Item D
Some sociologists argue that UK society has become more child-centred. Children today
are more privileged than they have ever been. There are a large range of laws and
policies in place to protect them and there is an increasing emphasis now placed on
children’s rights.
However, other sociologists argue that the extent of child-centredness is exaggerated and
that childhood can be a negative experience for some children.
Applying material from Item D and your knowledge, evaluate the view that UK society
has become more child-centred (20 marks).
According to Item D, march of progress sociologists would argue ‘children today are more
privileged’. Aries and Shorter argue that children today are more valued and have more
rights that protect and liberate them (such as the Children Act 2004). Childhood is viewed as
the ‘golden age’ of innocence and fun, which is reinforced by the idea of child-centredness.
For example, UK society today has made education mandatory for all pupils up to the age of
18 (through the National Curriculum 1988), and this shelters children from any abuse from
parents or entering society with no qualifications and risking poverty. Consequently, children
are sheltered and this - as Donzelot argues - acts as the government’s method of
surveillance over parental treatment of children. However, other sociologists may argue that
children are not protected and that the UK is not child-centred due to continuous high rates
of child abuse. For example, Childline continues to receive 20,000 to 30,000 calls a year,
indicating that UK society is not doing enough to protect children, as the ‘large range of laws’
and ‘policies’ are failing in their functions.
According to Item D, ‘other sociologists’ say that ‘child-centredness is exaggerated’. In fact,
child liberationists think that Uk society is too controlling over children and this limits their
freedom. For example, they believe that children are viewed as economic liabilities due to
their consistent demands throughout their life (food, clothes), and this makes society dislike
them. As well as this, they argue that children are controlled in numerous ways in order to
limit them and their actions. This is done through the control of their space and time, as
children are forced to go to school, stick to a consistent routine and avoid prohibited places
(for example, shops with ‘no children’ signs). This not only makes children feel marginalised,
but also causes them to go against this control, therefore proving that UK society is not
child-centred and is only going more bad than good. However, other sociologists argue that
this control is justified as children are physically and mentally immature, and therefore
require adult protection to ensure their safety.
Correspondingly, sociologists such as Palmer argue that ‘childhood can be a negative
experience’ (Item D). They argue this through their idea of toxic childhood, in which the rapid
rise of technological advancements in the past 25 years have damaged the innocence of
childhood. For example, parents (of mostly working class) purchase junk food instead of
nutritional balanced meals as this is quicker and does not disrupt them while working. In this
way, children are deprived of beneficial food that is cognitively stimulating. Consequently,
parents pay less attention to their children and spend less time socialising them correctly to
