Art By: Carol Hawkins
Untitled; Oil
HIST 152
Living in a time when society is so focused on childhood issues such as parenting,
healthcare, education, child abuse and neglect, it is important to realize
that childhood as we know it hardly existed at one time. Before the eighteenth
century, life was considerably different for children.
Many modem beliefs and attitudes towards children stem from ideas that took
hold in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Advancements in agriculture,
technological progress, and the growth of industry in rural areas had a profound
impact on marriage and family life. These events led to changes in values and
customs that, in turn, affected how children were viewed in society.
While many parents obviously loved and nurtured their children, childhood
was a dangerous time for most children because of adult indifference, neglect,
and sometimes abuse. One in five offspring died of infectious diseases, poor
nutrition, or simply lack of knowledge. Among the lower classes children
were
often breast-fed, which was fortunate for the child, who received more suitable
and nutritious food, as well as much-needed antibodies, present in the mother's
milk. Middle and upper class women usually hired wet nurses. This action
interfered with the natural spacing of children in families and deprived
the mother and
child of meaningful bonding time. In addition, the practice of hiring wet
nurses often led to the exploitation of lower-class women and was potentially
harmful
to the child as well, as children were sometimes allowed to die by so called "killing
nurses" (McKay et al. 60 1). This freed the hired woman to accept another
child and another fee.
Besides the possibility of being killed by the wet nurse, children were sometimes
allowed to die or intentionally killed. Infanticide was a common form of
birth control in China, France, and other places. Infants throughout Europe
were
killed and abandoned with such frequency that foundling homes and hospitals
were established to take in these unfortunate children to spare them from
murder, or exposure and likely death in the streets. However, foundling homes
were
a far cry from the perfect answer. The homes were often crowded, with numbers
as high 25,000 and children died in such great numbers that, in reality,
many were simply a form of legalized infanticide. Besides the foundling hospitals,
a system of workhouses for poor children were created, although they were
often
criticized as being little more than sources cheap labor. Religion played
a role, educating poor children on their day free from labor, in Sunday Schools
that focused on their spiritual well being.
Because of the high death rate in the child population, parents and doctors
were generally indifferent towards children. Children were frequently neglected,
and children as young as age six were sent to work in factories to work in
the most horrific conditions, where their treatment was sometimes brutal.
The first child labor laws were not instituted until the 1830s. Boys left
home to work as craftsmen or laborers, while girls were sent to work as servants,
which subjected them to physical and sexual abuse. The
prevailing
attitude towards child rearing was one of strict physical discipline and
control. The child was seen as a creature of innate evil (a doctrine inherited
from
Calvin), and the need was to turn them from their natural inclinations.
Today, we tend to view the child as innocent. This view came to light with
the writings of the English philosopher John Locke around 1700, and through
the publication of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's influential
writings in the 1760s on childhood that advocated increased freedom for children-
He and others promoted play, especially out-of-doors, for developing physical
strength.
John Locke's thoughts on education (1693), had suggested that the goal of
education should be to prepare the child for future independence in the world,
and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau advanced English thinking on education in the 1760s with his argument
that education was a mixed blessing. Rousseau advocated allowing the child
to run about until age twelve, protected from harmful experiences by a guide.
Even though these ideas were slow to be accepted among the lower and middle-classes,
at first being accepted only by the wealthiest classes, growing respect for
children and childhood influenced educational theory on all levels. Books
written specifically for children, including storybooks, nursery rhymes,
alphabets,
and readers, became popular in the eighteenth century, although most of these
books were intended to promote improvement, not pleasure.
With these ideas, a great philosophical shift began to take place. Old practices
such as swaddling the infant, which was supposed to "straighten them out," were
discouraged. By the end of the eighteen-century the child was being dressed
in simpler clothing, more appropriate for play, which was also a new idea
and in alignment with the growth of humanitarianism and cautious optimism
that
was representative of the Enlightenment.
In line with these new ideas, mothers were encouraged to breastfeed their
own children, instead of sending them away to the wet nurse. This change
came about,
in part, due to the high infant mortality of children reared this way, and
because of a swing in attitudes and an increased interest in raising children
naturally. Although these changes were slow to bring about lower infant and
child mortality rates, with the rates finally falling in the mid-nineteenth
century, many parents now showed more love toward their children.
The aristocracy had been involved in education as early as the sixteenth
century, but education for the common people did not come about until the
elementary
education of children made an appearance in the seventeenth century and accelerated
into the eighteenth century. Children from age seven to twelve were instructed
in reading, writing, and religion, resulting in a remarkable growth in basic
literacy.
The major ideas of the Enlightenment were slow to impact the peasants and
workers who could not afford or understand books written for educated society,
but
they hungrily devoured the more practical popular literature of the time,
as well as calendars and almanacs. Through literacy comes learning, and through
teaming comes the spread of ideas. However slowly, change was under way for
the common people, their families, and children.
Art By: Carol Hawkins
Untitled; Oil
Home |
Acknowledgements |
Contents |
Index |