Blackwell Reference Online

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Early childhood includes infancy, preschool, and the early years of formal schooling. Sociologists are interested in early childhood for a number of reasons. The children in a society will continue the social organizations, values, and mores of that society. Moreover, the ways a society cares for and socializes its children tell much about the structure and nature of that society. Ariès (1962) documented the ways childhood has been viewed over time and how those views have changed over different centuries in western society. He studied depictions of children in medieval art and other historical documents to show that the concept of childhood as we recognize it today did not exist in those times. Instead, children were dressed and treated as little adults. Then thirteenth-century artists portrayed children as sweet, innocent angels quite different from adults. Perceptions shifted again when sixteenth- and eighteenth-century moralists argued that childhood was a period of immaturity when children must be trained and disciplined in preparation for adulthood. Ariès claimed that modern society has focused on social problems of children, such as abuse and neglect, and separated children from the adult world. Although Ariès's work has been criticized for his generalizations, his analysis provided convincing evidence that children and childhood are perceived differently in different time ... log in or subscribe to read full text