#212 | A Short History of Childhood

Although there have always been children, the concept of "childhood" is more recent than many people think, with one French historian declaring that childhood didn't exist until the 17th century.

In this episode, we'll explore how ideas of childhood have changed, from John Locke to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from the English Romantic poets right through to the creation of the teenager in post-war America.

• What exactly is a child? What is childhood? When do you stop being a child, and for what reasons? • Phillipe Ariès: the author of “Centuries of Childhood” • Infant mortality in the Medieval era • Medieval ideas of childhood • Childhood in the Enlightenment • John Locke's idea of childhood: a tabula rasa • Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea of childhood: innate and natural, guided by emotions • The Romantics on childhood: a blissful innocence • Childhood during the Industrial Revolution • Working 68 hours a week in Victorian Britain • The Victorians develop children's literature • The invention of the teenager • Childhood today: better, worse, or just different?

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/history-of-childhood

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