Using material from 2B and elsewhere, assess the view that the modern family has become more child-centred. (24 marks) The centre of the family use to be the parents, but now that has been turned on its head. In the Victorian age children use to be seen and not heard; now children are very seen and most definitely heard. Children have become consumers, adults buy them toys to keep them happy or in some family cases to buy them over, to make the child believe that they are the best parent. The average child now has over £17,000 worth of toys within their bedroom, more time is now spent with our children, and in 1975 it was 25 minutes in 2007 it was 95 minutes, there are classes on how to bring up your own child and adults now adapt their social life around the children.
Being seen as little adults children did not have specialised toys, TV programmes which were specifically for children. The first sociologist to argue about childhood is Philippe Aries (1962). Aries argued that children were regarded as an economic asset rather than a symbol of love for one another. Aries believed that children were not seen as having different “nature” or needs from adults at least not once they had passed the stage of physical dependency during infancy. In the middle ages childhood was shorter soon after been weaned the child entered the wider society on much the same terms as an adult beginning work from an early age often in the household of another family.
Also, he points out that the parents were not allowed to get to close to the children, showing us that the children had no type of affection. The parents were not supposed to get close with the children because in most cases the children were going to die and they wanted the parents to be able to move right along. The author uses Aries’s Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life, a study of European attitudes toward childhood. By doing this enrichment assignment it enhanced my thought of how the Puritan children were treated. I never knew that the Puritan children did not have any childhood until I took this class.
Using Item A, assess sociological explanations of changes in the status of childhood The term ‘Childhood’ is a controversial topic according to sociologists, who have different views about the meaning of the word. They believe that childhood is a social construction that is created and defined by society, rather than a biological state. The following paragraphs will highlight changes in the status of childhood. Firstly, Aries who was an historian argued that in the pre- industrial society, childhood did not exist. As there were no toys and games for children to play with, which is a major part of upbringing, they were forced to take on adult responsibilities as young as seven to keep themselves occupied.
Forty years ago, in an era of far more overt conflict between the generations than there is now, a slightly smaller share (74%) of the public said yes to the same question.2 What could explain the similarities in the two numbers in the face of such differences in the two eras? This latest survey appears to solve the mystery. Yes, there are big differences between young and old today in their values, attitudes and behaviors, but no, these differences haven’t created conflicts between the generations. To borrow a phrase, the generations appear to have found a way to disagree without being disagreeable. [pic]Moreover, where perceived generational differences exist today about moral values, work ethic and respect for others, today’s young adults — by heavy margins — believe that these differences have arisen because their generation hasn’t lived up to standards set by older adults.
Some people would have argued that this was fair and equal and that today’s ‘child-centred’ society has taken away the freedom of children over the years. Item A also mentions that after the industrialisation in the west today has changed the position of children being ‘miniature adults’ into a childhood where their time, space and bodies are controlled by adults. Child liberationists’ would argue that this isn’t for the ‘protection’ or the ‘care’ of children, it’s just a way for adults to control the lives of their children. Parents try to control when their kids go to bed, when they wake up, when they go out and where they go, child liberationists would say that this is a way to put children in oppression to. The last part of item A is talking about the distinction between adults and children is becoming blurred again.
In very many sociological studies, social scientist attempt to explain certain aspect of family lives albeit culture, history, time and place. These studies outcome are important and contribute to family life in a big way, at the very least they attempt to provide some guidance on how families within different cultures do things. As important as the finding of these studies are they must not be looked upon as a “one size fits all” model. They do not always apply to every family and often time what make sense in one culture, would be totally absurd in another. In “Invisible Inequality” Author Lareau challenges a ten years old study by Kingston who argues that social class does not distinguish parents’ behavior or children’s lives.
And we are bombarded with adds that tell us to buy our way to security, happiness, friendship, and sex” (Lankford 8), but are there other reasons as to why we, and our children, become this way? School, church, peers and the mass media can affect anyone in negative ways (Achenriener 3). Children have not really been the center of study for materialistic research. "Materialism has long been interest to consumer researchers but research has centered on adult consumers not children or teens" (Chaplin 2). In recent studies it was theorized that because a lot of behavior is learned at a young age then it may be children, not adults, that are becoming more
Social norms are what is considered to be acceptable in a given situation, but sometimes they are often unfair or injustice and are changed. The social norms we follow today are sometimes questioned by people on whether or not they are fair to everyone but to others, they are considered fair. so when is it appropriate to question normalities of society? It is appropriate to question social norms whenever they appear to be unfair, unequal, and just plain out wrong. social norms are constantly changing from each time period so who is to say what we consider socially acceptable now won't change in another twenty years.
Functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family Within sociology there are many different views on family whether it is a positive or negative part of society which includes functionalism, New Right, Critical views, Feminism and Marxism. They have a different functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family. Functionalist view the family as an institution which improves society by obtaining equilibrium, social order and stability while at the same time meeting the needs of all the member in society. They see the nuclear as positive fort society. For example, Murdock saw the family as reproducing the next generation and socializing them into the shared culture.