Ebook: A History of Childhood: Children and Childhood in the West from Medieval to Modern Times

In this lively and accessible book, Colin Heywood explores the changing experiences and perceptions of childhood from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the twentieth century. Heywood examines the different ways in which people have thought about childhood as a stage of life, the relationships of children with their families and peers, and the experiences of young people at work, in school and at the hands of various welfare institutions. The aim is to place the history of children and childhood firmly in its social and cultural context, without losing sight of the many individual exper.;Cover; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; PART I: Changing Conceptions of Childhood; 1: Conceptions of Childhood in the Middle Ages; 2: The Quest for a Turning Point; 3: Some Themes in the Cultural History of Childhood; PART II: Growing up: Relations with Parents and Peers; 4: Parent-Child Relations: The First Stages; 5: Caring for Infants?; 6: Parent-Child Relations during the Second Phase of Childhood; 7: Relations with Parents and the Peer Group during the Third Phase of Childhood; PART III: Children in a Wider World; 8: Children at Work.