Status of childhood?
February 8, 2011 by Roger Mei
Childhood is very much alive in the United States today. First off, I would like to classify childhood as anyone that is not legally an adult since this is the only objective way of defining the term for my argument. Under the law, adults and minors are treated differently and held to different standards.
1) rights- children do not possess certain rights like voting, right to buy cigarettes, alcohol, or gamble. However, they are protected from serving in the armed forces and are charged less severely when it comes to crimes.
2) Sexuality/clothing- the recent trends in society tends to depict children in more sexually suggestive ways. However, the laws once again draw the line between adults and children when it comes to sexuality. One example is that children cannot be nude and another is that the media cannot depict them in such a way as to suggest underage sexual activity. The school systems also ban clothing that are too revealing.
3) Games- games like hopscotch and jacks are starting to disappear but they are being replaced by other children’s games. One reason for the disappearance of these classic games is due to the booming video game industry. The Nintendo Wii gaming console, whose primary audience are children, have dominated the sales of its competitors (PS3 and XBOX 360), who tends to target older audiences. As recent as last year, I have worked at an afterschool day camp and I observed many children playing board games and handheld games like Pokemon.
4) Music- the music industry for children are very much alive. Children TV show stars like Miley Cyrus are immensely popular among the younger audiences. Other artists like Justin Bieber have sold-out converts in a matter of minutes as parents fight to get them.
So as one can see, Childhood is still prevalent in today’s society although it is changing. However this is also true of all segments of age groups.
