1. By Chelsea Griffin

2.  the
concept of childhood began to emerge
in Europe.
 Adults saw children as separate
beings, innocent and in need of protection
and training by the adults around them.
 The English philosopher John Locke was
particularly influential in defining this new
attitude towards children
 Tabula rasa, which considered the mind at
birth to be a "blank slate”

3. During the early period of capitalism, the
rise of a large, commercial middle class
brought about a new family ideology
centered around the upbringing of
children.
 Puritanism stressed the importance of
individual salvation and concern for the
spiritual welfare of children.


4. 
The modern notion of childhood with its own autonomy and
goals began to emerge during the Enlightenmentand
the Romantic period that followed it. Jean Jacques
Rousseau formulated the romantic attitude towards children in
his famous 1762 novel Emile: or, On Education. Building on
the ideas of John Locke and other 17th-century
thinkers, Rousseau described childhood as a brief period of
sanctuary before people encounter the perils and hardships of
adulthood.[3] Sir Joshua Reynolds' extensive children
portraiture clearly demonstrate the new enlightened attitudes
toward young children. His 1788 painting The Age of
Innocence, emphasizes the innocence and natural grace of
the posing child and soon became a public favourite.