Childhood

The notion of childhood refers to both a stage of life and a perception of children as different in nature from adults. How childhood is understood affects children’s daily lives by influencing child-rearing norms, schooling, a wide range of scientific truths, and children’s place in society. In the 21st century, childhood is an established social category. However, the meaning of the concept of childhood constantly shifts based on time, space, beliefs, and needs. Childhood is also experienced and thought of differently across categories of race, ethnicity, religion, social class, gender, and sexuality. What the stage of childhood encompasses is highly debated in legal and scholarly circles. Age is one of the ways in which childhood has been defined. However, childhood has also been demarcated according ...