Educationalists and social scientists are increasingly interested in childhood as a distinct social category, and Childhood Studies is now a recognized area of research and analysis. This book brings together the key themes of Childhood Studies in a broad and accessible introduction for students and practitioners working in this field. Contributors examine childhood from historical, sociocultural and policy perspectives. Each chapter is written by an expert who looks at a different aspect of childhood, including historical representations of childhood; the construction of childhood in children's literature; childhood and sexuality; the sociology of childhood; developmental psychology; the changing nature of children's relationships with the electronic media; children's rights; and children and the law. This book is divided into four sections. Section One, Historical Approaches, contains the following chapters: (1) The Historical Construction of Childhood (Diana Gittins); (2) Children's Literature: An Historical Approach (Peter Hunt); and (3) Innocence and Experience: An Historical Approach to Childhood and Sexuality (Mary Jane Kehily and Heather Montgomery). Section Two, Socio-Cultural Approaches, includes chapters: (4) The Sociology of Childhood (Chris Jenks); (5) Developmental Psychology and the Construction of the Child (Valerie Walkerdine); and (5) New Media, New Childhoods? (David Buckingham). Section Three, Policy Perspectives, presents the final three chapters: (6) Promoting Better Childhoods (Wendy Stainton Rogers); (7) Children's Rights: International Policy and Lived Practice (Rachel Burr); (8) Law and Children/Law and Childhood (Daniel Monk); and (9) Conclusion: The Future of Childhood? (Mary Jane Kehily and Wendy Stainton Rogers).