ABSTRACT
The starting point for the new paradigm of the sociology of childhood is that childhood is a social construction. This suggests that conceptions of childhood-what it is like or should be like to be a child-is part of culture and, as such, transforms through time and space. This article aims to unpack some of the elements of one such construction through exploring the changing nature of Norwegian childhood. Using empirical studies of child roles in the family, I shall explore the different ways in which children contribute to household management and to the division of labour in the home and suggest that through these children are themselves actively involved in constructing the new perceptions of childhood in Norwegian culture.
