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(Antiquity to Fourth Century A.D.)
Infanticide was a regular practice of the antique, which wasn't found wrong, either by law or public opinion, until the 4th century A.D. Until the Middle Ages, when the killing of legitimate children reduced, there was an imbalance of males over females, since boys where more valued and, therefore, more likely to be allowed to live. Illegitimate children, on the other hand, were killed regularly and regardless of sex until the nineteenth century. -
(Fourth to Thirteenth Centuries)
Parents spent a minimum amount of time raising their children because they sent them to wet-nurse, then the children would be taken care of by servants and, eventually, they were sent to be fostered. There were also practices like child sale and using children as security for debts or political hostages. -
(Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries)
Children were seen as soft wax, plaster, or clay to be physical molded or beaten into shape by their parents. They were so full of dangerous adult projections that practices as swaddling and the use of restrain devices were considered necessary. -
(Eighteenth Century)
Children were no longer so full of dangerous projections. Parents had a closer approach and improved their level of care, which reduced infant mortality. Practices like wet-nursing and swaddling ended, but the use of physical restrains remained. -
(Nineteenth to Mid-twentieth Centuries)
The father begins to take more than an occasional interest in the child, training it, and sometimes even relieving the mother of child-care chores. Practices like terrifying children became under attack, and beatings and whippings were replaced by shutting children up in the dark. -
Both parents are involved in children's life and work to fulfill their needs and help them reach their daily goals. Children are not struck or scolded and are treated with respect.