The Modern Concept of Childhood and Its Consequences in Modern Irish Society Essay

Introduction

“In medieval society the idea of childhood did not exist; this is not to suggest that children were neglected, forsaken or despised. The idea of childhood is not to be confused with affection for children: it corresponds to an awareness of a particular nature which distinguishes the child from the adult, even the young adult.” (Aries, 1962: p.128).

In modern society childhood is seen as a particular period of life that human beings have to undergo. It is separate from the other periods of life and has some special needs that must be fulfilled. Modern society has designed codes of ethics and laws that deal with this period of life (Kehily, 1004: p.4). But has it been always like this? How did the concept of childhood that we have emerge? In this essay, I will try to explain the concept of childhood by Philippe Aries along with the support, and critique, of other authors. Scholars like Mary Jane Kehily, Chris Jens, Barbara Hanawalt and Anthony Burton. I will show the historical account that Aries makes about the concept of childhood in medieval times, in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, up to modern times. This will be the first part. After doing that our focus will go to the nowadays Irish society and the practical implementation of this concept in everyday life. I will try to explore some of the positive and negative effects that this concept has had in Irish society. This will be the second part. At the end I will conclude with a short summary of what has been written.

The concept of childhood

Philippe Aries’ above mentioned book was the first spark of interest in the child-related social studies. Until that time sociologists, psychologists, historians, and other social science scholars had not paid much attention to the concept of childhood in Western societies. Aries was the first to argue that this concept was socially constructed and not a natural, pre-determined, one. After the publishing of this work the focus on childhood increased. His work was based on a historical account of how children were conceived in medieval times and how did things evolve to modern times conceptuality of childhood. Centuries ago children were almost invisible and childhood inconceivable. There was no perception in the society of children as different from anyone else. As Jens puts it, there were people that inhabited the planet but their statuses were not established by age or by physical maturity (1996: p.62). Aries constructed his argument by studying medieval art and literature. He found that children were missing in medieval painting representation of daily life. Or even when they were represented they looked like adults in miniature. From historical records is shown that the status of children, along with their role in society, was radically different from how it is conceived in the modern period. As Kehily states (2004: p.53), childhood was seen as a period of immaturity. As such it was a rather negative period prior to becoming an adult man or woman. It was expected that during this period children should be trained with discipline and obedience. To prove the general attitude toward childhood in Western societies during the so-called moralistic period (between sixteenth and eighteenth centuries), Aries (1962: p.160) quotes a French essayist, Montaigne, who states that he “cannot abide that passion for caressing newborn children, which have neither mental activities nor recognizable body shape by which to make themselves loveable”.

Montaigne and other moralists cannot accept the idea of loving children “for our amusement like monkeys or taking pleasure in their games and infantile nonsense” (Aries, 1962: p.131). There are also other authors that agree with Aries on this issue. Barbara Hanawalt in her book Growing Up in Medieval London discusses the life of children and young adolescents in medieval, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, English society. She examines the everyday activities, rights and treatment of children and she, also, points out that life was very difficult for this category of human beings. There was high mortality among children and adolescents (1993: p.66). Another interesting point is the fact that children were encouraged to play the role of adults. They were supposed to act like adults and dress like them. I can bring one historical event as example. Sociologist William A. Corsaro recalls the historical event of St. Nicholas day, the day of the “young bishops”. This was a holiday in which young boys, children, would dress like bishops. They would take charge of the church and held services and sermons just like real bishops. For that day they would be fully respectfully treated as an adult bishop. Practically speaking, they were becoming adults for that day (Corsaro, 1997: p.65). For us, in modern societies, there is a particular nature, a particular status, that distinguishes a child form an adult. And it is the awareness that one has over this particular status constitutes our “modern idea of childhood” (Aries, 1962: p.131). it was exactly this awareness that was lacking in medieval society. This is an important point to make. In medieval times, children of peasant and aristocracy alike, dressed and acted as they were adults. There was no distinctiveness between childhood, adolescence or youth. The duty of a child was to become an adult as soon as possible. But things began to change after the period of Enlightenment. Its philosophy brought to eighteen century Europe a new era of confidence over the possibilities of human happiness. Jens points out that “special credit must go to Rousseau for calling attention to the need of children” (1996: p.65). We see that gradually within societies concerns about child well-being and moral welfare began to appear. We were heading toward the modern conceptualization of the status of children in society. A gradual evolution that brought a totally different conceptualization of the status of children within family and society. But there are authors that show skepticism over Aries’s hypotheses. To cite one, Anthony Burton (1989: p. 203) notes that it is remarkable how very little criticism has been used toward Aries’s use of iconographic evidence. He argues that expressions of this theme amount to a large body of material which Aries could have analyzed and used and also not limiting himself mainly to French society. Many things were missing from medieval art, not just children, and that is an important point that should not be forgotten. One of the main reasons was that medieval art was entirely dedicated to religious practice and aspects of life. Being so, every aspect of the secular life was not represented (Burton, 1989: p.211). Medieval art was conceived to represent the sublime and that is why secular parts of life, along with children, were not part of it. Should we think that even all of the other things not represented were missing from public, or private, life? This critique demonstrates that it is not academically correct to base ones hypothesis entirely on this kind of iconographic evidence. Aries surely could have done better than relying mostly on this kind of sources.

