What part has religion played in the history of child-rearing? How do we persuade children to behave rationally and how should we exercise adult authority? What use do we make of their innocence and how do we cope with their sexuality? Has history left us with ideas about the child which make no sense in the prevailing conditions of the late twentieth century? In Shaping Childhood these questions are explored through themes from the history of childhood. The myth of the repressive Puritan parent is explored by looking at Puritan ideals of child-rearing. Treating the child as if it