Our Children

2 Pages 521 Words

Childhood has become such a distinct period that it is hard to imagine that it was not always thought of in that way. However, in medieval times, laws generally did not distinguish between child and adult offenses. After analyzing samples of art along with available publications, historian Philippe Aries concluded that European societies did not accord any special status to children prior to 1600. In paintings, children were often dressed in smaller versions of adult-like clothing.
Some believe that children were actually treated as miniature adults with no special status in medieval Europe. Aries interpretation has been criticized, however. He primarily sampled aristocratic, idealized subjects, which led to the overdrawn conclusion that children were treated as miniature adults and not accorded any special status. In medieval times, children did often work, and their emotional bond with parents may not have been as strong as it is for many children today. However, in medieval times, childhood probably was recognized as a distinct phase of life more than Aries believed. Also, we know that in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome rich conceptions of children’s development were held.
Through history, philosophers have speculated at length about the nature of children and how they should be reared. Three such philosophical views are original sin, tabula rasa, and innate goodness. In the original sin view, especially advocated during the Middle Ages, children were perceived as basically bad, being born into the world as evil beings. The goal of child rearing was to provide salvation, to remove sin from the child’s life.
Toward the end of the seventeenth century, the tabula rasa view was proposed by English philosopher John Lock. He argued that children are not innately bad but, instead, are like a “blank tablet,” a tabula rasa. Locke believed that childhood experiences are important in determining adult characteristics. He advised p...