Postman’s thesis on the ‘disappearance’ of childhood.

There is no single set of beliefs about children; childhood is a social and cultural construct. Social constructionism is concerned with ideas about children, not facts about them. Indeed, many social constructionists would deny the existence of any universal facts about children (Woodhead and Montgomery 2003:46). Ideas about children change because they are dependent on their social, cultural and historical context. The ideas held concerning children have consequences, they affect the way children are treated and thought about (James and James 2008:122). Postman (1994) believes that childhood in its’ current conception is ‘disappearing.’ The following text will critically discuss Postman’s (1994) theory, principally it will consider the role he give to the media, secrets, violence against children and children’s games.

For the idea of childhood to come into being, there was a change in the adult world; specifically adulthood must be defined differently, adults must become the ‘care takers’ of children. This change happened during the middle of the fifteenth century, propelled by the invention of the printing press, which in turn developed a new symbolic world. The new adulthood excluded children; therefore it became necessary to create a new childhood (Postman 1994:21). Childhood is acknowledged to exist, as a feature of the natural order. The child became a special creature with a different nature and different needs, who require protection from the adult world (Postman 1994:37).

Childhood can be defined as bundle of ideas and sentiments that characterise the socially constructed nature of childhood (Wyness 2006). Therefore, childhood and children’s experiences of everyday life are constructed by adults throu...

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James, A. and James, A. (2008) ‘Key Concepts in Childhood Studies,’ London: Sage.

Mayall, B. (2003) Towards a sociology of childhood, thinking from children’s lives, Berkshire: Open University Press.

Postman, N, (1994) (Eds) ‘The disappearance of childhood’, New York: Random house.

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Woodhead, M. and Montgomery, H. (Eds) (2003) ‘Understanding childhood: an interdisciplinary approach,’ Milton Keynes: John Wiley and sons in association with The Open University.

Wyness, M. (2006) ‘Childhood and society: an introduction to the sociology of childhood,’ Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Wyness, M. (2000) ‘Contesting childhood,’ London: Falmer Press.