Some people buy their children a large number of toys to play with.what are the advantages and disadvantages of having large number of toys.

The

history

of

childhood

has been a heated topic in social

history

since the highly influential book Centuries of

Childhood

, written by French historian Philippe Aries, emerged in 1960. He claimed that ‘

childhood

’ is a concept created by modern society. Whether

childhood

is itself a recent invention has been one of the most intensely debated issues in the

history

of

childhood

. Historian Philippe Aries that

children

were regarded as miniature adults, with all the intellect and personality that

this

implies, in Western Europe during the Middle Ages(up to about the end of the 15th century). After scrutinising medieval pictures and diaries, he concluded that there was no distinction between

children

and adults for they shared similar leisure activities and work;

However

,

this

does not mean

children

were neglected, forsaken or despised, he argued. The idea of

childhood

corresponds to awareness about the peculiar nature of

childhood

, which distinguishes the child from the adult, even the young adult.

Therefore

, the concept of

childhood

is not to be confused with affection for

children

. Traditionally,

children

played a functional role in contributing to the family income in

history

. Under

this

circumstance,

children

were considered to be useful. Back in the Middle Ages,

children

of 5 or 6 years old did necessary chores for their parents. During the 16th century,

children

of 9 or 10 years old were often encouraged or even forced to leave their families to work as servants in wealthier families or apprentices for a trade. In conclusion, In the 18th and 19th centuries, industrialisation created a new demand for child labour;

thus

many

children

were forced to work for a long time in mines, workshops and factories.