The Beano, the UK’s longest-running children’s comic, is often celebrated as ‘subversive’. But what does such a claim really mean?
Category Archives: Childhood
Adult fans, children’s culture: the curious case of My Little Pony
What’s going on for adult fans of children’s culture? Some thoughts about the bronies, and other adult fans of My Little Pony.
Do children need ‘smart homes’?
Companies are increasingly interested in selling technologies that will create ‘smart homes’. But what are the implications for children and their parents?
What are children’s media rights?
Three decades on from the UN Convention, what does it mean to talk about children’s rights in relation to media?
The trouble with Peppa Pig
Recent controversies about a cute cartoon character are part of a longer history of adults’ responses to media for very young children.
Texts for our times? Children’s books for grown-ups
Children’s books for adults have been one of the most lucrative publishing sensations of the past few years. But what do they tell us about the changing relations between childhood and adulthood?
Introducing ‘Growing Up Modern’
Announcing my new writing project Growing Up Modern: Childhood, Youth and Popular Culture Since 1945.
The end of innocence?
Channel 4’s new drama National Treasure has brought the issue of celebrity paedophiles back to public attention. What does the most notorious and well-documented of these cases – that of Jimmy Savile – tell us about the role of media celebrity and children’s culture?
Unequal childhoods: Why we need a real assault on child poverty
Successive governments have failed to address the problems of child poverty. Robert Putnam’s book ‘Our Kids’, reviewed here, points to the need for a more comprehensive and systematic approach.
Sex-crazed teens: challenging the hype
Amid some exaggerated concern about the ‘sexualisation’ of girls, Joel Best and Katherine Bogle’s book ‘Kids Gone Wild’ offers a good dose of sanity and critical thinking.
David Buckingham 