Children as Solution

1. Children as Solution
Using Children to Solve Demographic Problems

2. Adults have frequently seen
children as a way to solve
demographic problems and
ensure the future of their group.

3. Western Imperialsm

10. Q: If your nation has an empire, what do
you have to do to ensure you keep it?
A. You have to prepare your children to
lead and maintain it.

13. Boy Scouts, 1910
• Primarily for middle class Protestant boys
• Activities supervised by adults
• Teaching “primitive” skills through camping
• Concern that boys were overcivilized and
would grow up to be “sissies”
• Desire to instill “character” and prepare boys
for the changing economic environment

14. Girl Scouts

15. New Images of Girlhood
• Encouraged to be “real girls”
• Wholesome vitality and energy
• Spunk and grit expected
• Ability to transform curmudgeonly adults

17. https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?t=1356&v=JxJ4TV1UtqU

20. Effecting the Future
• The Boy Scouts were created to prepare children for
a specific envisioned future.
• More darkly, Hitler used his Hitler Youth program as
a tool in the creation of his ideal future.
• Question: What are we preparing children for? What
is the future we’re trying to achieve through youth
programs and the way we educate youth?
• What agency do children have in this process? Are
they pawns or partners?

21. Documentary: Jesus Camp