In this, the first sociology book to consider the important issue of how children identify with place and nation, the authors use original research and international case studies to explore this topic in depth. The book is rooted in original qualitative research the authors conducted with a diverse sample of children (aged eight to eleven) across Wales, but this data is also located in the context of existing international research on place identity. The book features analysis of lively exchanges between children on their local, national and global identities, politics, language and race. It engages with important social and political questions such as whether cultural distinctiveness can be preserved in a context of globalization, whether we are destined to passively receive dominant representations of the nation or can creatively construct our own versions; and whether national identities are necessarily exclusive. Most importantly, the book focuses on what local and national identities mean to children in an era of cultural and economic globalization. Including material on racialization, language, politics, class and gender, Children, Place and Identity will be a valuable resource to students and researchers of childhood studies and the sociology of childhood.

In this, the first sociology book to consider the important issue of how children identify with place and nation, the authors use original research and international case studies to explore this topic in depth. The book is rooted in original qualitative research the authors conducted with a diverse sample of children (aged eight to eleven) across Wales, but this data is also located in the context of existing international research on place identity. The book features analysis of lively exchanges between children on their local, national and global identities, politics, language and race. It engages with important social and political questions such as whether cultural distinctiveness can be preserved in a context of globalization, whether we are destined to passively receive dominant representations of the nation or can creatively construct our own versions; and whether national identities are necessarily exclusive. Most importantly, the book focuses on what local and national identities mean to children in an era of cultural and economic globalization. Including material on racialization, language, politics, class and gender, Children, Place and Identity will be a valuable resource to students and researchers of childhood studies and the sociology of childhood.

Great Myths of Child Development reveals the latest evidence-based science behind the myths and misconceptions about the developing child. * Shatters the most commonly-held child development myths * Reveals the science behind such topical issues as twin-telepathy, sex-prediction, and imaginary friends * Covers hot-button issues like childhood vaccines, spankings, time-outs, and breastfeeding of older children * Features numerous pop culture references and examples drawn from popular TV shows and movies, such as Duck Dynasty, Modern Family and Mad Men * Points to a wealth of supplementary resources for interested parents from evidence-based treatments and self-help books to relevant websites

Kids snatched from their bedrooms, shot at in school, fatter than ever, prone to risk-taking and cruelty...is childhood today as bad as the news accounts would have us believe? Is this generation headed for disaster? Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today's Youth critically examines the hottest news stories of the past few years to assess whether the news is really as bad as it sounds. For instance, is kidnapping by strangers really a bigger threat now than in the past? Are disputes at school now settled with guns instead of fists? And are kids, especially girls, becoming bigger bullies than ever before? Kids These Days looks at the stories that made headlines and goes deeper to explore overall trends and statistics to compare the hype to reality. The truth is, kids today do face unique obstacles and challenges, but their situation isn't nearly as dire as the compelling news accounts would have us believe. Our nation's youth have been targeted as a problem population to absolve adult responsibility for creating the often dangerous and difficult conditions many young people must endure. Kids These Days will give the reader pause and perspective to better understand the realities of the first generation to come of age in the twenty-first century.

Kids snatched from their bedrooms, shot at in school, fatter than ever, prone to risk-taking and cruelty_is childhood today as bad as the news accounts would have us believe? Is this generation headed for disaster? Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today's Youth critically examines the hottest news stories of the past few years to assess whether the news is really as bad as it sounds. For instance, is kidnapping by strangers really a bigger threat now than in the past? Are disputes at school now settled with guns instead of fists? And are kids, especially girls, becoming bigger bullies than ever before? Kids These Days looks at the stories that made headlines and goes deeper to explore overall trends and statistics to compare the hype to reality. The truth is, kids today do face unique obstacles and challenges, but their situation isn't nearly as dire as the compelling news accounts would have us believe. Our nation's youth have been targeted as a problem population to absolve adult responsibility for creating the often dangerous and difficult conditions many young people must endure. Kids These Days will give the reader pause and perspective to better understand the realities of the first generation to come of age in the twenty-first century.

