Childhood and Markets

Description

This book explores how young children and new families are located in the consumer world of affluent societies. The author assesses the way in which the value of infants and monetary value in markets are realized together, and examines how the meanings of childhood are enacted in the practices, narratives and materialities of contemporary markets. These meanings formulate what is important in the care of young children, creating moralities that impact not only on new parents, but also circumscribe the possibilities for monetary value creation. Three main understandings of early childhood - those of love, protection and purification - and their interrelationships are covered, and illustrated with examples including food, feeding tools, nappies, travel systems and toys. The book concludes by re-examining the relationship between adulthood and the cultural value of young children, and by discussing the implications of the ways markets address young children, also examines the realities of older children in consumer culture. Childhood and Markets will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, childhood studies, anthropology, cultural studies, media studies, business studies and marketing. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Lydia Martens)....Pages 1-22 Researching Children, Childhood, and Consumer Culture (Lydia Martens)....Pages 23-55 Child Caring and Market Interactions (Lydia Martens)....Pages 57-81 The Business of Child Caring (Lydia Martens)....Pages 83-111 Loving: Emotional Movements (Lydia Martens)....Pages 113-134 Protecting: Assembling Infant Embodied Vulnerability (Lydia Martens)....Pages 135-157 Purifying: Embodied Cleanliness and Natural Products (Lydia Martens)....Pages 159-185 Marketised Pedagogy and the Moralities of Child Caring (Lydia Martens)....Pages 187-223 Child Caring Moralities and Market Organisation (Lydia Martens)....Pages 225-244 Conclusion (Lydia Martens)....Pages 245-263 Back Matter ....Pages 265-277