Yesterday's Children: Antiques and History of Child Care: Amazon.co.uk: Sally Kevill-Davies: Books

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This book describes the changing trends in childcare through the centuries. From the time when the Church, ritual and superstition dictated the way in which children were reared, through the era of Romantic Enlightenment, to our own, more or less, common-sense theories of today, the attitudes of society towards childcare have fluctuated violently, with each generation rejecting the customs of its predecessors. During the 16th and 17th centuries children were seen as little better than animals, full of "original sin" and destined for Hell, while the 18th century saw a more rational attitude gradually developing. Queen Victoria, though personally unmaternal, helped to make motherhood a cause celebre, and by the end of the 19th century "baby worship" was a national pastime. The everyday objects used by mothers and nurses to help raise the children in their care sharply reflect these changing attitudes. From swaddling-bands to cradles, breast pumps to baby-walkers, christening robes to high-chairs, Sally Kevill-Davies's book reveals the fascinating, amusing and frequently horrifying truth about childcare in the past. For the first time, nursery objects are linked directly with the way in which they were used, to provide surprising insights into the history of childhood. Through a lively text, contemporary quotations and a wealth of illustrations, Sally Kevill-Davies exposes in "Yesterday's Children" some of the myths of motherhood, and explains the origins of many of the customs and sayings associated with childbirth, christening and the first years of life.

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Yesterday's Children: Antiques and History of Child Care (Paperback)

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