The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought / Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day

A comparative study of folk beliefs and practices about children among primitive peoples and their survivals in modern society. It surveys naming customs, parental tributes, children's food and playthings, beliefs about children's souls, and children's roles as language-learners, inventors, musicians, judges, healers, priests, weather-makers, oracles, and objects of worship. The book compiles ethnographic examples, proverbs, and folklore to trace how child-related customs shape education, family organization, religious practice, and social development, and it emphasizes comparative evidence and bibliography to document continuities and changes in attitudes toward childhood.