CHILDRENS ACCOUNTS OF RISK

This article discusses issues arising from a qualitative study, 'Child ren, Parents and Risk', where children (aged 9 and 12 years) and their parents were asked to talk about children's daily life in and around the home, with emphasis on decision-making. The discussion of the data is contextualized mainly within the idea of children as a social grou p. Themes in the research are intergenerational identifications of ris k, understandings of children, childhood and parenthood, power relatio ns between children and parents, and how access to resources shapes ch ildren's and parents' understanding and management of risk. The articl e suggests that differences in perspective and debates between childre n and their parents hinge on ideas about socialization and the good ch ildhood. Children, while recognizing and somewhat endorsing parental s tress on children's time-future, place considerable emphasis on the qu ality of their lived childhoods in time-present.