When did the concept of childhood come into being? History explored as Julia Fox claims children were “little adults” before 17th century

Julia Fox took to TikTok to share her views on the difference between modern parenting and parenting in the middle ages. She claimed that children were treated as "mini adults" before the 17th century, and the concept of childhood was invented to make parents buy unnecessary items for their children.

The 32-year-old told her TikTok followers that the concept of childhood was created in the 18th century. Adding to that, Fox said:

"Prior to that children were regarded as little adults. That is in a lot of old paintings children don't look the same way like we show them today, with like angelic features. They didn't do that back then."

She further added:

"And I think that the idea of childhood was invented as a way to get parents to spend a lot of money on sh*t that.. not really teaching your kid anything. You're just raising kids that are helpless and don't know what to do."

She further added that her son doesn't care about his toys and that he was more interested in things that she is doing. She advised her viewers to get their children small cleaning tools and teach them life skills at a young age, which would help them be more independent in their adult life.

The Uncut Gems star advised parents to buy their children a "mini mop and mini broom." Her statements confused the viewers who wondered about exactly how 17th-century parents treated their kids.

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Julia Fox's “little adults” comment explained

The phenomenon Julia Fox mentioned in her video was first discussed in Centuries of Childhood, a book published by French historian Philippe Ariès in 1960.

The book argued that the idea of childhood has changed over time. The book delves into how the idea of childhood and adult–child relations has developed across cultures and periods.

A major example of this change can be noticed in paintings from different time periods. Babies and children painted before the 18th century were given adult faces to resemble the adult they would grow up to become.

According to Aries, childhood was not considered a separate stage of life until the 15th century, and children were considered "little adults who shared the same traditions, games, and clothes."

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Julia Fox posted a second video explaining her statement

Internet users made fun of Julia Fox for her comments, saying that she was supporting child labor.

The mother-of-one then uploaded a video to her TikTok account to explain that people were taking her "little adults" comment very differently than what she intended it to be.

Fox started her TikTok by saying:

“Oh my god, you guys are really acting like I said that kids should be working. That’s not what I said. I said that kids need to learn skills.”

Julia Fox explained that public schools do not teach "kids trades or any marketable skills like sewing, or building things or growing food, you know, like basic s–t."

She added:

“Because they want to keep people dumb so that they have to go pay for it.”

She felt that it was crazy that children are not taught basic life skills. She further added that she wanted her son to learn life skills so that he does not expect women around him to take care of those chores. She explained:

“Because I have a son, specifically, I don’t want him to expect that women are just going to clean up after him and do everything for him.”

She added that she had seen it happening everywhere, including in her home, and said that she would not let the behavior continue. Her video received over 120K likes and 2k comments on TikTok.