Has the Status of Children Improved?

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Has the status of children improved? The status of children has changed in many ways, whether it has improved or worsened has been highly debated. Firstly, the March of Progress view believes that today’s children are more valued, better cared for, protected and educated. There are a multitude of labour laws, health regulations, and education and welfare laws which support this idea. In 1833 the government passed a Factory Act to improve the conditions in which the industrial child would have to live in. In addition to this, as a UK resident and patient of the NHS, there are now routine vaccinations for children from aged 2 up to 18 years. The welfare provides Child Benefits for parents who are responsible for children under the age of 16. Educations laws state that children must get an education between the school term after their 5th birthday and the last Friday in June in the school year they turn 16. As well as this, if a child misses a certain amount of schooling for a poor reason the local council’s educational welfare officer will contact their parents and they may be served a fine. All of these laws and regulations, and more, are contributing factors to the improvement of the status of children. Opposing this, the conflict view believes there are increasing inequalities among children in terms of opportunities and a general lowering status of children. Marxists state that children are discriminated against unfairly, an example of this is the lower wages people under the age of 18 get for the same work that over 18s do. Considering this, there are also increasing differences between adults and children in terms of neglect and abuse. Marxists also believe that the type of childhood someone gets depends on their social class and ethnicity, implying that the middle class will give their children a better upbringing than a family of the working class.
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