Child Rearing

Child Rearing
During early modern Europe children were viewed in many different ways which changed how parents chose to raise their children.   During the 1500’s the mortality rates for children were high so children were viewed as if they were adults and very precious if they survived, many people believed that they needed to treat children harshly to make them strong.   In the 1600’s children were raised tenderly as they were rational beings that could use reason.   Children were viewed in many ways during early modern Europe to be rational, precious, and in need of guidance where these views determined the parents choice in child rearing to behaving harshly to kind guidance.
In the 1500’s children were seen as precious beings because of the high mortality rates.   Because of the high mortality rates children were often treated as if they were adults.   Christopher Scheurl a Nuremburg jurist and diplomat in 1539 wrote about how his son is a delightful child who is respectful and loves to learn.   He is still very young at the age of five but is treated as an adult and holds his father dearly.   Since children rarely survived because of the high mortality rate, Christopher holds his son very close to him and is prideful of his accomplishments(document 1).   In a letter Martin Luther, a leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s,   it is written that his thirteen year old daughter had just died and that he is very disheartened   and taken aback by the loss.   He loves his respectful daughter.   As a father and leader of the protestant reformation, Luther is disheartened at his daughter’s loss, but he loves and respects God taking her away (Doc 2).   Since children had high mortality rates in the 1500’s parents loved their children dearly treating them with respect and teaching them respect and were greatly distressed when they died.  
Many parents thought that they needed to teach their children lessons by treating them harshly.   From the Domostroi a Russian manual...