The Rise and Fall of Childhood

Introduction, xi
1. As Other Times Might See Us, 3
2. The Dawn of History, and Children Already a Problem, 15
3. Athens and Jerusalem: A Lifetime of Learning, 25
4. Rome and the Collapse of the Trustee Family, 37
5. Christianity and the Reversal of Status, 49
6. A Dark Age and the Revival of Family Authority, 62
7. Civilization Begins Again, 70
8. Renaissance Childhood and Creativity, 85
9. Childhood Becomes Crucial: The Religious Reformations, 100  
10. The Nation-State Takes Up Child Care, 112
11. Children and Progress: An Early Social Movement, 124
12. The Glorification of the Child, 139
13. The Business of Entertaining Children, 159
14. Concern for the Child's Survival, 173
15. The High and Low Point in the History of Childhood, 188
16. Growing Pains and Revolution, 211
17. The Standardizing of Childhood, 223
18. The Demythologizing of Childhood, 247
19. The Liberation of Children, 258
20. The Identity Crisis of Our Civilization, 271
Epilogue: The Lesson of This History, 288
Notes, 297
Index, 311