What is a child?

      A discussion was triggered in class by a few blogs that emphasized the bizarre concept of sharing the Newgate stories with their children: today it would be ill conceived by many to do such a thing. The thought of children being an innocent being that we must nurture and protect is a relatively recent phenomenon, and the present notion of “childhood” has not always existed.
     The perception of a child as an innocent creature that is molded by our care and influence did not come into existence until the 20th century. Previously, children were seen as bodies of sin. The Victorians viewed children as crude, sinful, sexual and hungry beings simply acting out of primal instinct; therefore, they were not as shielded and protected as children are today.
     The notion of childhood was almost nonexistent in the middle ages. They were born into the world with the similar burden of sin that echoed into the Victorian age, but they were basically thought of as little people or young adults. The infant mortality rate was phenomenal, and these children were no stranger to corporal punishment. They would work from a very young age: often within the home helping the mother until they were old enough to engage in factory or labour work.

   If children were not even thought of as children, but simply little people, then it is no wonder families of the middle ages would share the Newgate experiences with the whole family. The children were not innocent, vulnerable vessels of possibility and potential that needed shielding, but were sinful little people that were exposed to every aspect of life.

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