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During the Greek era, children began to be considered citizens and their incorporation into the education world started to be considered relevant. In the other hand, when women gave birth, fathers could reject the newborn if he looked weak or ill and women were the only allowed to escort the new mother during labour. Finally, the concepto of childhood was really short, due to the fact the 13 years old boys were considered adults and even had the possibility of getting married. -
Babies who were born with some kind of appreciable disability, faced the worst fate. The normal thing in these cases was to kill them, considering their coming to be some kind of divine curse, and assuming that they were doing good, since the boy or girl would have no chance of surviving in society.
After 9 days of the baby's birth, an amulet was hung over his neck with engravings representing gods or phallic symbols, helped to guarantee their luck and avoid the evil eye. -
The relationships that prevail were mostly abandonment, intrusion and infanticide. The custom of sending children to other families for serving as pages, servants or clerics. Appearance of the figure of the nursemaid and the problems of many women who supported themselves in this way by killing their own children and caring for those of others. -
The aim was to prepare the child to serve God, the Church and
to their representative, kids were educated and raised for physical care, discipline and obedience. Liberal education disappears. During this time there are no references to the need to love the child
for good development. In addition, child = homuncus, which means miniature man who goes from a lower state to a higher state,
adult (St. Thomas Aquinas) -
At this time the boy and the girl were considered private property of their parents, in addition to this, it is necessary to mention that there was a quite discriminatory treatment towards girls and women. On the other hand, their incorporation into adult life was done without any type of transition to the new model of life, and the infant period ended at the age of seven. -
The child is considered a rebel who must be straightened out by resorting to all kinds of punishment, both physical and psychological. The punishment was almost always corporal and when attempts were made to limit it, children began to be locked up in dark rooms... -
There is a special interest in the child to modify his Psychology. He is considered an incomplete adult and is psychologically abused by subjecting him to harsh discipline. The sexual abuse and physical abuse had made a big dent but it began with the psychic. Appearance of stories about nightmares, hallucinations, obsessions caused by the pressure to which they were subjected. -
With the advent of wars and the industrial revolution, children are considered cheap labor. It is treated as a commodity that can be exploited. -
The child knows better than the father what he needs at each stage of life. -
During history, the concept of "Childhood" has being evolving to what we know now a days. Sadly, it has not always been positive nor integral as today. Just by looking to the past, we can clearly observe that childhood abandonment was something common and habitual, which was not penalized. -
Psychohistory.com. 1982. Capítulo 1: La evolución de la infancia | La Asociación de Psicohistoria . [en línea] Disponible en: http://psychohistory.com/books/foundations-of-psychohistory/chapter-1-the-evolution-of-childhood/ [Consultado el 5 de marzo de 2022].