Perceptions of Children and Childhood in the Context of New Childhood Sociology

For many years, people throughout the world have strived to eliminate "weakness" in children so that they can become healthy adults. The label of "adult of the future" often shapes many children's social identity and obscures the importance of their lives as children. Due to these criticisms, new childhood sociology aims at explaining childhood in contexts which emphasize that children should be determinants of their own lives. It is stated that children should be treated as independent and separate from the adult perspective. In this context, the aim of this study was to examine children and childhood in the context of new childhood sociology based on the perceptions of students of child development. As a result, it was observed that the participants' perceptions of children and childhood concentrated around the expressions of being "inadequate, incomplete, pure, adult dependent, and mediation of becoming an adult". Additionally, a discussion was provided regarding the study results and recommendations in the context of new childhood sociology.