Childhood: An Early Modern View.

Child-rearing was an evolving practice within the English upper class from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. A new adult view of children as mature, fragile and inherently good led to changes in the nursing, care, and discipline of English, aristocratic children. In the 16th century, much in accordance with the Puritan doctrine, children were seen as naturally evil beings. As stated by Robert Cleaver, a Calvinist Minister. Children were "... wayward and impulsive... inclined to evil."(…

…industrial revolution brought a new side of parents happily willing to spend time with their children and cherish every moment they had with each other. In conclusion, the changes in nursing, child care and discipline are all symptoms of a greater change, one which had religious, scientific and social roots. The newly enlightened English aristocracy changed the way in reared its children and its future generation, and in thus doing, changed the future of England.