Adultocentrism: What It Is And How It Affects The Little Ones And Society
From the first human societies and civilizations until just three centuries ago, childhood and adolescence were considered distinct stages of great importance for the correct development of the human being, but children and adolescents were considered small adults in training, having practically the same obligations, thus feeding the perspective of adultcentrism.
Adultcentrism is a concept referring to the social hegemony of people who are within the adult stage, so they are the ones who have control and political, economic and social power. At the same time, they are considered the reference group and those at the top of the social hierarchy.
In this article we will see in more detail what the concept of adultcentrism consists of and what its origins are.
The concept known as anthropocentrism refers to the social supremacy of adults over children and adolescents and can be developed even above the youth and the elderly, within a society.
It has to do with the idea that adults are the ones who have hegemonic power and are also the reference group regarding the social and cultural vision of the environment in which they live.
In general, adultcentrism supports a vision of the world and society in general that is deeply rooted in values according to which the group of adults has the right to possess the power and, therefore, they are considered the group of people who are at the top of the hierarchical pyramid of society, with all that this entails.
In this sense, other social groups, classified by age, that are not within the adult stage, have been excluded from the central thinking of societies with an adult-centered structural and hierarchical system.
From the perspective of adultcentrism, The adult stage is considered the representation of those people who make up a well-formed and successful model to which the youngest should aspire, so, according to this model, children and adolescents must prepare to be successful adults who fulfill their work and the aspirations set by their society to be considered as such.
That is why adultcentrism takes advantage of political power, the Church or other religious institutions, and the media to instill its values in all citizens, ensuring that they are also transmitted from parents to children.
What is the origin of adultcentrism?
Adultcentrism has been present throughout much of human history, since For many years the concept of childhood was not what we know today, but rather children were treated as “little adults” in the process of development who normally had to work and help with the same tasks as adults. In turn, boys and girls used to dress in a very similar way to that of adults, since children’s fashion did not manage to prevail at least until the 17th century, arriving in some societies even later.
If we look at literature, the genre of children’s stories and books did not appear until just three centuries ago. And before The stage of development of children and adolescents was not considered, as it is today, a phase that required special attention due to the great relevance of correct development in the later adult stage.
On the other hand, several historians and sociologists affirm that the stage of the industrial revolution was key to advances in the consideration of children and adolescents, largely thanks to technological advances that gave children the possibility of being expendable in work, so that they could have more time to play, have fun, explore, learn and, above all, interact with other people of the same age, all of these activities and others of the same type being very relevant for proper development in childhood. and adolescence.
Adultocentrism and children’s rights
In 1959, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was approved by all States belonging to the United Nations (UN), which represented an important advance in consideration and recognition of the rights of children to develop and grow in good health so they must receive special attention and care, the right to a school education and many others that are also important for the correct development of children and adolescents.
Today the vast majority of the population agrees that children must receive a fundamental school education and also that society and the state must provide them with a series of facilities and benefits, as well as special protection, lasting this special consideration until they reach the age of majority.
However, despite these great and important advances in this field, in many cases, even indirectly, There is still a social vision from adultcentrism, because it is common to continue taking adults as a reference and it is not strange that there are cases in which children are valued more for what they can become when they are adults than for what they are as children.
It is also common for this vision of adultcentrism to influence interpersonal relationships and we will all, or almost all, have heard one of the following phrases: “when the adults are talking, the children remain silent, “I am right because I am the one.” adult and you are still a child”, “stop behaving like a child”, “you will understand when you are older” and many things like that, without actually listening to the child’s opinion; so that it will be more difficult for the child to learn to express himself assertively while respecting the opinions of others.
Of course, children should respect their parents and obey them when what they want is always what is best for them, but what we are referring to here is those situations in which children They do not feel listened to by adults and their opinions have less weight when it should be important that their opinions are taken into account, so that they learn to dialogue and express their opinions without entering into conflict thanks to the fact of having developed a dialectic since childhood.
Adultcentrism tends to take into account the perspective and opinions of adults over those of younger people, which tends to condition social relationships in all areas, so that it is common for there to be parents who do not listen to the opinions of their children or even that within a company the ideas of the youngest people are not taken into account even though perhaps, being more innovative, they could be what the company needs to move forward. However, it is common that the opinion of the adult is always chosen over the younger person.
Its relationship with the authoritarian educational style
adultcentrism It can lead to adults who have this vision having an authoritarian style when it comes to educating their children so that parents dictate the way things should be done, but from a rigid and inflexible position, so children must abide by them without being able to express their opinion.
Under this prism of adultcentrism, parents do not conceive the possibility of listening to their children’s opinions regarding certain issues that concern them and it is also common for parents to be demanding of their children and not very affectionate.
Therefore, adultcentrism in the educational style is reflected in those parents who They rarely express their affection explicitly, they are not very open to dialogue or listening to their children’s opinions and, in addition, they tend to impose rigid rules and limits and may severely punish their children when they break the rules.
According to studies carried out on educational styles, it has been found that children who receive an authoritarian educational style usually have low levels of self-esteem, immaturity, inability to make their own decisions, little capacity for self-control, high levels of impulsivity and little tenacity or persistence when it comes to meeting your goals.
On the contrary it is the democratic educational style in which parents are more affectionate with their children, maintain good communication, so that their children can express their opinion and their parents explain in a reasoned way why they should behave in a certain way, as well as being explained and reasonably justified limits, rules and restrictions.
Following a democratic educational style, it has been seen that children feel supported and safe when communicating with their parents; They will also have good self-esteem, correct behavior and good dialectics, thanks to the correct development of social and communication skills.
