Growing Up

Eighteenth-Century Style

The Dunce Disgrace by T.Stothard

You have just been transported back into the Eighteenth-Century. Here, you will explore different aspects of Eighteenth-Century British childhood. Widely seen as a tiresome stage, childhood during this era is quite different from how it will be in the Twenty-First Century. Childhood is not even distinguished as a separate stage. Children are simply seen as miniature adults. Thus, to understand how childhood differs, we looked into the future to see what will be most central in a child’s world in the Twenty-First Century and decided to explore those same aspects of childhood, here, in the Eighteenth. When you click each child’s picture below, you will be transported into his or her own distinct world. You’ll hear how each is educated, and their family lives, and how they play. You’ll also see that every aspect of a child’s life is largely determinant on class and gender. So click on each picture to meet our subjects and see what it is like to grow up Eighteenth-Century Style.

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