Toxic Childhood: How The Modern World Is Damaging Our Children And What We Can Do About It

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Psychological developments dominated childhood studies for most of the 20th century. Child developmental psychologists are concerned with how certain behaviours develop, how and when they develop and to some extent, the influence of the environment on development. Much of the psychology of child development was built upon what was seen as ‘normal’ expectations within Western societies ( Woodhead, 1999).

One study (reported 2020) based on a sample of 3000 10-16 year olds found that half of them were online for more than 5 hours a day. Childhood has become increasingly commercialised over the last few decades. This is where children are turned into consumers from early years into their teens. This is achieved mainly through advertising products and brands to children through television and more recently social media. The plan forms the second chapter of the government’s childhood obesity strategy. The first chapter was criticized for being too weak when it was published two years ago. In the book, Palmer argues that a toxic mix of technological and cultural changes are having a negative impact on the development of a growing number of children, and she outlines six main ways in which childhood has become increasingly toxic over the years. Six examples of toxic childhood

The development of a coherent, well-funded approach to care and education from pre-birth to age seven, including a kindergarten stage for three- to seven-year-olds emphasising social and emotional development and outdoor play. According to Early Years Matters play underpins every aspect of children’s development. Children develop intellectual, language, social, emotional, and creative skills through play. school leaving age raised to 15 (also the year of the Tripartite system and massive increase in funding to build new secondary modern schools) Point 1 – Sue Palmer argues that the family isn’t child centred because of toxic childhood. This is where rapid social and technological changes have led to children being harmed – e.g. fast food/ computer games/ long hours worked by parents. Recent technological changes have resulted in significant harms to children – what Sociologist Sue Palmer refers to as Toxic Childhood.

While parents and society like to think of the family as being more child centred, and where this is the case, it is not at all clear that this is a good thing. Moreover, there is considerable evidence that this is not the case – Changing women’s roles, new technologies, government polices all seem to work against child centredness. The view in the question is far from the last word on this topic. A Level Sociology Families and Households Revision Bundle What you make of this data very much depends on how much you trust it – if you take it at face value, then it seems that poor white girls are suffering a real crisis in mental health, which suggests we need urgent research into why this is… and possibly some extra cash to help deal with it. Childhood makes up part of the families and households option in the first year of A-level Sociology.Without concerted action, our children’s physical and mental health will continue to deteriorate, with long-term results for UK society that are frankly unthinkable. We didn't need parenting books in my day!!" - A old lady sat next to me on the bus proudly boasts to me. Childhood has become increasingly regulated and there is an expectation that children should always be learning at a standardised pace to keep up with ‘ordinary’ child development. Unfortunately the and the free information (arguably like childhood) has disappeared, and it now just links to her books, which you have to pay for. (I guess times are hard for adults as well as children, especially when you’re used to a headteacher’s salary!) Bill and Melinda Gate’s limit their children’s use of technology: their children don’t have smart phones and only use a computer in the kitchen.

Marketisation from 1988 has greatly increased the role of testing in schools. This has led to a narrowing of the curriculum as more time is spent on teaching children to jump through the hoops required to pass exams. The 1870 Education Act introduced Education for all children aged 5-12, although this was voluntary at the time. The decline of outdoor play also means children are getting less exercise today and it is correlated with increasing childhood obesity. It could also be having a detrimental impact of children’s mental health. If children are to develop the self-regulation and emotional resilience required to thrive in modern technological culture, they need unhurried engagement with caring adults and plenty of self-directed outdoor play, especially during their early years (0–7). We therefore urge the government to take immediate action, including:The government has also recently announced an increase to the amount of time children should spend in school. From September 2024 children should be. in school for 6.5 hours a day or a minimum of 32.5 hours a week. The decline of listening, language and communication skills Anna Feuchtwang, NCB chief executive said: “This study of thousands of children gives us the most compelling evidence available about the extent of mental ill health among children in the UK, and Lead author of the study Dr Praveetha Patalay said the mental health difficulties faced by girls had reached “worryingly high” proportions. Work – Policies which regulated and restricted child labour, leading to the eventual exclusion of children from paid work. Government policy in 2023 discourages younger people from taking on full time work because younger people receive lower wages.