Theoretical Concepts of Childhood and the Role of Family in Modern Society

This essay explores the theoretical concepts related to childhood in the modern society and the role of family in shaping children's behavior, attitude, values, and beliefs. It discusses different theories related to childhood such as Psychosexual Developmental Theory of Freud, Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, and Conflict Theories of Education: Bourdieu on Cultural Capital.

4CF004 Growing Up in the
21st Century

Young people family and community with foundation year
Childhood is regarded as a natural biological stage of development or a contemporary
idea or invention. Theories in context of child is being related with what a child is, the nature
of the child and the main function of the childhood and the manner in which the concept of
the child is utilized in the community. This essay will look into the theoretical concepts for
exploring the meaning of childhood in the modern society and will also going to takes into
account the manners in which the family and family practices are being formed by the
broader communal effects as well as societal strategy. The essay will also throw light on the
ways in which the family is considered as harbour along with children as happy and innocent
and will also match the reality of lives of young people and children. Thoughts of
improvement recommend that whenever kids have developed then they are not generally
viewed as youngsters, but a second's thought can undoubtedly infer errors which sabotage
this view (Garrett, 2013). Youngsters are habitually completely developed and could be seen
as more than adequate at caring for themselves at some stage during auxiliary school but
general public actually considers them youthful and names them kids. Haven
All across the human history, the development of children which takes place right
from the birth to adulthood was majorly ignored. Further, children were mostly considered as
the small version of grownups and small focus was given to plentiful developments in
reasoning aptitudes, bodily growing and linguistic convention that takes place throughout the
adolescence and childhood. Interest in the arena of child enhancement at long latter
happening to arise right off the bat in the twentieth period, though it would in universal zero
in on unusual way of behaving. In the end, analysts twisted out to be increasingly fascinated
through dissimilar subjects together with common kid advancement along with the effects on
improvement. There are numerous child development theories that have been projected by
scholars as well as analysts (Guy-Evans, 2020). Current theories roughly draft the
determinative stages of teenagers in addition identify the ordinary years at which these
expansion attainments take place. Some of the important theories related to childhood are as
follows:
Psychosexual Developmental Theory of Freud – This theory is being created with
the effort of Sigmund Freud. While working with the patients who are grieving from the
psychological disease, Freud came to believe that youthful involvements as well as insensible
requirements impacts the behaviour. As per the author, conflicts that takes place throughout
each of these stages can have an enduring impact on the conduct as well as temperament. He
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projected one of the best-known grand theories related to child development (Woodhead,
2013). As per the Psychosexual Developmental, development of the child takes place in a
sequence of stages emphasize on varied pleasure fields of the body. Throughout each of the
stages, the child come across struggles or flights that plays a key role in the course of
evolution. Further, it has been recommended by the him that the energy of the libido was
engrossed on varied erogenous zones at specific phases. Effectively accomplishing of each
and every level will result in the evolution of a healthy adult personality. However, failing in
resolving the issue or fight of a specific level might lead in fixations which can impact the
behaviour of an adult (Harkess-Murphy, MacDonald and Ramsay, 2013).
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory – The biological frameworks of
Bronfenbrenner theory realize child development as a mind-boggling preparation of
acquaintances impacted through abundant degree of universal environment, from prompt
settings of family as well as school to extensive communal potentials, regulations as well as
duties. Bronfenbrenner has suggested that the environment of the youngster is a settled course
of action of designs, each held inside the following. He synchronized them organized by the
quantity of a consequence they have on a child. He termed these designs the microsystem,
mesosystem, biological system, macrosystem and the chronosystem. Since, the five outlines
are interconnected, the influence of one outline on a youngster's progression depend on upon
its association with the others (Hayes, O'Toole and Halpenny, 2017).
