It appears to be the natural course of life that we eventually grow up, take on responsibilities and contribute to wider society as hard-working and law-abiding citizens. How natural is it, though?
Childhood is widely regarded as a social construction, meaning that it isn't natural or biological. This also means that it's subject to changes over time and from place to place.
Let's take a look at how the experience of childhood has changed historically, and at the various impacts that our cultures have on shaping all types of childhoods around the world.
- We will start by looking at the definition of childhood and how the experience of childhood has changed over time.
- We will then look at cross-cultural cultural differences in childhood and the cultural factors that influence child development.
- Lastly, we will consider cultural differences in early childhood and child discipline in different cultures.
Let's get started!
What is childhood?
Understanding children and childhood might seem obvious, but as sociologists, we have to remember that there's always more than meets the eye. It's not just what something looks like that forms its definition – what's also important is how it's defined in the first place, as well as how people understand, experience, and respond to it.
Sociological understandings of childhood
Fig. 1 - Ariès theorises the emergence of childhood, while Postman theorises the disappearance of childhood.
As we have discussed so far, what constitutes a 'childhood' varies greatly from time to time and from place to place. This proves that childhood is a social construct rather than a biological phenomenon (otherwise, it would always be the same).
Generally, the factors that sociologists consider when understanding different childhoods are:
when childhood starts and ends.
the rights or permissions afforded to children.
the responsibilities of children.
the general contrast of childhood against other periods of life (such as adolescence and/or adulthood).
How has the experience of childhood changed over time?
Let's take a look at how the experience of childhood has changed over the years.
The emergence of childhood
Philippe Ariès (1962) famously suggested that childhood didn't exist in medieval Europe. He carried out secondary research on a variety of archives, including:
letters
paintings
diaries
paintings
Ariès argued that children in older times were actually miniature adults. As soon as they were physically independent, children dressed, acted, worked, and were treated just like adults.
According to Ariès, working-class children laboured with adults in factories and mines throughout the early years of the industrial revolution. Childhood as we know it today only emerged with the establishment of formal education.
While upper-class children began school at the turn of the 16th century, elementary education did not become compulsory for all children until the 19th century. It was at this time that employing children in factories and mines also became banned by the law.
Because of this emergence of a unique life stage, people had to learn how best to navigate it. A big range of expertise began to develop, such as paediatricians, educationalists, and child psychologists. According to Jacques Donzelot (1977), this is simply another form of social control, through which the norms, values, and behaviours of families are 'policed' by experts in order to maintain a particular form of social order.
However, many scholars disagree with this view, arguing instead that the creation of this expertise essentially cemented the idea that children require the guidance of adults.
The disappearance of childhood
Fig. 2 - Children's engagement with mass media increases their chances of being exposed to mature content.
Neil Postman (1983) argues that childhood, as we know it today, isn't going to be around for much longer.
He states that the widespread use of mass media – including television, the internet, and social media – all expose young children to content that people previously only consumed in adulthood. Examples of this could be violence or pornography.
Postman believes that this has resulted in the boundaries between childhood and adulthood becoming blurred.
However, many sociologists argue against Postman's theory. They state that childhood isn't disappearing, but simply changing and becoming more complex as children use the media to seek independence in some ways, but are still largely dependent on adults in other ways.
Cross-cultural differences in childhood
Why do children across the world have entirely different experiences of childhood? It's important to understand the role of cultural differences in childhood and how children develop.
The cultural factors that influence child development
The various aspects of culture that impact a child's overall development include:
Your experience as a child from a Christian family, for example, may be very different from your friend's childhood experiences from a secular or atheist family.
Cultural differences in early childhood
Based on the factors outlined above, we can examine how childhoods are shaped by different cultures. Let's do a deep dive into a few examples now.
Language differences in early childhood
Using the factor of language, it has been observed that German parents tend to focus on the needs and wishes of their children in general. However, parents from the Nso people in Cameroon, Africa, focus more on social and interactive aspects. This has implications for how children develop friendships and relationships both during childhood and later in life.
Children's self-conceptions also vary from culture to culture due to language. Consider the example below.
