4.4.2

Childhood in the UK

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Childhood in Contemporary Britain

Childhood in Britain is a distinctive privileged phase of life. Contemporary society has become ‘child-centred’ for a number of reasons.

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Child protections

  • Childhood in Britain is a distinctive privileged phase of life.
  • Children are protected by laws to prevent exploitation at work and from being abused by adults, including parents.
  • Children get cheaper travel on public transport and have special food, toys and leisure activities.
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Reasons

  • Contemporary society has become ‘child-centred’ for a number of reasons:
    • Smaller families means that parents can devote for time, care and attention to each child.
    • Shorter working hours have led to parents being able to spend more time with their children.
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Child rights

  • Higher standards of living mean that parents can spend more money on their children.
  • The welfare state provides a number of benefits to support parents (e.g. child benefit).
  • Child rights and protective laws have increased demands on parents to care for their children properly.
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Education

  • Specialist child healthcare and theories of child development emphasise the role of specialist nurturing, supervision and protection of children to encourage healthy development.
  • Compulsory education has led to better educated children and more time spent in further and higher education, resulting in children becoming dependent for longer and the extension of childhood.
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Supervision

  • Largely unjustified parental fears, such as stranger danger, and growing traffic hazards mean that children are now more closely supervised than they were in the past.
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Consumerism

  • Children have become consumers and the targets of advertising that uses ‘pester power’ to encourage children to nag parents into buying products.

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

5Option 1: Health

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

8Option 2: Global Development

9Option 2: The Media

10Crime & Deviance

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