The Children's Era Theme of Children and Childhood

Woohoo! We made it to the fun theme! Or, wait...sorry.

For a second we thought this might be all about Saturday morning cartoons and sledding and waiting up for Santa, but...it's not. Instead, we're dealing with the flip side of childhood: turns out, kids are really vulnerable, and "The Children's Era" really highlights that.

Her main concern about children is that so many are being born that no one can care for them all, not their parents and not even the charitable organizations meant to provide assistance. She wants to get right down to the root of the problem and make sure children are born only to parents who want them and who are emotionally, physically, and financially prepared to care for them.

She sees this as a fundamental right of children and sees birth control as one means toward creating a world of healthy, happy children. A world where those Saturday morning cartoons and sledding and waiting up for Santa are a reality instead of an ideal.

1. Sanger seems disproportionately interested in preventing poor families from having children. What might be the reasons for and consequences of this position?
2. Sanger's concern is that we have failed children because everything we try to do for them won't help if there are too many. What do you think of her assessment?
3. According to Sanger, what do adults, particularly parents, owe children?
4. What might an ideal childhood look like, according to Sanger?

Sanger's thoughts on children and childhood remain relevant to us today.

Sanger's thoughts on children and childhood are dated by her views on poverty.