But do we not see childhood the same? The first 12 years of life is a time of freedom and no responsibility compared to adults, a time of innocence and freedom from adult cares and wants but is this case? Once children were able to survive without constant care, medieval Europeans expected them to take their place in the world as working adults. Aries (1965)
This brings us on to children taking the place in society, we are going to look at the day in the life of a child solder, and how social construction manifests itself in Sri Lanka. The day consist of training duties and daily activities, each young girl was involved in rigours and demanding training routines, that lasted five to six months. The training also consisted of work that included becoming one with a wooden dummy gun. (Quaker United Nation’s office)
4:00 am
Morning ablutions: Older sisters of the movement oriented the girls and told them where they should go for morning ablutions. They were under orders to use water sparingly and to protect the water supplies at all times. The older sisters acted as guards over them and enforced the policies of the movement.
7:00 to 8:00 am
Breakfast.
8:00 to 12:00 noon
Demanding physical exercise that included: Weight lifting jumping, running, crawling over sharp terrain, karate, rope climbing and practice in climbing heights.
12:30pm
Lunch included: soup, marmite, eggs(drink them raw), bread , lentils, rice and curry, apples, water. On special occasions ice cream.
1:30 to 4:00pm
Training in special skills that included: map reading to identify particular graphical locations, use of compass, knot tying, use of special codes, use of walkie talkies and how to shoot and kill animals. Each girl was also asked to write a personal report about herself.
4:00 pm
Tea.
5:00pm
Parade
6:00pm
Gather to say oath
10:00pm
Bed: Sent to bed they slept in small sheds on the ground in sacks (fertilizer bags) without pillows. Sometimes they used their clothes bag for a pillow.
When sick or injured they were taken care of and given medicine. They would be taken to see the doctor and may even be sent to camp hospital. The girls said that nobody could have love affairs or sex. It was considered a major offence and disciplinary action would be taken if the rules were broken. (Yvonne Kearns PhD) ()
As we can see the similarities in Aries theory of middle Ages children were like miniature adults, in countries all over the world childhood is more than freedom from responsibility.
In May 2000, the United Nations established a new protocol for stopping the use of child solders. By April 2004,115 countries had signed it and 71 countries had ratified it. The protocol argued that governments must ensure that nobody under the age of 18 should take part in hostilities or be conscripted into armies. (Human rights watch on children’s rights, ( ) (Sociology J.J. Macionas and K. Plummer)
Many including Aries consider childhood a universal feature in human life, which one considers a natural stage of development culturally. The social construction of childhood is extremely diverse as we can see with the child solder of Sri Lanka. Freedom from responsibility as Aries sees it may be true for children of the West, but is not so free for children of developing countries including Uganda and Sierra Leon In the West, society sees children and childhood as something extremely different from grownups. However in less developed countries children are viewed as more independent and there is a great emphasis on working and fighting alongside adults. This enables them to contribute to their families house hold income and power relations concerning armed struggles, which is extremely fitting to Aries views on children change with the times and their environment and social pressures and the system they develop into.
childhood in todays social construction, (Philippe Aries) saw that the modern concept of childhood progressed from the separation of childhood to the world of adults; this began in the 16th century when upper classes sent their children to schools to be educated. This is still true today, yet it is not just the upper classes and the privileged that have the luxury to study and become educated.childrin in the united kingdom by law have to be educated by state standards. But this its self can be seen as a form of social construction a progression for all children through the education system from nursery to preschool on to primary and so on this progression is what Aries seen as the modern concept of childhood construction.
Child marriage, many children across various parts of the world get married-often more than likely for economic reasons, early marriages are more common to accrue in South Asia and parts of Africa in some countries over half the girls are married by the time they reach 18 years of age (United Nations children’s fund march 2001: press release) (J.J Maconis and K Plummer:)345
Poverty is a big factor for children getting married, as families will marry off children for financial reasons, also this can be a way to entice and deceive young girls into the sex industry and prostitution, so children are forced into what we could see as adult roles still in the form of modern slavery, in England and the United kingdom
Culturally we have a Different opinion on childhood than other parts of the world, yet child prostitution is still wide spread. And so does the definition as maybe western society would see childhood, what is culturally accepted in some countries can be seen as shocking or against the rights of the children in our own country. So one childhood isn’t the same as the other, depending on social and cultural settings childhood changes dramatically.