Childhood in modern Irish society

Since the beginnings of the twentieth century socialist and feminist scholars have argued that, “in a society marked by significant structure inequalities, it would be a mistake to see the State as the neutral enforcer of impartial law” (Archard, 1993: p.110). Many efforts were made in bringing the discourse about children and their rights in the international public scene. This way states would take responsibility in protecting children’s rights. In 1924, the newly formed League of Nations made the first child-related international declaration. This declaration expressed concerns about child hunger around the world and made an emphasis on child provision. At this point, the modern concept of childhood and children rights made their entrance into the international public discussion. In 1948 the biggest international organization in the world, the United Nations, formed a wing that would deal with children related issues. This was the United Nations Children’s Fund, the UNICEF. And, in 1959, countries member of the United Nations approved the Declaration of the Rights of Children. Rights of welfare for children, including development, protection and free education, were addressed in this declaration (Wyness, 2006: p.134). These efforts culminated with the 1989 approval of the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child. This document obliged the state to act as “ultimate protector” and guardian of the rights of children. Ireland ratified the convention in 1992. This Convention states that, “States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.” (Article 12).

“The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers.” (Article 13).

“States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”(Article 14) And that “States Parties recognize the rights of the child to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly.” (Article 15) Anyway, the primary role in child related issues is of the family. The state has an interest in child welfare, in fact it is obliged by law, but it acts as a caretaker at the last instance. Family is the primary caretaker of the child. States duty is to help the family in taking care of their children. In accordance with this the Irish Constitution, Article 42.1, defines the family as the “primary and natural educator of the child”. The State “will respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children”. Since the year 200 the Irish state has developed a National Strategy for Children. In it we find the “homework” of the government regarding children. The State wants children to have a good childhood that can enjoy. It is government duty to do its best in helping every child in everything needed while is growing up in the Republic of Ireland. But it also appoints “duties” to children as well. One of them is that children have to help while they are growing up, also when they grow up, to make Ireland a better place to live in for the future children to come. As the National Children’s Strategy puts it, the goal is to have “An Ireland where children are respected as young citizens with a valued contribution to make and a voice of their own; where all children are cherished and supported by family and the wider society; where they enjoy a fulfilling childhood and realize their potential” (2000:4). In order to do this the Irish state has assigned various institutions duties in relation to child issues. To start with, it is State duty to register all children’s births and public service nurses visit regularly those families that have infants. The Department of Health and Children has duties regarding the pre-school period of children. It is obliged by law of the health care for children. It offers help to families for safeguarding the health of their children. The Department of Education and Science has duties regarding the primary and secondary period of education of children. This department is on charge of the public structures of children education. The Irish state offers free public education to every family for their children (Walsh, 2004: p.2). The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs have a very important role especially in the lives of the more impoverished sections of child population. For example, to adults that qualify for benefits or assistance on a variety of grounds such as illness, unemployment, disability or lone parenthood, an income support is offered by the State for their children. The amount depends on the scheme they qualify but a universal monthly payment (known as the Child Benefit) is offered for every child regardless of means (Clearly et al., 2001: p.12). All of these