Historial Differences in Childhood

Question 1

What does Aries argue ?

Answer 1

in the Middle Ages the idea of childhood did not exist and children were not seen as having different needs from adults

Question 2

What was childhood like in the Middle Ages?

Answer 2

• began work from an early age
• children were ‘mini-adults’ who had the same rights, duties and skills
• law made no distinction between children an adults

Question 3

What does Edward Shorter argue?

Answer 3

• high death rates encouraged indifference and neglect e.g. it was not uncommon for a newborn baby to be given the same name as a recently dead sibling or forget how many children they had