Origins of Child Protection
Legend has it that the campaign to save abused children in New York was driven by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The truth is more complicated.
Walking Streetlamps for Hire in Seventeenth-Century London
Much in the same way we hail cabs in cities today, a medieval Londoner could hail a torch-bearer (a link-boy) to light their way home from a night on the town.
Urchins of New York and Elsewhere
Remembering the Sky Parlor for lost children and the public’s fascination with those who went astray.
Kids Need Dads—Or Do They?
Data suggest that fathers can be fantastic, but there’s no magic ingredient they supply for children’s emotional, educational, or social development.
Heroic Newsboy Funerals
These collective rituals of death brought meaning and identity to urban, working-class youth.
Thank You, Tweens, for Your Pop Music Icons
Olivia Rodrigo is only the latest star to emerge from the wonderful world of Disney.
Why Do Boy Scouts Shoot Rifles?
It wasn't a big focus at the beginning of the scouting movement. So what changed?
Her Majesty’s Kidnappers
In the 17th century, Nathaniel Giles had the right to conscript young singers into the British royal children’s choir. He and a business partner went a step further.