Now in paperback, Inventing the Child is a highly entertaining, humorous, and at times acerbic account of what it means to be a child (and a parent) in America at the dawn of the new millennium. J. Zornado explores the history and development of the concept of childhood, starting with the works of Calvin, Freud, and Rousseau and culminating with the modern 'consumer' childhood of Dr. Spock and television. The volume discusses major media depictions of childhood and examines the ways in which parents use different forms of media to swaddle, educate, and entertain their children. Zornado argues that the stories we tell our children contain the ideologies of the dominant culture - which, more often than not, promote 'happiness' at all costs, materialism as the way to happiness, and above all, obedience to the dominant order.

Featuring original research findings from a key Chinese national research centre, this book provides researchers with cutting-edge, reliable and comprehensive information about children and youth in modern China. The book employs a unique methodology to analyze China's youth in terms of human capital development in a transitional economy. Coverage spans a wide range of critical issues, including: children's physical and mental development, leisure and consumption choices, youth employment, pop culture, one-child families, internet use, and juvenile delinquency. Written specifically for undergraduate and graduate courses in Economics, China studies, and Development, the book will also be of interest to those wishing to understand Chinese consumer behaviour in this diverse and dynamic region.

Kids in Context is a comprehensive overview of the new and rapidly growing field of sociology of children and childhoods. It includes explication of theories and empirical evidence about children's social worlds, from their day-to-day experiences in their homes, neighborhoods and schools to the impact on their lives of political, economic, and social trends at the global level. Alternative perceptions of children and childhood and the implications of children's subordinate social status will be examined. In keeping with the authors' view of children as active participants in society rather than simply as passive recipients of adult care and control, each chapter contains data gathered directly from children, and examples of children's contributions to their families, communities and societies are noted. In a pair of chapters on family life, the authors examine the mutual effects of kids and parents on each other as well as the implications of changing family structures and modes of child rearing. Other chapters are devoted to the dynamics of children's group life and the creation and dissemination of children's culture, both locally and globally. Variations in childhoods resulting from inequalities of race and ethnicity, social class and gender are compared, with special attention to groups of children who have been marginalized or treated mainly as "social problems." The final chapter contains an assessment of alternative strategies for enhancing children's status and well-being.

Kids in Context is a comprehensive overview of the new and rapidly growing field of sociology of children and childhoods. It includes explication of theories and empirical evidence about children's social worlds, from their day-to-day experiences in their homes, neighborhoods and schools to the impact on their lives of political, economic, and social trends at the global level. Alternative perceptions of children and childhood and the implications of children's subordinate social status will be examined. In keeping with the authors' view of children as active participants in society rather than simply as passive recipients of adult care and control, each chapter contains data gathered directly from children, and examples of children's contributions to their families, communities and societies are noted. In a pair of chapters on family life, the authors examine the mutual effects of kids and parents on each other as well as the implications of changing family structures and modes of child rearing. Other chapters are devoted to the dynamics of children's group life and the creation and dissemination of children's culture, both locally and globally. Variations in childhoods resulting from inequalities of race and ethnicity, social class and gender are compared, with special attention to groups of children who have been marginalized or treated mainly as 'social problems.' The final chapter contains an assessment of alternative strategies for enhancing children's status and well-being.

In this book Chris Jenks looks at what the ways in which we construct our image of childhood can tell us about ourselves. After a general discussion of the social construction of childhood, the book is structured around three examples of the way the image of the child is played out in society:

• 
  
• the history of childhood from medieval times through the enlightenment 'discovery' of childhood to the present
• 
  
• the mythology and reality of child abuse and society's response to it
• 
  
• the 'death' of childhood in cases such as the James Bulger murder in which the child itself becomes the perpetrator of evil.

Part of the highly successful Key Ideas series, this book gives students a concise, provocative insight into some of the controlling concepts of our culture.

