skills in children because the lack of positive role models in the

• Uninvolved parenting: children of uninvolved parents develop a sense that other aspects of the parents’ life are more important than they are. The child often attempt to provide for themselves, sometimes halt dependence on the parent to have a feeling of independence and mature beyond their years. Child from this environment often withdraw from social situations, this also impacts there relationships later on in life and they show patterns of truancy and delinquency.

This essay will analyse the major experiences by which childhood is constructed: one determined by the society and the other examined personally. Following this approach will be explained socially constructed childhood that asserts children’s attitudes, expectations and understandings that are defined by a certain society or culture. Furthermore various aspects of childhoods will be taken into account in relation to social, economic, historical, religious and moral context where each child carries specific components depending on the time and place.

One in five children that live in the United States are living in poverty (Sime, 2016). Poverty is the state of not having enough money to meet one’s basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. What is it like for a child to live in a home with a low income? What effects does it have on children? Children living in low income homes face more challenges than others. They often have to endure the pain of not having family members at home when they need them. At times children living in poverty have to cope with the stress of taking care of themselves as well as their siblings, while trying to maintain satisfactory grades in school. In this paper I will discuss the impact of poverty on a child’s social development, academic performance,

Is childhood socially constructed? If so, what does this mean for our understanding of children’s position in society? Student Number: 109495185 Introduction It is easy to assume that definitions and expectations of age groups, such as infancy and childhood, are fixed and do not change.

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

Poverty can extensively affect a child’s ability to learn. They are not able to retain information because of the outside worries. A child should fret about being the first to the monkey bars, passing an exam or their school dance, not home issues. Nevertheless, money is not a guaranteed stress reliever either. Children with economic advantages struggle with the pressure of satisfying their parents with stellar grades and behavior. According to Gary W. Evans, “This toxic stress directly hinders … children’s academic performance by compromising their ability to develop the kinds of skills necessary to perform well in school”. The child is now put in a position of uncertainty. Although it can be stressful, there are benefits. The child can either be successful in academics, learn responsibility and independency at an early age.

The impact of poverty in the family at large is of major concern. The study examines the association of the impact of poverty and children’s health including the behavior pattern and achievement. The research focus on the study that explore how child poverty contribute to the development than parenting skills; how poverty has impact on the children. The research also provide information about children health status and poverty and critically examines how poverty affect or is detrimental to parenting and as well looked into family stress and parenting and also relationship and consequences of children growing up poor. The research focus on necessary ways to intervene and help families who are poor in restoring a functional and effective family in all aspect. By and large the research support the conclusion that the detrimental impact of poverty on parenting is more of stress and feeling of sadness, thus affect the style of parenting and its practicability. Factor that may be responsible for the identified correlation been poverty on the path of the parent is also analyzed. Finding therefore suggest that prompt intervention by parents at the very beginning stage of the child development is paramount to reduce this impact and causes of poverty on the children.

“Hungry and tired, the boy squirms in his seat. Surrounded by classmates studiously working, he stares out the window, one leg anxiously thumping the side of his desk. In second grade, he has already experienced the types of stressors that dull the colors and geographies of childhood into shades and valleys of gray... His book is opened to a happy story, but neglected. There are dark circles under his eyes, and he startles easily. [The teacher] noticed that he seems both alienated from his peers and clearly desperate to fit in. Unfortunately, the basic social skills required to gain social acceptance don’t come easily to him. Regulating his emotions is also a struggle. Prone to outbursts, he doesn’t communicate his needs in grade-appropriate ways. He accumulates school absences and tardies the way other students accumulate new clothes. Having noticed that he is also struggling in reading, [the teacher] is beginning to wonder if he may have some sort of disability. Truth is, the boy is homeless” (Firth). These are often the stories heard about the educational progress of poverty-stricken children. With struggles including an unstable living environment, continuous drug use, abuse, and the absence of parental guidance, the children are facing adversity within the educational system. Since poverty and health are interlinked with a lower level of education in a society, we must study their relationship and effects to minimize the impact they have in a community.

When family values are suffering, education amongst the children within that family may also suffer. The causes of deterioration within the family structure may also be created by economic problems and a lack of community support. When value is placed on working to earn support within a financially disadvantaged family, the value placed on education is non-existent. Children are not instilled with the value of education to earn more money, since money is needed for immediately survival. Parents do not have time to involve themselves with the school system and attend teacher conferences to assist their children. Familial and cultural cycles develop that are extremely difficult to break. Uneducated parents do not encourage their children to achieve higher education. There is likelihood for this type of family to produce unemployable offspring. More unemployed people equate to more receiving government benefits, further exacerbating social problems. This situation creates a need for even more social services and places a further strain on government resources.

Poverty occurs in many families and affects them in many ways. Teachers main concerns in poverty is how it impacts the child development. “Families who live in poverty face disadvantages that can hinder their children’s development in many ways” (Duncan, 2014). Not all teachers know the impact that a child in poverty has to go thru each day. It is hard trying to focus in class and thinking about where you will sleep or when you will have your next meal. This paper shows resources that a teacher can use when having a child in poverty in their classroom so they can better understand the student. It also addresses the global effects of poverty and educational outcomes by including findings from both developed and developing countries. Teacher’s support and society can help a child in poverty and the family.