Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing Social Value of Children [Paperback]

Viviana A. Zelizer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 1994

In this landmark book, sociologist Viviana Zelizer traces the emergence of the modern child, at once economically "useless" and emotionally "priceless," from the late 1800s to the 1930s. Having established laws removing many children from the marketplace, turn-of-the-century America was discovering new, sentimental criteria to determine a child's monetary worth. The heightened emotional status of children resulted, for example, in the legal justification of children's life insurance policies and in large damages awarded by courts to their parents in the event of death. A vivid account of changing attitudes toward children, this book dramatically illustrates the limits of economic views of life that ignore the pervasive role of social, cultural, emotional, and moral factors in our marketplace world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[The] argument about the future of childhood will go on, and it must now include the facts, point of view, and even taxonomy brought forward in Pricing the Priceless Child. (Neil Postman The Washington Post )

[Zelizer's book] is an imaginative work on an important topic, which will surely find an appreciative audience among historians. (Nancy Tomes Reviews in American History )

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (August 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691034591
• ISBN-13: 978-0691034591
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The shifting value of children May 14, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

In this thoroughly researched and well-written book, Zelizer tackles a formidable and important subject: the shifting economic and social value of American children. Her point of entry into the discussion of the history of childhood rests on a clearly defined thesis: as the economic value of children decreased in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, children's emotional and spiritual value gained ascendancy. Zelizar examines the vital roles of child labor and child work -- two very different, but related, concepts -- in the formation of the modern American child, neatly and compellingly charting the relationship between the nineteenth-century forebear and its twentieth-century counterpart. For example, the early twentieth-century child factory laborer represents the concept of child labor -- children who help to support their family by turning over their wages and working extra hours. The mid-to-late-twentieth-century child indulges in "child work" such as baby sitting or delivering papers, often earning an allowance he or she can keep since the object is to teach a child the values of money and responsibility. Zelizer offers explanations and rationales for such phenomena as the early twentieth-century rise of playgrounds in urban areas, the struggle of child actors to keep their hard-earned fortunes, and the history of the rise of black-market babies in the twentieth century. Zelizer's study is compelling for any reader and a must-read for anyone interested in children's history or children's literature.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic May 7, 2006

By Aaron Swartz

Format:Paperback

When one begins reading about the history of childhood, one book is almost universally cited: this one. And with good reason -- it's a clear compelling study of a surprising change in the way children were viewed. Each chapter picks a particular topic (child labor, child burial, wrongful death) and amasses copious evidence to show a massive change in the way children were viewed, from purely economic actors (who aided with their parent's work) to priceless bundles of joy.

The evidence is artfully collected but hearing the same story again and again gets to be a little old. I wish that instead of simply amassing more evidence, Zelizer stepped back a little and investigated the causes of such a massive change or at least provided us with more details about her theory.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Changing Social Value of Children September 19, 2012

By Derek Donwerth

Format:Paperback

Zelizer was able to present the shifting attitude of Americans toward children, especially the way we have shifted from placing an actual economic value on children toward valuing children almost purely on their inherent value as children. Countless examples are presented throughout the book showing the difference in attitudes toward children in the early twentieth century, and the progression into the mid-twentieth century. The only problem I felt was present was how repetitive the theory was when applied to different examples, but I feel like this is the nature of the topic covered so I don't feel like it is a very big problem.