Child Psychology

Childhood has become such a distinct period that it is hard to imagine that it was not always thought this way. But in medieval times, laws generally do not distinguish between children and adult offenders. After analyzing samples of art along with the available publications, concluded historian Philippe Aries, that European societies have not accord any special status for children before 1600: ei paintings, children were often dressed in smaller versions of adult-like clothes .

Some believe that the children were actually treated as miniature adults with no special status in medieval Europe. Aries interpretation has been criticized, however. He sampled primarily aristocratic, idealized subjects, which led to the overdrawn conclusion that the children were treated as miniature adults and not accorded any special status. In the Middle Ages, often children, work, and their emotional bonds with parents may not have been so strong as it is for many children today. But in the Middle Ages, childhood probably was recognized as a distinct phase of life more than just RAM. Also, we know that in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome rich perceptions of children's development was held.

Throughout history, philosophers have long speculated about the nature of children and how they should be bred. Three such philosophical views have original sin, Tabula Rasa, and innate goodness. In the original sin view, especially recommended during the Middle Ages, children were regarded as essentially bad, being born into this world as evil beings. The goal of child rearing was to give salvation to remove sin from a child's life.

Toward the end of the seventeenth century, was a tabula rasa view, as suggested by the English philosopher John Locke. He claimed that children are not innately bad, but instead as a "blank tablet," a tabula rasa. Locke believed that childhood experiences are important for adult characteristics. He advised parents to spend time with their children and to help them become contributing members of society.

In the nineteenth century, was the innate goodness view that the Swiss-born philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who stressed that children are inherently good. Because children are basically good, "said Rousseau, they should be allowed to grow naturally, with little parental supervision or coercion.

In the past century and half, our view of children has changed dramatically. We now understand childhood as a very eventful and unique period in their lives, which places an important foundation for the adult years and is highly differentiated from them. In most approaches to childhood are different periods have been identified in which children master specific skills and confront new life tasks. Childhood is no longer seen as an annoying "waiting" period during which adults must suffer incompetence of the young. We now value childhood as a special time of growth and change, and we invest significant resources in raising and educating our children. We protect them from harm from adult work world through hard child labor laws, we treat their crimes against society under a special scheme for youth justice, and we have government regulation to help children when ordinary family support fails, or if families seriously disrupt the child's welfare.