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384 BCE
Greece and Rome
People began to value children as citizens of the future, so their incorporation into education became important. Until age 12, schools were for boys and girls and, from that age, only boys from wealthy families continued and, rarely, a girl because of her father's desire. In addition, pediatrics was created. -
380
Christianity's influence
The obligation of parents was reinforced by God's command. Among these was the duty to feed and teach his sons and daughters. Even, infanticide began to be considered as murder -
476
Medieval period
Boys and girls were considered private property of their parents, in addition, there was a quite discriminatory treatment towards the girls and towards the women. On the other hand, childhood ended at seven years, from that age children began to work the land, were at the service of the feudal lord, etc. However, thanks mainly to Christian charity, orphanages were created -
1401
Renaissance
There was a greater appreciation of boys and girls, as well as their education. The institutionalization of the schools began. -
Industrial revolution
In the first English factories children were forced to work between twelve and fifteen hours every day of the week. They were in danger, dirt and without adequate food, they could not go to school or play. The bodies of the children, by their small size, were ideal to enter the mines, and were brutally exploited in exchange for a small salary. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
His work Émile ou de l´éducation contains a series of basic principles on how to educate children, and it becomes a very popular book in French high society. Among his most influential and well-known ideas is that the child is good by nature. It is born this way, at least, and it is the society that can pervert the good intentions of the child. -
The first maternity home
the poorest children had hard living and working conditions. For this reason, the "saviors of children" movements emerged, whose objective was the reeducation of marginal children that caused problems to the society of that time. The first maternity and relief homes were created for poor children over six years of age. -
A new social concept of childhood
A new social concept of childhood appears, children, and especially girls, are considered a citizenship with specific needs, so specific rights were needed. It is assumed that during childhood human beings are much more vulnerable than in adulthood, which is why greater protection is needed by the competent institutions. -
UNICEF
Unicef is a UN program that provides humanitarian and development assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. It was originally created in 1946 under the name United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), to help children in Europe after World War II. In 1953, Unicef became a permanent organism within the UN system, in charge of helping children and protecting their rights -
Nowadays
Currently the rights of children are respected, childhood is recognized as a very important stage in the life of a person. Health services for children are much better, as is coverage for early childhood education. In addition, children are exposed to information and communication technologies, which leads them to be more autonomous
