Key Assignment 1: Childhood
Sociology Mahmut Sahin Key Assignment 1: Childhood
(A) Child centred society is a society that puts the welfare of children first in terms of priority. For example, America is a child centred society because the society on a whole will put the needs of a child first.
(B) There are many ways in which the distinction between childhood and adulthood is “becoming blurred.” An example of how this is happening is ‘Television’. Television blurs the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy. In the 19th century and before the TV was invented, adults had the power to keep knowledge about inappropriate things as sex, violence and other ‘adult matters’ secret from children because of the lack of literacy among children. This lead to a sharp division between adults, who can read, and children who cannot. However, unlike written word, television does not need special skill to understand and gain knowledge from it. Another example to how distinction between childhood and adulthood is becoming blurred is the way teenagers are dressing (dress sense). Dress sense is very similar now, we have 14 year olds girls dressing up like 24 year olds, short dresses; similar make-up; etc. These might not seem big, but in reality if you look in depth they are, it diminishes adult authority and appearance does not vary as much between childhood and adulthood.
(C) Education is one of the reasons for the change in the position of children because it extended the period of dependency on their parents. The introduction of compulsory schooling in 1880 affected the children of the poor families, this was an advantage for adults because this meant that the child’s life could be confined, disciplined and regulated to a later stage. The law restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work had a similar effect to education. Not being able to work and earning a wage again made them dependant on
(A) Child centred society is a society that puts the welfare of children first in terms of priority. For example, America is a child centred society because the society on a whole will put the needs of a child first.
(B) There are many ways in which the distinction between childhood and adulthood is “becoming blurred.” An example of how this is happening is ‘Television’. Television blurs the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy. In the 19th century and before the TV was invented, adults had the power to keep knowledge about inappropriate things as sex, violence and other ‘adult matters’ secret from children because of the lack of literacy among children. This lead to a sharp division between adults, who can read, and children who cannot. However, unlike written word, television does not need special skill to understand and gain knowledge from it. Another example to how distinction between childhood and adulthood is becoming blurred is the way teenagers are dressing (dress sense). Dress sense is very similar now, we have 14 year olds girls dressing up like 24 year olds, short dresses; similar make-up; etc. These might not seem big, but in reality if you look in depth they are, it diminishes adult authority and appearance does not vary as much between childhood and adulthood.
(C) Education is one of the reasons for the change in the position of children because it extended the period of dependency on their parents. The introduction of compulsory schooling in 1880 affected the children of the poor families, this was an advantage for adults because this meant that the child’s life could be confined, disciplined and regulated to a later stage. The law restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work had a similar effect to education. Not being able to work and earning a wage again made them dependant on