Mustafa’s story. Mustafa is 14 years old he is forced to guide clients to a brothel the brothel is in fact his own house the prostitutes are his mother and sister, with no money or support this is the only way the family can support themselves. It has now become so normal for Mustafa to live like this it has become part of his daily life.
( child international) “In medieval society the idea of childhood didn’t exist)
Or could we say in modern day the ideal of childhood as a time of freedom from care and responsibility we wish could exist for the benefit of the child in non western countries.
The children of the Congo.
Upwards of 30,000 children have been actively engaged in fighting in DRC, of those who are no longer part of fighting forces at least 10,000 have been unable to reconnect with their families and communities.
Thousands more are living and working on the streets. Some are orphans, many more have been accused of witchcraft.( child international).
But how do these childhoods of developing countries compare to the childhoods of modern England the children are still born into a system, just England has a system of education from nursery, to preschool and so on they are still born into something they really don’t have a choice over. There life and childhood are extremely different from western society, but the social construction is the same it just follows extremely different customs and traditions.
To conclude and answer the question is there one childhood or many? I would have to say yes there is more than one childhood, although they differ according to country, laws, economic and social settings all these factors I believe contribute to the childhood, or lack of childhood I do feel that Aries had a valid point that children’s childhood changes over time. Childhoods differ yet the social constricts don’t.
I feel this is true for most children and our own society although I cant help getting the feeling children and adults who once were children are conditioned and stuck in a system that requires them from a early age to be conditioned for education this may not seem as extreme form as what happens in Sri Lanka in the case of the child solder, or what we have read on the the children of the Congo who are still engaged in armed struggles but I do feel it’s a form of control although on a subtle level.
We have seen major changes in the social construction of childhood from the days of Oliver twist and Aries we have progressed extremely quickly and childhood isn’t the same as it once was, in the 16th to 17th century upwards to the start of the 20th century and the establishment of industrialization children are no longer seen as economical necessities, and this is a positive change and hopefully children can have the childhood they deserve, yet children are still controlled from the moment they are born all though a lot more subtle than the work houses and the pits they are unconscious of this or they might be extremely conscious of this I am not too sure i live with a three year old and I don’t think she would be interested in the social construction of her childhood the most important things to her are magic roundabout and sweets.
all though I can see from nursery school to preschool to primary school and so on they are still as I can see socially controlled by the system through education threw the teachers and parents they are at the Alfa and omega of what society says the children get there information from the us and we get it from the government thus power is coming down through the education system rather than the other way. The norms of the society and system we live in are past to the children the ones who don’t really have a voice, yet are the future.
A child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law
applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
(Article 1 - United Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Bibliography
(United Nations children’s fund march 2001: press release)(J.J. Macionis & K. Plumber 343).
(Giddens Antony) 175
(Aries 1962:115) (Giddens Antony) 175
(Quaker United Nation’s office)
.( child international).
(United Nations children’s fund march 2001:press release)
(J.J Maconis and K Plummer:) 345
( ) (Sociology J.J. Macionas and K. Plummer
Hendrick, Harry (1997) Constructions and Reconstructions of British Childhood: An Interpretive Survey
Word count 2300
A child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law
applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
(Article 1 - United Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Bibliography
(United Nations children’s fund march 2001: press release)(J.J. Macionis & K. Plumber 343).
(Giddens Antony) 175
(Aries 1962:115) (Giddens Antony) 175
(Quaker United Nation’s office)
.( child international).
(United Nations children’s fund march 2001:press release)
(J.J Maconis and K Plummer:) 345
(
(Sociology J.J. Macionas and K. Plummer)