This collection of authoritative studies portrays how the A basic agencies of socialization transform the newborn human organism into a social person capable of interacting with others. Socialization differs from one society to another and within any society from one segment to another. "Childhood Socialization "samples some of that variation, giving the reader a glimpse of socialization in contexts other than those with which he or she is likely to be familiar.

In the years since publication of the first edition of this book in 1988, childhood has become a territory open to broader sociological investigation. In this revised edition, Gerald Handel has selected and gathered new contributions that analyze the agents of socialization, including family, school, and peer group, and explore the influences of television and gender. The balance of classical studies and more recent work reflecting changes in the family structure renews the centrality of this anthology for courses in the social psychology of children up to adolescence.

The book is divided into nine parts: "Socialization, Indi-viduation, and the Self; "Historical Changes in Attitudes Toward Children"; "Families as Socialization Agents"; "Daycare and Nursery School as Socialization Agents"; "Schools as Socialization Agents"; "Peer Groups as Socialization Agents"; "Television and its Influence"; "Gender Socialization"; and "Social Stratification and Inequality in Socialization." While socialization continues on into the adolescent and adult years, childhood socialization is primary, essential in creating the human person and in shaping the identity, outlook, skills, and resources of the evolving person. "Childhood Socialization "is a dynamic volume that will be of continuing interest to students and scholars of family studies, sociology, psychology, and modern culture.

Based on a study of 12,000 elementary schoolchildren in eight large and medium-sized American cities, this book presents the first large-scale study of political attitude formation in children. The authors view political development from the perspective of a general theory of socialization, and compare the influences of social class, intelligence, teacher attitude, and religious membershipon the growth of political attitudes.
The book outlines the way in which the child's political awareness evolvesfrom identification with authority figures such as father, policeman, the president, to a grasp of more abstract political concepts and the rudiments of political participation. Illuminating a topic of great theoretical concern and practical educational importance, the book is a significant contribution to the fields of political sociology, child development and educational psychology, and an important reference work for all concerned with the processes of socialization and of attitude formation in general.
"The Development of Political Attitudes in Children" was based on a major survey, the first of its kind, begun at the University of Chicago in 1960 to ascertain information about the induction of children into the political life of the United States, to describe the nature of socialization into citizenship roles, and to examine pre-adult political learning and behavior in terms of other implications for the stability of the political system. Professor Frederick Frey of MIT described it as "an indispensable work for all who are trying to develop this new and tremendously important vineyardas nearly indispensable as any book of the past several years."
"Their verbatim interviews with grade-schoolers are pungent and entertaining. A useful homework assignment for mothers and fathers.""New York Times"
"Robert D. Hess" was the Lee L. Jacks Professor Emeritus of Child Education at Stanford University. He was one of the nation's pioneers in the study of child development and the social influences on children's intellectual growth. His work laid the foundations of current enrichment programs such as Headstart and Follow Through. He died in 1993. "Judith V. Torney-Purta" is professor in the Department of Human Development, University of Maryland. "Jaan Valsiner" is professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Clark University.

In the vast anthropological literature devoted to hunter-gatherer societies, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the place of hunter-gatherer children. Children often represent 40 percent of hunter-gatherer populations, thus nearly half the population is omitted from most hunter-gatherer ethnographies and research. This volume is designed to bridge the gap in our understanding of the daily lives, knowledge, and development of hunter-gatherer children.

The twenty-six contributors to Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods use three general but complementary theoretical approaches--evolutionary, developmental, cultural--in their presentations of new and insightful ethnographic data. For instance, the authors employ these theoretical orientations to provide the first systematic studies of hunter-gatherer children's hunting, play, infant care by children, weaning and expressions of grief. The chapters focus on understanding the daily life experiences of children, and their views and feelings about their lives and cultural change. Chapters address some of the following questions: why does childhood exist, who cares for hunter-gatherer children, what are the characteristic features of hunter-gatherer children's development and what are the impacts of culture change on hunter-gatherer child care?

