Childhood as A Social Phenomenon

Abstract

The world of childhood is an integral part of life and culture of any concrete people and humankind in general. However, our attitude towards this world is internally contradicted. The article presents the main directions of research in social sciences and humanities, the main issues of ethnography and history of childhood are discussed as well as historical demography and family history, crosscultural and gender studies. A concept of culture of childhood is introduced. Sociological studies of childhood are argued to be the foundation of social policy towards children.