The Nature of Childhood
The nature of childhood
Childhood is a social construction as it is something created by society, rather than simply a biological stage.
PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY:
Philippe Aries is a social historian who suggests that ‘childhood’ is a modern invention and he claims that in pre-industrial society, childhood did not exist and children were known as ‘little adults’ who carried out the same work and play activities as adults. There were no such things as kid’s toys etc.
Aries argues that children were only seen as an ‘economic asset’ rather than a symbol of love for another. This is said to have been difficult when the death rate of children was so high. Other historians have agreed with Aries, saying that the pre-industrial family was a unit of production, working the land or being engaged in crafts. Children were expected to help parents from a young age and if they didn’t help with domestic production, they usually left home to become servants or apprentices.
CHILDHOOD AND INDUSTRIALIZATION:
Even after industrialization these attitudes continued and especially during the working class where children were usually found working in factories, mines and mills. Aries argued that at this point, middle class attitudes towards children began to change as there was a growth in marital and parental love. This was because the infant mortality rate began to fall.
The middle of the 19th century is when social attitudes really began to change. This is when campaigners were concerned about juvenile delinquency, beggars and child prostitution and wanted to get children of the streets.
Children were excluded from factories, mills and mines, where previously thousands had been killed. Some working class families however resisted these movements because they depended on their children’s wages.
Cunningham states that the 19th century saw the social construction of childhood by adults. This childhood had three major categories:
It was the opposite of childhood- children were
Childhood is a social construction as it is something created by society, rather than simply a biological stage.
PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY:
Philippe Aries is a social historian who suggests that ‘childhood’ is a modern invention and he claims that in pre-industrial society, childhood did not exist and children were known as ‘little adults’ who carried out the same work and play activities as adults. There were no such things as kid’s toys etc.
Aries argues that children were only seen as an ‘economic asset’ rather than a symbol of love for another. This is said to have been difficult when the death rate of children was so high. Other historians have agreed with Aries, saying that the pre-industrial family was a unit of production, working the land or being engaged in crafts. Children were expected to help parents from a young age and if they didn’t help with domestic production, they usually left home to become servants or apprentices.
CHILDHOOD AND INDUSTRIALIZATION:
Even after industrialization these attitudes continued and especially during the working class where children were usually found working in factories, mines and mills. Aries argued that at this point, middle class attitudes towards children began to change as there was a growth in marital and parental love. This was because the infant mortality rate began to fall.
The middle of the 19th century is when social attitudes really began to change. This is when campaigners were concerned about juvenile delinquency, beggars and child prostitution and wanted to get children of the streets.
Children were excluded from factories, mills and mines, where previously thousands had been killed. Some working class families however resisted these movements because they depended on their children’s wages.
Cunningham states that the 19th century saw the social construction of childhood by adults. This childhood had three major categories:
It was the opposite of childhood- children were