The book is divided into five parts. The first section provides historical, theoretical and conceptual framework for the volume; the second section examines data to test competing hypotheses regarding why childhood is particularly long in humans; the third section expands on the second section by looking at who cares for hunter-gatherer children; the fourth section explores several developmental issues such as weaning, play and loss of loved ones; and, the final section examines the impact of sedentism and schools on hunter-gatherer children.

This pioneering volume will help to stimulate further research and scholarship on hunter-gatherer childhoods, thereby advancing our understanding of the way of life that characterized most of human history and of the processes that may have shaped both human development and human evolution.

Alan Prout discusses the place of children and childhood in the late modernity. He argues that as the general social and economic climate has been increasingly dominated by uncertainty, so there appears to be a greater cultural confusion about the appropriate form that childhood should take. There is an increasing tendency to see children as individuals with rights, however, there are also calls for, and measures to implement, the greater surveillance, control and regulation of children. This volume addresses this issue. It shows that the social, economic and technological uncertainties, and the pace of change in the late modernity, have brought child-adult relationships to the point of crisis.
The book looks at the issues involved in balancing the well-being, and future well-being of children in industrialised countries. These assessments of future wellbeing are based around recent research looking at social trends in several countries. Importantly, the book also looks at the inclusion and participation of young people in the decision-making process.

Alan Prout discusses the place of children and childhood in the late modernity. He argues that as the general social and economic climate has been increasingly dominated by uncertainty, so there appears to be a greater cultural confusion about the appropriate form that childhood should take. There is an increasing tendency to see children as individuals with rights, however, there are also calls for, and measures to implement, the greater surveillance, control and regulation of children. This volume addresses this issue. It shows that the social, economic and technological uncertainties, and the pace of change in the late modernity, have brought child-adult relationships to the point of crisis.
The book looks at the issues involved in balancing the well-being, and future well-being of children in industrialised countries. These assessments of future wellbeing are based around recent research looking at social trends in several countries. Importantly, the book also looks at the inclusion and participation of young people in the decision-making process.

In the second edition of What All Children Need, Linda Dunlap provides important new information and guidance for educators, counselors, clinicians, and others who deal with children's development. Although concepts and ideas from numerous educational and psychological theorists are included, the book's framework is based on the seven levels of Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs." Dunlap's intent is to provide concrete and practical examples of ways to nurture developmental needs of children in relation to Maslow's theory. Teachers, child-care providers, psychologists, counselors, social workers, therapists, and school administrators and staff will find this book of interest.

Over 100,000 children were sent across the seas to Canada between 1869 and the late 1930s. Thousands of others were dispatched to Australia - as well as to New Zealand, South Africa and Rhodesia - up to and even after the Second World War. These young migrants came from charitable organizations or children's homes, and were sent to find a better life as agricultural workers and servants, mechanics and skilled artisans. They were the 'superfluous thousands' of Britain's cities, including workhouse paupers, reformatory inmates, children from industrial schools and those rescued from slums and the streets. Ranging from five- and six-year olds to teenagers, all were thrust into an alien world from which there was little chance of return. This compelling book tells the story of this controversial practice, from the accounts of those involved and the authentic records of the time. It traces the people behind the migrations - exploring their beliefs and aspirations for the children in their care. It considers the roles that different organizations (including the Children's Society, National Children's Home and the Catholic Nugent Society Care Homes) played as well as the shipping lines that carried the children from Liverpool, Glasgow and other ports and the centers that received them overseas. Most importantly, it describes the experiences of the children themselves. Clear-sighted and objective, this is a gripping tale of the good, the bad and the ugly based on original documents from The National Archives and other sources. Above all, it celebrates those who welcomed the migrants and the children who managed, against all the odds, to adapt to their new lives.

The Future of Memory interviews more than 30 individuals who were children at the time of the Argentine dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. They include children of parents disappeared and murdered by the military, children off families who had to go into exile, and 'stolen children', taken from their parents and raised by military families in ignorance of their true origin. It examines how children experience state terror and loss, and in doing so provides a very personal introduction to the recent political past in Argentina.

