Category: Childhood

  • Good videos showing the social construction of childhood

    Below are some relatively recent examples of documentary video evidence which demonstrate how attitudes to children vary across cultures, supporting the view that childhood is socially constructed. This post has been written primarily for students studying the families and households module within A-level sociology Child Brides In India, teenage girls aged 14-15 are sometimes pressurized…

  • Paranoid Parenting

    In 2001, Professor Frank Furedi wrote ‘Paranoid Parenting’, arguing that a ‘culture of fear’ pervades parenting today, with parents perceiving their children as vulnerable, and as being perpetually at risk from several threats: from strangers, traffic, toys, and from the threat of falling behind in their development. Parenting today has become an ordeal in which…

  • Timeline of Social Policies which changed childhood

    Below is a timeline of some of the social policies which changed childhood, from the early 19th century through to the present day. Most people would adopt a ‘March of Progress view‘ and argue that these polices improved the lives of children, however there are some sociologists who see these policies as placing too many…

  • Generation Anxious

    700 000 children in the U.K. are currently registered with an emotional disorder, that’s 7.2%, of 5-19 year olds, or about 1 in 13, according to a recent survey by NHS Digital. And that’s just those children who have been formally diagnosed. That figure of 7.2% represents those children who have reached the clinical diagnoses…

  • What should we do about childhood obesity?

    What should we do about childhood obesity?

    Some arguments for the government’s recent policy proposals to tackle childhood obesity.

  • Applying material from Item A, analyse two changes in the position of children in society over the last 100 years.

    Applying material from Item A, analyse two changes in the position of children in society over the last 100 years.

    A 10 mark ‘analyse with item’ practice question and answer for the AQA’s A-level paper 2: families

  • From Parenting to Sharenting

    In a recent poll, 42% of parents said they happily engage in the practice of ‘sharenting’ – or posting pictures and images of their adorable children online. No doubt this brings joy to parents and relatives alike, but this practice can become obsessive… A 2010 survey showed found that 92% of children in America had…

  • Neoliberal Policies harming Children

    In 2005 New Labour liberalised the gambling the laws, ending the ban on T.V. advertising, which is in line with neoliberal policies of decreasing state regulation of private companies. 12 years later and we have a situation where endless T.V. adverts glamorise gambling and hook new converts, and where online gambling companies such as 888…

  • Is There a Crisis in Youth Mental Ill Health?

    Girls are more than twice as likely to report mental health problems as boys Poor girls are nearly twice as likely to report mental health problems than rich girls. One in four teenage girls believe they are suffering from depression, according to a major study by University College London the children’s charity the National Children’s…

  • Assess the View that the Family has Become More Child Centred (20)

    The view in the question is associated with the ‘March of Progress view’ of childhood – that society and the family have both become more child centred. Four possible points for the view in the question Point 1 – Child welfare policies protect children in the family – Laws prevent them from working, children MUST…