You might find some interesting related material in:  Hawes, Joseph M. (1971).
Children in Urban Society.  New York:  Oxford  University Press.

Josh Meisel wrote:

> 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