Rethinking Childhood

The study of children is either totally absent in sociology or is treated within very limited contexts which are considered marginal for sociological theory and research. The paper aims at examining why there is no sociology of childhood and what kind of sociological rethinking is needed to bring children into sociology. First, the conventional approach in child-related themes -- recognized as 'socialization' -- is discussed. Secondly, sociological notions of 'the family' are taken up and criticized on the basis of the feminist project of deconstructing the family. Finally, childhood is considered as a social construct and some demands for research on children and childhood are developed that may help to avoid the long-held and unnecessarily limiting views on these topics and make way for the emergence of a sociology of childhood.