institutions and measures were taken to protect the child and on the basis of that is the modern concept of childhood as a fragile period of life that is in care of help and attention. But the problem of these policies is that children are seen as much passive beings. The Irish laws, or even the United Nations Convention, do not recognize the child as a fully active actor, participant, of these policies. Recent research in sociology and psychology is showing that having the child only as a passive agent of the policies implemented by the above mentioned institutions is not enough. There is an attempt to understand children and childhood in a wider context where the child is seen as an active social actor. If we presume that the child is a fragile being we cannot fully understand its needs. Furthermore, children will remain the “object” of control from parents, or guardians. Researchers now believe that children should be “subjects” and not “objects” of education and control. So, they are studying children in relation to their socio-cultural experiences and particular backgrounds (Clearly et al., 2001: p.4). There are other authors, like Fahey, that go further and think that the division between childhood and adulthood has brought some children’s rights’ abuse. “In Ireland Fahey has argued that compulsory education can be conceptualized as a form of state control as much as a response to an entitlement to children to education” (Clearly et al., 2001: p.5). These critiques show that we must advance from a concept of childhood where children have are protected by laws and the state guaranties their wellbeing and rights, to a concept that children’s voice must be listened more in society. They should have their say on what they feel is “right” or “wrong”. This is a rather new conception because it deals with the very nature of child psychic. Even in modern conceptualization of childhood the child was seen as not psychologically evolved to give opinions and take responsibility (partial of full) until the majority age. In Ireland, for example, if a child is proved to have broken the law it is not prosecuted the same as an adult. This is because a child bears no responsibility (Walsh, 2004: p.3). This new concept that is emerging requires that children’s voices should listen more because even they have something to say, especially for issues relating their lives.

Conclusions

According to Aries children were forgotten in medieval society. They were not seen as different from adults. There was no differentiated status of childhood. Children were conceived as “little adults” and what was expected from them was to become adults. Aries shows that there was a period in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Moralistic period, where children were expected to learn to act like adults. Other authors, like Hanawalt, support the idea of Aries. But things began to change after the Illuminist period. After the works of Rousseau, children were gradually “idolized” and this laid the ground for the modern concept of childhood. An idea that pretends that childhood is distinct from adulthood and we should have the awareness of this status. But not all scholars agree with Aries and his supporters. I have mentioned above some critique to this concept of childhood.

The second part shows what institutions and policies have the Irish state built to protect children‘s rights and insure their wellbeing. Various critics have argued that there are still negative effects of these policies. The major critique is that children’s voices should be listened more on what they think is right or wrong. This is the reason why the latest sociological and psychological researches study children in their specific socio-cultural background.

Bibliography

Kehily, M. J. 2004, An Introduction to Childhood Studies, Open University Press, Buckingham.

Burton, A. 1989, Looking forward from Aries? Pictorial and material evidence for the history of childhood and family life, Continuity and Chancre, Great Britain.

Jens, Ch. 1996, Childhood, Routledge, London.

Cleary et al. 2001, Understanding Children: State, Education and Economy, Volume one Oak Tree Press, Cork, Ireland.

Archard, D. 1993, Family and State’ is from Children: Rights and Childhood, Routledge, London.

Walsh, Th. 2004, A Historical Overview Of Our Conceptualisation Of Childhood In Ireland In The Twentieth Century, paper presented at CECDE, Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education.

Wyness, M. 2006, Childhood and Society: An Introduction to the Sociology of Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, London.

2000. National Children’s Strategy. Web.