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Journal of Child Health Care
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`Childhood': are reports of its death greatly exaggerated?

Philip Darbyshire, RSCN, MN, PhD

Department of Nursing and Midwifery Research and Practice Development, Children, Youth & Women's Health Service, University of South Australia and Flinders University, Australia, philip.darbyshire{at}adelaide.edu.au

What is happening to our children's childhoods? Is childhood itself disappearing as children become increasingly `adultified' and commodified and as the lives and worlds of children's experiences seem to shrink in the name of protection and safety? Are contemporary concerns justified about children becoming less active and more comfortable playing Gameboys rather than games and exploring `Sim City' rather than their own real one? Or, are these simply adult `moral panics' about childhood based on little more than nostalgia for a mythical childhood suffused with innocence and happiness? This article explores some of the current concerns regarding the changing state of childhood and links these to some of our current child health and well-being concerns. It concludes by suggesting some small-scale `local' initiatives that parents and adults could support relatively easily, which would help to enrich childhood.

Key Words: childhood • children's play • commodification of childhood • death of childhood • parenting

Journal of Child Health Care, Vol. 11, No. 2, 85-97 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1367493507076056
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