Childhood as a Social Issue: Historical Roots of Contemporary Child Advocacy Movements

The emergence of childhood as a social issue is barely a century old. The historical roots of current child advocacy movements can be found in an earlier period (1873–1914) characterized as the child‐saving era. The emergence of this social issue during this period appears to be related to changing conceptualizations of the child, the developing “scientific” view of the child, as well as the influence of industrialization and urbanization. The child‐saving era resulted in a number of problematic achievements regarding children's rights. The historical discussion points to the contributions which developmental and social psychology can make to the study of children's rights.