Skidmore, Patricia. (2018). Marjorie: Her War Years, A British Home Child in Canada. Dundurn Press. ISBN: 978 1 45 974166 9

Reviewed by: Pinar Kocak,
University of Lethbridge

David
Lancy’s book, “The Anthropology of Childhood”, is a synthesis of literature
from ethnographic, historical, and other sources such as primate studies and
archeology which deal with issues pertaining to children and childhood. In his synthesis,
Lancy deliberately avoids esoteric theoretical formulations. Instead, he weaves
together parallel anthropological perspectives on childhood to present a
balanced, inclusive selection of anthropological research. Perspectives vary
from those who argue that childhood is a time of culture, language, and skill
acquisition (nurture) to those who argue that childhood is essentially a
biological phenomenon (nature). In doing so, Lancy questions the ethnocentric
lens through which researchers with Euro-American values tend to view children
from other societies and historical eras. To differentiate among childhood
experiences across cultures and time, Lancy introduces and utilizes two tools
throughout his book: (1) classifying children into three distinct categories; and
(2) comparing two distinct societal hierarchies. The book is seamlessly
organized into chapters that also neatly tie into the economy as an underlying
theme.

Lancy
defines childhood as that “period when our offspring are too young to fend for
themselves completely and require active nurturing” and explains how children
are essentially viewed by their respective societies and cultures as: (1)
desired, precious and priceless cherubs (a relatively rare and recent view);
(2) desired but commodified chattel; or (3) undesired, inconvenient and
unwanted changelings. Further, through rich illustrative examples, Lancy
explains how childhood, influenced primarily by the environment and the
material circumstances in which it occurs, is not fixed but rather changes over
time and space. One example Lancy provides is the relatively recent shift in
the way children are defined in Western societies from that of chattel, in which
parents expect an economic return for the effort they put into raising their
children; to the current view of children as emotionally priceless yet
economically worthless cherubs, where parents no longer expect an economic
return from their children’s work and instead may actually incur a loss (p. 108).

Essentially,
Lancy’s cherubs are those children who live primarily in developed, modern,
Western countries where fertility and infant mortality are limited; and whose
childhood begins in infancy (and at times prior to birth) and extends into or
beyond the college years. Cherubs are those children who are “invested with
tremendous inherent worth;” whose wellbeing, needs and desires are valued over
those of other family members; who are assumed to require intellectual
stimulation from birth onward and are thus afforded the right and need to play
and be intellectually stimulated (pp. 370-372). Cherubs are those children who
more than likely have “selfless mothers who lavish attention and instruction on
their young well into adolescence” (p. 371). 

The
opposite of cherubs are Lancy’s other two categories: changelings and chattel.
Changelings are typically children who live in agrarian, traditional,
developing countries where fertility and infant mortality are high and where
some children are abandoned or disposed of if they suffer from a birth defect
or they (especially girls) are seen as surplus. In such societies, childhood is
relatively short. The child is welcomed by its kin only “as a bearer of its
parents’ (and extended family’s) genes and as a contributor to the household
economy” (chattel) once it passes through “the gauntlet of birth trauma,
illness, and deliberate termination” (p. 13).

To
study the value of children, Lancy compares societies in terms of two distinct
hierarchies. He refers to the hierarchy found in contemporary, Western
societies as a neontocracy. Children are the first social concern in a
neontocracy; followed by attention to institutions catering to children’s
needs; then parents, grandparents, and pets in that order (p. 11). In contrast,
Lancy refers to the hierarchy in traditional, agrarian societies as a
gerontocracy in which society is dominated first and foremost by attention paid
to the ancestors; followed by elders, adults, adolescents, and lastly children
(p. 11). Through such comparisons, Lancy examines how a child’s worth in a
society varies and is dependent on culture and economy. This encompasses the
factors which come into play in deciding to bring a pregnancy to term as well
as factors which come into play in deciding to raise a child.

In
addition to exploring the biological, cultural, and economic basis of how
childhood happens and how a child’s worth is determined, Lancy also examines
how children are raised; what is expected of them and their parents
(particularly mothers); when and how children make the transition into and out
of childhood; how and why play happens in childhood; and how, when, and why
children receive formal schooling and are expected to work.

Lancy
concludes by offering his interpretation of the literature reviewed throughout
the book – tying everything ultimately to the economy. His conclusion reads in
part:

The net result of our mindset is that the
marketplace decides the fate of children. In poor countries, a food shortage
means many potentially sound children will suffer malnutrition and neglect.
Dollars that could be sent overseas to vaccinate, educate, and feed these
children are, instead, spent at home on expensive technologies and caretakers
to keep alive children whose quality of life is non-existent. While sick, premature
babies born to the well-off will survive through “miracles” of modern medicine,
the poor will lose their otherwise healthy children to preventable diseases (pp.
375-376).

Replete
with numerous references, illustrative examples, personal anecdotes and
photographs, all detailing the interplay of biological and cultural forces that
shape childhood, Lancy’s book accomplishes two goals. First, it offers a
“correction to the ethnocentric lens that sees children only as precious,
innocent, and preternaturally cute cherubs…. [Making] the case for alternative
lenses whereby children may be viewed as unwanted, inconvenient changelings or
as desired but pragmatically commodified chattel” (pp. 2-3). Second, the volume
highlights the importance of considering children’s relative value through the
hierarchy within which they live in order that it may lead to government
interventions or changes aimed at increasing their value and hence their quality
of life. Lancy accomplishes these goals by inductively drawing out his themes
from select literature – noting patterns, identifying the underlying forces
that shape them and contrasting dominant, contemporary views of childhood with
the wider, older views of childhood to explain how and why changes in
childhoods may occur.

Lancy’s
intended readership, namely anthropologists of various theoretical frameworks
and “teachers, fieldworkers, and policymakers who are laboring to improve the
lives of children not fortunate enough to have been born into a privileged
society,” will find this book useful. I believe it is also an excellent
teaching and reference resource for post-secondary students of any discipline
focusing on issues relating to childhood.

Although
Lancy himself aims to synthesize various streams of anthropological work on
childhood – in hopes that it will serve as a catalyst to promote greater
interaction among researchers and possibly reconcile the nature versus nurture
debate within anthropology – his book can serve as a multi-disciplinary
introduction. I do wonder, however, if its reception across various disciplines
will be affected by the degree to which the author depends on anthropology.
Other disciplines that may benefit from the book are sociology, law, education,
medicine, history, archeology, philosophy, women’s studies, and film studies,
to name a few. I found “The Anthropology of Childhood” a pleasure to read,
balanced, easy to follow, informative and engaging. I would recommend it to
anyone interested in the topic of childhood.

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