Concern is growing about the effectiveness of television advertising regulation in the light of technological developments in the media. There is currently a rapid growth of TV platforms in terrestrial, sattelite, and cable formats and these will soon move into digital transmission. These all offer opportunities for greater commercilization through advertising on media that have not previously been exploited. In democratic societies, there is a tension between freedom of speech rights and the harm that might be done to children through commercial messages. This book explores all of these issues and looks to the future in considering how effective codes of practice and regulation will develop.

On 1 September 1939 Operation Pied Piper bgan to place the children of Britain's industrial cities beyond the reach of the Luftwaffe. 1.5 million children, pregnant women and schoolteachers were evacuated in 3 days. A further 2 million children were evacuated privately; the largest mass evacuation of children in British history. Some children went abroad, others were sent to institutions, but the majority were billeted with foster families. Some were away for weeks or months, others for years. Homecoming was not always easy and a few described it as more difficult than going away in the first place. In When the Children Came Home Julie Summers tells us what happened when these children returned to their families. She looks at the different waves of British evacuation during WWII and explores how they coped both in the immediate aftermath of the war, and in later life. For some it was a wonderful experience that enriched their whole lives, for others it cast a long shadow, for a few it changed things for ever. Using interviews, written accounts and memoirs, When the Children Came Homeweaves together a collection of personal stories to create a warm and compelling portrait of wartime Britain from the children's perspective.

An anthology of contributions from eleven renowned specialists in the field who deal with topics that effect Arab youth in the Middle East the most, such as demographic growth, rising unemployment, and the difficult prospects of their future. Apart from studies on violence and youth in the Algerian civil war, the book offers new insights into generational conflicts and attempts by contemporary youth to overcome their alienation by creating their own eclectic cultural solutions to the problems of tradition and modernity. The book is based on the latest research and opinion surveys held in different Arab countries.

The volumes in this series illustrate how social organization and private, emotional experience are different phases of the social process. They show the steps by which emotional experience is shaped by social structural, macro-level processes and how these processes are changed by experience.

"Children are like crazy, drunken small people in your house" - Julie Bowen - Modern Family Whoever welcomes children says goodbye to a tidy and perfectly-styled house. Babies and children grow and develop through play, and that means lots of toys. This can create chaos and sometimes less attractive corners in the home that are expertly hidden, moved, or simply ignored in most residential magazines. Lifestyle journalist and young mother Joni Vandewalle knows that a messy house, where children can play freely, is a happy house. Creating children's rooms for optimal use is a challenging job, but one that is immensely rewarding for the whole family. In this book, she has selected 20 houses where clutter creates atmosphere, and where colourful play spaces and creative storage solutions prioritise activities where children can grow and play. This book is full of design inspiration for all parents and parents-to-be.

Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The 'Can-Do' Girl Versus the 'At-Risk' Girl 2. Jobs for the Girls? Education and Employment in the New Economy 3. Citizenship and the Self-Made Girl 4. Spaces of Regulation: School Halls and Shopping Malls 5. Being Seen and Being Heard: The Incitement to Discourse 6. Future Girl Politics Conclusion Appendix Notes Bibliography Index

Girls are everywhere these days: they rule MTV and the pop charts; they are big box-office draws; they are on the covers of top-selling magazines; and they score the winning points in professional sports. Despite the recent flurry of books exploring girlhood, like Odd Girl Out and The Secret Lives of Girls, these titles mainly tackle the topic of aggression in young women.
Anita Harris, in her new book Future Girl, goes beyond this to create a realistic portrait of the 'new girl' that has appeared in the twenty-first century - she may still play with Barbie, but she is also likely to play soccer or basketball, be assertive and may even be sexually aware, if not active. Building on this new definition, Harris explores the many key areas central to the lives of girls from a global perspective, such as girlspace, schools, work, aggression, sexuality and power.
In an era of girl power and Riot grrls, Future Girl provides a fresh and original perspective on what it means to be young and female at the beginning of the new millennium.