ABSTRACT
Many parents who lavished toys and equipment on their children felt that they were providing their families with opportunities that had been denied them in their own childhood. There are many variations between and within cultures as to what constitutes ‘childhood’ and as to the best child-rearing practice. The study of the history of childhood in Western Europe is relatively recent and the picture it paints is by no means clear. The incidence of child asthma has almost doubled during the last twenty years and it is thought that the increase in traffic fumes is a considerable causal factor. Parents and teachers often seemed to view computer games as a completely alien form of entertainment for children with none of the charm, innocence or ‘educational’ value they associate with traditional playthings. There is an anxiety that children will move away from traditional forms of communication and develop an alien, computer-based jargon which is inaccessible to adults.
