Childhood in the UK
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 4.4.2
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Consumerism
- Children have become consumers and the targets of advertising that uses ‘pester power’ to encourage children to nag parents into buying products.