ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the complex, multi-faceted, but often taken-for-granted lived experiences of children and young people. It introduces new audiences to key founding themes of childhood and youth studies: the idea that children and young people are active agents in shaping their own lives, that childhood is socially constructed, that children’s and young people’s perspectives are worthy of study in their own right, and that their rights are important and require respect. The book is designed primarily for a mid-level undergraduate audience with an interest in children and young people, including those currently working in different areas of childhood and youth services or with a desire to do so in the future, as well as parents, grandparents and relatives. It considers food as one of the ways in which children, young people and families express their belonging to groups.
