Abstract

Children and young people have become fully functioning consumers and their lives are inherently connected to this. This is reflected in how children spend their free time, but also in the educational environments for children and young people. In this contribution, I will not focus on the issue of whether the commercialisation of the children’s world is good or bad. I will, however, concentrate on the various ways in which we write and talk about the child, as a consumer. An analysis of this discourse should provide an insight into the various meanings that are attributed to children and being a child as well as to parents and parenting. Building upon Heinz Hengst’s concept of the liquidation of childhood, I will elaborate some thoughts on today’s child’s subjectivity and the place of children’s rights within this discussion.