How Do Children and Their Mothers Make Sense of Photographs Containing Other Children?

Abstract

Photographing is a cultural activity that helps share, make sense of and transform historical, personal, and societal experience and knowledge. The widespread practice of parents’ photograph taking and posting of their children inspired this study. The study asks: How do mothers and children use photographs of children to make sense of childhood? The research included an activity, where children (ages 7-10) and their mothers narrated stories using two photos of children. Children and mothers emphasized some shared and important different values. Values that differ in emphasis across participants reflect their different positions in everyday life settings or conflicting perspectives.