Children from Western countries tend to define themselves by their unique attributes (such as "I am intelligent"). On the other hand, children from places such as South America, Asia, and Africa define themselves based on their relationships and social roles (such as "I am a big sister").
Work differences in early childhood
In her study of rural Bolivian childhoods, Samantha Punch (2003) challenges the widespread sociological notion that the biggest distinction between childhood and adulthood is that children are exempt from work.
Fig. 3 - Children construct unique childhood cultures by finding time to play outside of work or school.
She finds that the children of rural southern Bolivia contribute greatly to their family incomes. Just as children from more privileged socioeconomic backgrounds combine their education with play, disadvantaged children are seen to do the same in addition to their work.
Punch (2003, p.22) states that, despite these constraints...
they [children] create their own childhood culture and move back and forth between adult and child-centred worlds."
Of course, the fact that children are expected to work involves trusting that they are knowledgeable and skilled enough to create output that will earn them money. So, while rural Bolivian children engage in play, there are still seen (to some extent) as miniature adults.
In stark opposition to this idea is the generally accepted Western view of children as incompetent. As abrasive as it might sound, what sociologists mean is that children are seen as incapable of performing certain tasks until they have the mental and/or physical faculties to do so.
Until they develop those faculties, they will continue to depend on adults for guidance and help.
A child growing up in the United Kingdom is not expected (nor are they allowed) to work and contribute to their family's finances. This is solely the responsibility of their parents and/or guardians.
Child discipline in different cultures
Many studies have been conducted to examine differential disciplinary techniques across cultures. Most studies have found that the differences lie between two key types of cultures:
collectivist cultures, which tend to emphasise the needs and well-being of the whole community over those of individuals.
individualistic cultures, which emphasise the needs of individuals over those of the group overall.
Parents from collectivist cultures, such as that of China, value individual behavioural inhibition for the family's greater good.
On the other hand, parents from individualistic cultures, such as the United Kingdom, emphasise the importance of independence in their children.
There has also been a lot of research into corporal punishment as a disciplinary method, which has been outlawed in many Western countries over the past few decades. North American parents report using corporal punishment extremely rarely.
Corporal punishment is the act of inflicting some degree or type of violence onto a person to punish them. It is a punishment intended to cause physical harm, pain, or discomfort.
Because a lot of research is based on and published in the US and the UK, the viewpoints and results expressed in these studies tend to be framed as the "norm". For instance, the fact that corporal punishment is very rare in the US might make it look as though corporal punishment is very rare everywhere – but it isn't!
Remember to take note of the narratives and sources of the research that you're learning from.
Culture plays a role in the effectiveness of discipline because when children perceive a form of discipline to be relatively normal, reasonable, and fair, they are more likely to respond well to it. Non-normative disciplinary methods could be ineffective and even cause further problematic behaviour in the child.
The importance of studying childhood in different cultures
Ultimately, the differences in childhood in various cultures around the world are impactful in many ways. While they have many implications for the experience of childhood itself (as we have seen in this explanation), it's important to consider the sociological theory of socialisation – which tells us that what we experience when we're young eventually affects us, too.
As the world becomes more and more globalised, we become exposed to the diversity of experiences that people from different parts of the world have. It's also important not to assume that our experiences are universal – and that everybody has had different upbringings.
Cultural Differences in Childhood - Key takeaways
- Sociologists see childhood as a social construct - the experience is not naturally or biologically determined.
- Factors that sociologists consider when understanding different childhoods include when they start and end, the rights and responsibilities of children, and the difference between childhood and other periods of life (such as adulthood).
- Language plays a role in how children establish relationships with others, as well as how they define themselves. For example, Western children tend to understand themselves based on their unique attributes, while children from places such as Asia and Africa define themselves in terms of their social roles.
- Punch found that rural children in southern Bolivia were just as likely as school-going children to integrate play into their free time. These children tended to experience both adult and child-centred worlds. This is in opposition to Western cultures such as the UK, where children are exempted from work and seen as largely incompetent.
- Parents from collectivist and individualistic cultures tend to take on different types of disciplinary methods. Collectivist cultures promote the needs of the wider community/group, whereas individualistic cultures value the needs of the individual (such as independence).
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