What is childhood? Four views of children throughout history
“Childhood is not universal; rather, it is a product of culture and as such will vary across time and place. (Kehily, 2008)
The view of the child is ever change and a lot of what we as Mamas do is shaped by societal values and norms. Would you give your 2 day old baby solid food or your 6 month old a daily coffee as suggested in 1962, by Walter Sackett? Or would you listen to the late 19th century advertising and give your child heroin to help cure their sore throat, coughs and colds? Probably not, but these were seen as perfectly acceptable. The way we view and see our children has altered throughout history.
How we view children has a massive impact on how we interact with our children and our expectations of them. From our view of our children we will form a set of assumptions of how they learn, what they are capable of and their ability to handle situations. If you view your child as unable to take care of themselves, they will continually ask for your help to complete self-care tasks. Whereas if you view them as physically capable to climb to the top of the playground, guess how long it will take them to get there?
Let’s unpack four views of the child and their impact on us as Mama’s.
- Child as a miniature adult
- Child as innocent
- Child as agentic
- Child as digital native
Child as miniature adult
French historian, Philippe Aries describes a lack of words to describe childhood until the 15th century as separate from adults and as such there was no need to protect children from the harsh realities of life. He talks about the idea of childhood as a recent invention and the notion that parental affection and love as a “historical novelty”. Now not everyone agrees with this, however, picture sending your child down the coal mines or off to be a chimney sweep at the tender age of seven. Couldn’t imagine it right? In Victorian England this was common practice and childhood was not considered special or unique, rather if you could be put to work you would be. This views the child as both a commodity and an adult.
Whereas today childhood is defined by age or puberty and can last until 18 years of age. As a society we view childhood to be distinct and different from adults, therefore a special time where children as to be treated as unique to adults. Yet, have we really moved on? Consider child forced to work; child actors or children forced into sweat shops. Now, I am not saying that some children don’t want this future, rather if children are forced into work for the financial gain of the adult, they are been treated as a commodity or if a child is sent to work at 8 as that is just ‘what we do’. Now depending on your view of the child, will impact how you view these scenarios.
You might be thinking this might not impact your parenting but have you ever heard the words “big boy” or “big girl” slip out of your lips? These statements can be underpinned by a desire for children to act like adults in a particular setting.
If you are expecting your child to sit and listen to set lessons where you as the expert impart your knowledge, you are expecting adult behaviour and therefore viewing them as a mini adult. Is this a bad thing? That is for you to decide.
Child as innocent
“Won’t somebody think of the children” – Helen Lovejoy (The Simpsons).
The belief that children as born innocent suggests they are a blank slate and it is their environment and upbringing that alters their behaviour. It places the emphasis on the parent to protect the child from the corrupting influences of the big bad world. If you turn on the news, there are some many discussions on children doing wrong, breaking rules, with all these reports placing the child as innocent victims of their circumstance and suggests that if there was more protection of their innocence than the wrongdoing may not have occurred.
Now this all sounds good. But … “The construct of childhood innocence comes at a price - it positions children as incompetent, vulnerable and dependent; a blank slate ready to be moulded by adults.” (Sorin, 2005).
This view of child can become obsessive and can limit a child’s potential. Viewing children as innocent positions us, as Mama’s to view our role as protector and saviour and this can be problematic. Children need opportunities to explore, challenge their abilities and take risks, where if we wrap them up too tight in bubble wrap, they may never learn resilience, persistence or self-reliance. This view can lead to a child that is so overly protected that they are afforded no freedom, they are not allowed to explore their world out of fear of what the outside world could do to them. If we as Mama’s over-play a child’s innocence we can fail to see their ability to self-navigate the world. But where is the line of over protecting vs protecting enough?
Child as Agentic
Viewing the child as an active agent in their own life is the basic concept of the child as agentic. It is viewing the child as having the “capacity to act out of free will”, as both competent and capable to manage and navigate their own life. This has been popularised through alternative education theories, including Reggio Emilia and Maria Montessori. The agentic child is both capable and competent in being the director of their own lives. Within this view of children, are positioned as ’being‘ rather than ’becoming‘ (James, Jenkins and Prout 1998).
This is an empowering way to view children, challenges the notion of children as innocent and incapable as they are actively consulted in decisions that impact their lives, this forces us as Mamas and parents to let go of some of our power within the relationship to co-construct childhood. This is distinctly different from viewing children as miniature adults as childhood is still considered a unique and important period of time.
In this view children may do the following in the family;
contribute ideas to discussions and decision making on things that impact them in an age appropriate manner,
follow their own interests in their play and learning,
have their understanding and experiences of the world actively listened to and valued.
Child as a Digital Native
Children are now born into a digital world and by the age of two able to swipe left and right with ease. They are born into a world connected by the internet, now more than ever and seen as capable to adapt to technological changes with ease. No digital learning seems too difficult for children as they code and troubleshoot every potential technology issue without drama. Yet, is this reality or our perception, are children really that apt at technology or is this the building blocks of another social construct that we are placing on children.
According to one source, children under the age of 8 are spending just over two hours per day interacting with or looking at screens. With children as young as 2 or 3 able to use mobile apps with some specifically designed for this age group, indicating that with this level of interaction with technology, maybe children are better than adults at navigating the online world. While on the other hand, Bennett (2008) argues that “significant proportion of young people who do not have access or technology skills predicated by proponents of the digital native idea”, so if all children do not have access can this be a universal view of children? Another argument against this view is Bruyckere (2019) agrues strongly that digital natives do not exist and there is no relationship between age and internet know-how. So, is this a real phenomenon or just another perception? What are your thoughts?
This is just the tip of the iceberg with a number of other views of childhood having been identified by researchers including: the child as innocent, the child as evil, the child as miniature adult, the child as adult-in-training, the noble/saviour child, the commodified child, the snowballing child, the out-of-control child, the child as victim and the agentic child. Your view of childhood might not sit neatly into one of these boxes, rather be a mix of each of these views and will be continually shaped and altered by our children and our own experiences. I wonder what future parents will look back on a think of our choices. Will they look back and question our view of childhood and how we parented? I am sure they will.
The key take away isn’t that there is a right or wrong way to view childhood and/or your child, rather that the more we are aware of our unconscious assumptions about children the more conscious we can be as parents in choosing the type of parent we wish to be and the childhood we aim to give our children.
Further Reading
Centuries of Childhood. (2021). Retrieved 31 January 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centuries_of_Childhood
Drew, C. (2021). Social Constructions of Childhood – 14 Examples. Retrieved 31 January 2021, from https://helpfulprofessor.com/social-constructions-of-childhood-examples/
James, A., Jencks, C., & Prout, A. (1998). Theorizing childhood. London: Routledge.
Metcalf, S. (2021). The fight over when childhood began. Retrieved 31 January 2021, from https://slate.com/culture/2002/03/the-fight-over-when-childhood-began.html
Kehily, M. J. (Ed.). (2008). An introduction to childhood studies. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Nolan, A., & Raban, B. (2015). Theories into practice: Understanding and rethinking our work with young children and the EYLF. Teaching Solutions.
Sorin, R. (2005). Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice. Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne.
Tech-Savvy Toddlers: Why are Young Children So Good With Technology. (2018). Retrieved 31 January 2021, from https://www.southernphone.com.au/Blog/2018/Feb/tech-savvy-toddlers-kids-good-with-technology
Wakeman, O. (2021). Children are naturally innocent. Retrieved 31 January 2021, from https://sociologytwynham.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/are-children-naturally-innocent.pdf
