Identity Of Childhood Essay

Sam Weiner
Professor Richard Gordon
Term Paper
7/1/14
Term Paper: Growing Up in Hard Times and the Identity of Childhood If there is anything that children all must do at some point in their lives, it is grow up. At some point in their lives, children all must begin the often dreaded process of growing up. For the most part, everyone appreciates at least some aspect of their childhood. Children love being children. Some want to grow up, and others want to stay children forever. Meanwhile, many adults often wish that they were children again so they could escape the pressures and stresses and responsibilities of the adult world. However, the way in which a person enters the adult world is different for every individual. In many cases
This process is easy for some fortunate children, and is often predictable. Children go to school and do their homework and move up through each grade level as they age. Children spend time with friends and play sports and go to school and live their life with enjoyment. Then once they reach the last few years of high school, this is the typical point where everyone realizes that it is time to buckle down and be responsible and begin preparing for the next step of their lives. For many students, this means taking the big tests, doing well on school work, applying to colleges, graduating high school, and then going to college. Around this point in life, most people will begin to realize that the fun and games is over and it is time to progress into adulthood. For others, this is simply not the case. In other situations, many children must grow up earlier than others, regardless of if they are ready to do so. Many other children are not as fortunate in their personal process of maturing and growing into their own adulthood. Circumstances such as being without one or both parents, being the oldest sibling, drugs or violence, and poverty are all a few of various different situations and circumstances in which a child would need to mature and grow up earlier
In an article by Ron Harris, he states “Childhood has changed…. It is real change, fundamental change, sometimes even life-and-death change. For children now, living with single parents, stepparents or guardians is the rule rather than the exception. Today, it is common for youngsters to be home alone while parents work, common to attend schools where boredom and fear replace promise and pride.” (Harris). Harris’ article later states “In fact, more than half of America 's 52 million children under 18 have spent part of their childhood in single-parent households, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Such changes in the nature of the family concern specialists who work with children.” (Harris). These statistics and statements really show how childhood has changed for many youths in the country and how the youth is affected by circumstances in their childhoods. The new things which children experience at an early age such as early sex, drive-by shootings and violence, drugs, and television ads, all of which were mentioned in the article, have a very serious impact on the childhood and experience of growing up for children across the country. These experiences also greatly impact the process of shaping a person’s character as they grow, as well as the future of a