Childhood, Families and Society

Childhood experiences have altered dramatically in the past 50 years, with many of today’s children experiencing changing family relations, accelerated contact with consumer culture and social media and a so-called “privatisation” of childhood. In this socio-cultural study, Chambers interrogates the contrasting interpretations of childhood: the idea of childhood agency versus the romantic ideal of children as innocent with a right to be childlike. A rare examination of both family and childhood studies, the text argues for the ‘right’ balance between parents, children, the state and other agencies in the raising of children across different countries.