CHILDHOOD

Childhood

Childhood

Meaning of Childhood

Childhood is defined as a position in social structure, children as the group of individuals who occupy that position, and the child as both a whole, complex, and rights-bearing citizen and an idealized entity (James, 2002). Childhood is both a permanent and temporary space in the socio-cultural context. It is permanent in that all cultures and societies have a life course stage defined by its immaturity, both physical and social. It is constantly shifting in light of larger socio-cultural change. It is also constantly changing because each cohort of children, along with the parents and other adults involved with their rearing, bring with them a set of individual and group differences from the cohort before them (Christensen, 2000). Childhood studies takes as a given that childhoods are culturally constructed.

Value of a Child

Childhood studies promotes the idea that children are competent social actors who shape their worlds, take action on behalf of themselves and others, participate in decisions that affect them, and define the directions and processes of their own development. If children are regarded as competent social actors, then they must also be regarded as research participants whose perspectives must be sought. Childhood studies has a central mandate to bring in children's voices, studying children in ways that reveal the experiences and perspectives of the child, from the child's point of view, and in his or her own words (Corsaro, 2003).

Within sociology, scholars approach the study of children in many ways. Some sociologists take a strict social constructivist approach, while others meld this approach to a prism that considers social structures that are imposed on children. Some sociologists focus on demographic change, while others continue to focus on aspects of socialization as childhoods are constructed through forces such as consumer goods, child labor, children's rights, and public policy. All these scholars add to the research vitality and breadth of childhood studies. In addition, children and childhood studies research centers, degree programs, and courses began to be established in the 1990s, most of which have benefited from the contributions of sociologists and the theories and methods of sociology (Woodhead, 2003).

Public Policies

Public policy can be used to improve the lives of children. Research has established that poverty matters in the lives of children, as measured in child well-being indicators, and public policies have been enacted to help families rise out of poverty (James, 2004). Research on the impact of increased income ...