Take a look at the following titles from Oxford University Press:

Bernard, Thomas J. (1992) The cycle of juvenile justice New York: Oxford
University Pres
Feld, Barry C. (1999). Bad kids : race and the transformation of the
juvenile court. New York: Oxford University Press.

Both provide compelling accounts of how the "idea" of childhood has
changed historically in Western societies. They are limited, though
insofar as they exclude changing conceptions of childhood in Eastern,
African, cultures...If anyone else has suggestions for cross-cultural
study of evolution of "chidhood", I'd be grateful...

Both Feld and Bernard draw heavily on the work of Philippe Aries:

Aries, Philippe. (1966) The World of children. London: Hamlyn

What becomes clear from these readings is that, at least in western
societies, the idea of children evolved from viewing them as virtually
nonexistant (in part because of very high infant mortality rates up until
16th c.), to little people (who participated in all of the behaviors and
vices as adults), to the more "modern" conception of children as
malleable, (unlike adults who are "set in their ways"). Of course these
changes weren't simply determined by lower infant mortality rates and
parents developing stronger attachments to children, but also by ideas
about morality emerging during late 19th c. that coincided with rise in
protestant christianity (e.g., notion of original sin) that suggested
adults were beyond "salvation" and providing children with proper moral
upbringing may help ensure eternal salvation...

But children also became focus of "child savers", (see Platt, Anthony M.
(1977). The child savers : the invention of delinquency. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press) for a discussion of emergence of social work
as a profession and juvenile court as an institution...Platt argues
basically that juvenile court emerged as a tool to manage "other people's
children" (e.g., immigrant and working class families) and has been a very
destructive force in the lives of many children. Thus, according to Platt,
conception of children evolved to reflect concerns of white Protestant
middle and upper class rural (values orientation) population - this is of
course, the same population that rallied around Temperance ideology...

So, there does seem to be an intersection between rise in Temperance
ideology and changing ideas of childhood. My apologies if I've rambled but
this is one tangent of my dissertation research...

Regards,

Josh Meisel

On Mon, 30 Apr 2001, David Fahey wrote:

> The more I study alcohol history the more that I begin to realize the
> extent of my ignorance.  Perhaps ATHG subscribers can help me in regards
> youth and alcoholic beverages.  I assume that a large part of the problem
> is how a society defines childhood.  For instance, in recent years in the
> USA, childhood has been both enlarged chronologically (university students
> are not expected to be as responsible for their actions as had people of
> the same age a hundred years previously) and also narrowed (adult rights in
> voting and sexuality for teenagers).  I assume too that the varying role of
> formal law in different societies is relevant, as is the kind of alcoholic
> beverages (for instance, wine or whiskey, low-alcohol beer or regular beer,
> etc.).  And, of course, minimum legal ages for drinking seldom coincide
> with practice.  There are all sorts of other considerations, as for
> example, religion (notably, Islam) and the role alcohol plays in social
> rituals, etc.  Any suggestions?
>
> David M. Fahey Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA <[log in to unmask]>
>

Josh Meisel
Department of Sociology
CB 327
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0327