posted on 09 Feb 2020

The social construction of childhood: explored with reference to Jacqueline Wilson’s ‘The Illustrated Mum’ by Harriet Hill

The Letterpress Project is always delighted to publish the work of students who have written about or used books as a key part of their assignments. Here we showcase an essay from Newman University student, Harriet Hill. Harriet told us:

"This essay was submitted in response to the level four unit ‘Constructs of Childhood’, as a part of Newman University’s Early Childhood Education and Care undergraduate BA Honours degree. I chose the book ‘The Illustrated Mum’ by Jacqueline Wilson as she details harsh realities around parenting and childhood, which greatly contributed to my discussion around the idea of childhood as a social construction. Providing insights from both the puritanical and romantic discourses, Wilson explores stigmas and expectations around a range of prominent social issues in the 1990’s, such as mental health, addiction, poverty and the care system."

You can read the full essay by clicking on this link below:

illustrated_mum.pdf