Changing childhoods

There have been and continue to be many discussions on what childhood 'should be' and how it is changing with the introduction of modern technology.

Pratibha Prashar blames the 'machine age' for speeding up with child innocence process. Below are some extracts from her article "Childhood: the meaning has changed".

"I feel that today the children have actually lost their childhood much before they should have. If we try to define childhood, an important characteristic of it comes out to be the innocence along with many others like naughtiness, excitement, inquisitiveness etc. This childhood innocence is what is severely lacking today. Children do not reflect their age; they talk and walk ahead of their age. Just go to any park or playground and listen to the discussions of the children with their peer group and you will be surprised to know about the topics they are discussing."

"The culprits are actually many. A major culprit is the media, electronic media in particular. The kind of TV programmes our children watch, it is no surprise that the cases of shootouts and sexual abuse are being reported so often in the schools. With so many channels and endless number of violence and vulgarity-ridden programmes children have such an easy access to the adult material? You must know some parents worried of the fact that children are being spoiled by these TV programmes. Who should be questioned for this?"

"Another equally contributing factor is the overall environment in which the child is growing today. With both the parents working, children are deprived of the attention and love required to properly nurture the young minds. They get unrequited freedom, which is generally misused by them. At the same time, they learn to take their own decisions in the absence of parents: First the small ones like deciding the way to spend their pocket money and ultimately the big ones."

"Considering all these factors, it is no wonder that children are much more mature than their age…but the matter must be taken seriously if we want our children to relive our own memorable childhood. I want my child to ask me the questions like why the sky is blue and where do the stars go in the morning, rather then telling me the answers to these after searching the Internet. Maturity should come with age and experience rather than at the cost of innocent childhood."

However, the notion of 'childhood' has been changing for many years. It would be wrong to think that every child has lived a similar childhood since the notion was discovered. 

"during the Middle Ages children were depicted and seen as being

small adults by the eighteenth century there was a general understanding that ‘childhood’

meant a stage of life which was widely recognised in a number of ways. This

involved the coming of children’s clothing, distinctive from that of adults, an end to

their being depicted as small adults in books and illustrations, as well as the appearance

and wider recognition of children’s games and pastimes and a growing sense of

the innocence of childhood."

"It should be remembered too that in most societies children were needed as part

of the workforce to sustain the economy. In this context it would have been an

inappropriate luxury to spend too much dwelling on the particular needs of childhood."

(Extracts from Roy Lowe, 'Childhood Through The Ages' found: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/26767_03_Maynard_&_Thomas_CH_02.pdf)

Personally I believe that although certain aspects of child innocence have changed, such as the toys children play with and the language and images they are exposed to, they all still go through the same process of being naive, learning and, ultimately, innocence. This is what I hope to display in my photographs, in aim that everyone can relate to certain areas of child innocence.