Conflict Theories of Education: Bourdieu on Cultural Capital – Bourdieu struggled
that the descendants of employed class or additional wealthy protectors are reasonable have
social resources - data, behaviour, attitudes and communal meetings - that assures that they
prevail in education. Wealth is generally utilized for referring cash. As designated by
Marxists, having capital gives the rich influence. Pierre Bourdieu (a social scientist impacted
by Marxist thoughts) contended that cash gives the well-off power, yet social resources as
well. Bourdieu fostered the notion of physique through which he disguised a philosophy or
viewpoint that is linked with a communal class or gathering (Kelly and Coughlan, 2019). Our
background, as an individual from that gathering, profoundly implant in us propensities,
abilities and approaches to acting and thinking. Thusly, social capital isn't simply knowing
the names of old-style authors or slipping into a touch of Latin (however both can be valuable
abilities) yet can likewise be shown through substantially more unobtrusive and profoundly
instilled credits.
According to Groves (2015), the family is being regarded as the noteworthy
communal foundation and a position of a very remarkable communal movement of an
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individual. It is a communal component finished by body fluid, wedding, or reception, and
can be portrayed as nuclear or extended. It is by and large accepted nowadays that the
advanced family has gone through critical changes in its construction. It has been informed
that cultural modifications have added to a sharp decrease in the level of traditional "average"
families, basically nuclear families. Supplanting these, all are made to comprehend, are
childless families, one-parent families, other family setups, and semi nuclear families in view
of non-conjugal dwelling together. This contention of the downfall has been progressed for
many years, yet little examination has been directed to test the reason.
In the current times, there is an enormous concern regarding the evolution of the
conduct and development of children. Many researchers have studied this field of subject and
some of the theories have also highlighted the ways in which family plays a very crucial role
in the development children and young people. From the international viewpoint, children
amid the age group of 6 to 10 years are in a merging face about the learnings learnt in the first
childhood, formulating for teenage years. From the age of six there is a countless reasoning
alteration occur, the children initiate to comprehend the globe around him or her, acquiring
abilities to solve issues, searching novel resolutions, learning to reproduce critic and
comprehend that other have a varied perspective and that it can bring consequences to them
and to the communication amid them (Araújo, 2017). Some authors have taken the family
role has the basic agent of socialization due to the fact that it is within the family that children
commenced to learn attitudes, behaviour, values and beliefs by the society. Thus, the
socialization procedure has a manner of children to acquire belief, social, values accepted
behaviour. It is within the household and in their imprison association that the child study the
fundamental rules of socialization, responsibilities, values and attitudes being the future
conduct pacified by the imprison learning.
As per Xie and et.al. (2019), family and family practices are being impacted and
formed by the communal effects and social strategy. Talking first in relation with the social
influence, it is the cycle by which people adjust their perspective, re-examine their
convictions, or change their way of behaving because of social associations with others. In
emphatically inter-related community, social impact assumes an unmistakable part in
numerous self-coordinated peculiarities, for example, crowding in social business sectors, the
spread of thoughts and developments, and the intensification of fears in pestilences. In
different biological as well as social systems, individuals depend on observations of others to
familiarize their conduct, rescript their decisions and making their judgements. In reality, the
people are being steadily being exposed to a steady movement of views, decisions and advice
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of others in regards political notions and new technologies and commercial items (Langford
and et.al, 2014).
When faced the views of peers on a particular problem, people tend to filter as well as
integrate the social data being received by them and make adjustments of their own belief as
per that. In addition to this, at the rule of the group, repeated social influences between the
group members might give growth to multifaceted outlines of sentiments undercurrents like,
preparation of agreement. For illustration, if in particular society women are not allowed to
go out at work and then the families will also like to follow the same practices. Furthermore,
if in a specified society there is a racial prejudice then same kind of opinion can take place
among the friends, family and co-workers and shapes the cultural market.
On the other hand, the social policy also helps in shaping the family and family
practices. Social policies are being referred as the plans or the actions of state activities for
example, well-being and social services, schools, other bodies and wellbeing assistances
scheme. Social policies are being based on the laws which are being announced by the
governments that offers the framework within which these agencies functions. Most of the
social policies impacts the families and their practices in some way or the other. Some are
expected unswervingly at families like laws which are controlling the marriages,
contraception, divorce, child adoption and protection and so on. In addition to this, policies
are not essentially aimed particularly at families however will have an influence in families
(Berridge, 2012). This kind of policies will comprise those on education, crime, housing,
education and others. Moreover, there are different policies that influence upon families that
make alterations to the laws related to advantages and taxes, for example child tax credits.
