Childhood in America
"Parents, teachers, students, and scholars alike will welcome this fascinating and richly diverse collection of sources and reflections pertaining to the experiences of children and childhood over the past four centuries. The challenge of reconstructing the history of American childhood will be greatly enhanced and encouraged by this collection."-Philip Greven,author ofSpare the Child"The many faces of childhood as seen through the eyes of historians, novelists, humorists, psychologists, legal scholars, and the like come alive in this remarkable collection of new and familiar writing. A treasure house of original sources that comes at a time when children finally have our attention, and a very important contribution to understanding and safeguarding our future and theirs. Highly recommended."-Judith Wallerstein, Ph.D.i>,author ofThe Good Marriage: How & Why Love Lasts"Childhood in America undertakes a significant and timely task: it documents how radically concepts of childhood have changed over the course of history. By bringing us the voices of parents, "experts" and the young from the 17th century to the present, this book helps us to confront the problems of our own era free of mistaken assumptions about childhood in past times."-Arlene Skolnick,author ofEmbattled Paradise: The American Family in an Age of Uncertainty"At a time when children increasingly enter our thinking about everything from sexuality and rights of privacy to social welfare and commercialization, we need perspective on childhood in all its guises. This anthology, so wide-ranging and full of surprises, gives us that insight and understanding."-Gary Cross,author ofKids' Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood