In this lively and accessible book, Colin Heywood explores thechanging experiences and perceptions of childhood from the earlyMiddle Ages to the beginning of the twentieth century. Heywoodexamines the different ways in which people have thought aboutchildhood as a stage of life, the relationships of children withtheir families and peers, and the experiences of young people atwork, in school and at the hands of various welfare institutions.The aim is to place the history of children and childhood firmly inits social and cultural context, without losing sight of the manyindividual experiences that have come down to us in diaries,autobiographies and oral testimonies.
Heywood argues that there is a cruel paradox at the heart ofchildhood in the past. On the one hand, material conditions forchildren have generally improved in the West, however belatedly andunevenly, and they are now more valued than in the past. On theother hand, the business of preparing for adulthood has become morecomplicated in urban and industrial societies, as the young face abewildering array of choices and expectations.
A History of Childhood will be an essential introductionto the subject for students of history, the social sciences andcultural studies.