For example, the Child Benefit Bill introduced for the first time a universal payment for each
child. Other than this, there are different social policies as well such as the 1969 Divorce Act
(and the 1984 Divorce Act) and Maternity and Paternity Policy – The Employment Protection
Act of 1975 and the ‘Paternity Act’ (2010) which affects the family life significantly and also
shapes their practices as well.
Underpinning the discussion further, family plays a very important role in the
development of children and in shaping their behaviour, attitude, values and beliefs. It has
been rightly said hat family act or is seen as a harbour along with children as pleased and
blameless. A family is a gathering related by blood. In other words, they have normal
progenitors, and they frequently live respectively under one rooftop. A family ordinarily
contains grandparents, guardians, youngsters, uncles, aunties and cousins. There is a
tremendous significance of family in the lives of each and every individual. In present day
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times, this family arrangement might change from one spot to another, as an ever-increasing
number of individuals are currently relocating to different urban areas or nations to make
money (). Relatives are getting isolated, and youngsters pass on their folks to seek after their
investigations and vocations; family live miles separated and are frequently unfit to meet up
for quite a long time. The customary meaning of the family no longer remains constant in this
day and age. As the pressure is mounting nowadays, it is normal to see couples getting
separated and a solitary parent bringing up kids. In this way, there are a wide range of family
that is seen nowadays. The first meaning of family is a gathering related by blood is likewise
updated now to incorporate took on relations. Many individuals embrace youngsters to satisfy
their craving of having children. Such a unit is likewise called a family, as the power of
profound devotion intently connects them.
According to Tami and Videon (2016), it is irrefutable that individuals are social
creatures. Thusly, they need social bonds to flourish in this world. Very much like air, water
and food are necessities for endurance of an individual, in similar way, the requirement for
association and bond with other people is likewise an essential need fundamental for human
endurance. A family is a gathering of close ties that give children and young people this
ground for correspondence and joint effort from the day they are conceived. For that reason,
it is said that family, guardians and family members assume a vital part in building a
youngster's character. Family is the first and fundamental emotionally supportive network in
the existence of a person. Furthermore, it has been proved by the investigators and
psychologists that children and young people who are being surrounded by families which
are caring they grow up to be happy as well as innocent and more successful as compared to
the those who does not have supportive families (Lippard and et.al., 2018). Certainly, in this
time of worsening association, the significance of family is becoming ostensible as more and
more children as well as young people and teenagers are coming across with the sicknesses
pertaining to physical and mental due to poor and ferocious environment at home. This kind
of environment is not favourable to optimal evolution of human being and generates
dysfunctional individuals who cannot live rewarding lives. other than the mental as well as
physical health, the family is also important in relation with other type of help such as skills,
abilities, education, finances and spiritualism. A family is the one which offers a safe harbour
or haven for a child and nourishes the children and young people with good health, financial
support, spiritual direction and necessary abilities. Therefore, with the support of the family
children become innocent and happy (Paat, 2013).
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Conclusion
The idea of experience growing up, alike to any expansion, was industrialized from a
strong linkage between views and advancements inside a superiority of communal, party-
political, and financial requirements. Assumptions of young life as a notion are in many cases
extraordinarily sheltered, in other words, they manage obvious modifications discovering the
advancement after some time of the mental or close to home meaning of experience growing
up as understood from the state of maturity. Till 1990s, assumptions of life as a youngster
would in not entirely set in stone in that frame of mind "down" move toward which some
have depicted as imperialist. This is lawful for theories in relation with the ancient kid as
much as the advanced kid. Children themselves, although the principal point of hypothesis,
have not by and large been regarded as having a real voice in affecting its creation.
Notwithstanding, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) established an
environment for revaluating this propensity and a resulting limelight on gainful attention to
the perspectives on the kid and youngsters' freedoms of articulation overall. This has
determined an insufficient investigators to examine authorizing teenagers themselves to
ponder their own insight of experience growing up, transporting in regards with the use of
complete inspection procedures and more equitable systems for distribution (Martins and
Galam, 2013). The essay has significantly determined the manners in which the social
influences and social policy helps in shaping the family and family practices. It has also
determined the role of family in the development if children and young people and clearly
evidenced the interconnection amid the children, young people, families and society.
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