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Offers a critical analysis of the visual representation of Canadian children from the seventeenth century to the present. Recognizing the importance of methodological diversity, these essays discuss understandings of children and childhood derived from depictions across a wide range of media and contexts.

Described by some as a necropolis for babies, the province of Quebec in the early twentieth century recorded infant mortality rates, particularly among French-speaking Catholics, that were among the highest in the Western world. This bleeding of the nation gave birth to a vast movement for child welfare that paved the way for a medicalization of childbearing. In Babies for the Nation , basing her analysis on extensive documentary research and more than fifty interviews with mothers, Denyse Baillargeon sets out to understand how doctors were able to convince women to consult them, and why mothers chose to follow their advice. Her analysis considers the medical discourse of the time, the development of free services made available to mothers between 1910 and 1970, and how mothers used these services. Showing the variety of social actors involved in this process (doctors, nurses, womens groups, members of the clergy, private enterprise, the state, and the mothers themselves), this study delineates the alliances and the conflicts that arose between them in a complex phenomenon that profoundly changed the nature of childbearing in Quebec. Un Quebec en mal denfants: La medicalisation de la maternite 19101970 was awarded the Clio-Quebec Prize, the Lionel Groulx-Yves-Saint-Germain Prize, and the Jean-Charles-Falardeau Prize. This translation by W. Donald Wilson brings this important book to a new readership.

In recent years, breastfeeding has been prominently in the public eye in relation to debates on issues ranging from parental leave policies, work'family balance, public decency, the safety of our food supply, and public health concerns such as health care costs and the obesity "e;epidemic."e; Breastfeeding has officially been considered "e;the one best way"e; for feeding infants for the past 150 years of Canadian history. This book examines the history and evolution of breastfeeding policies and practices in Canada from the end of the nineteenth century to the turn of the twenty-first. The authors' historical approach allows current debates to be situated within a broader social, political, cultural, and economic context. Breastfeeding shifted from a private matter to a public concern at the end of the nineteenth century. Over the course of the next century, the "e;best"e; way to feed infants was often scientifically or politically determined, and guidelines for mothers shifted from one generation to the next. Drawing upon government reports, academic journals, archival sources, and interviews with policy-makers and breastfeeding advocates, the authors trace trends, patterns, ideologies, and policies of breastfeeding in Canada.

Cold War Comforts examines Canadian women's efforts to protect children's health and safety between the dropping of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945 and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Amid this global insecurity, many women participated in civil defence or joined the disarmament movement as means to protect their families from the consequences of nuclear war. To help children affected by conflicts in Europe and Asia, women also organized foreign relief and international adoptions. In Canada, women pursued different paths to peace and security. From all walks of life, and from all parts of the country, they dedicated themselves to finding ways to survive the hottest periods of the Cold War. What united these women was their shared concern for children's survival amid Cold War fears and dangers. Acting on their identities as Canadian citizens and mothers, they characterized with their activism the genuine interest many women had in protecting children's health and safety. In addition, their activities offered them a legitimate space to operate in the traditionally male realms of defence and diplomacy. Their efforts had a direct impact on the lives of children in Canada and abroad and influenced changes in Canada's education curriculum, immigration laws, welfare practices, defence policy, and international relations. Cold War Comforts offers insight into how women employed maternalism, nationalism, and internationalism in their work, and examines shifting constructions of family and gender in Cold War Canada. It will appeal to scholars of history, child and family studies, and social policy.

Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Ontario Boys demonstrates that, although girls were expected and encouraged to internalize a "special kind" of citizenship, as caregivers and educators of children and nurturers of men, the gendered content and language employed indicated that active public citizenship and democracy was intended for boys.

A Brief History of Women in Quebec examines the historical experience of women of different social classes and origins (geographic, ethnic, and racial) from the period of contact between Europeans and Aboriginals to the twenty-first century to give a nuanced and complex account of the main transformations in their lives. Themes explored include demography, such as marriage, fecundity, and immigration; womens work outside and inside the home, including motherhood; education, from elementary school to post-secondary and access to the professions; the impact of religion and government policies; and social and political activism, including feminism and struggles to attain equality with men. Early chapters deal with New France and the first part of the nineteenth century, and the remaining are devoted to the period since 1880, an era in which womens lives changed rapidly and dramatically. The book concludes that transformation in the means of production, womens social and political activism (including feminism), and Quebec nationalism are three main keys to understanding the history of Quebec women. Together, the three show that womens history, far from being an adjunct to general history, is essential to a full understanding of the past. Originally published in French with the title Breve histoire des femmes au Quebec.

Beyond its research findings, this pioneering book considers the past, present, and potential role of schools in supporting children who have been affected by military deployments. It also assesses the broader human costs to Canadian Armed Forces families of their enforced participation in the volatile overseas missions of the twenty-first century.

More than a quarter of a century has passed since Canada promised to recognize and respect the rights of children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratification of the Convention cannot, however, guarantee that everyone will abandon proprietary notions about children, or that all children will be free to enjoy the substance of their rights in every social and institutional context in which they find themselves, includingand perhaps especiallywithin families. This disconnect remains one of the most important challenges to the recognition of children's rights in Canada. The authors argue that social toxins are as harmful to children's independent welfare and developmental interests as environmental toxins, and that both must be eradicated if Canada is to fulfill its commitments under the Convention. They also argue that if Canada wishes to ensure the substance of the rights outlined in the Convention are socially guaranteed, an attitudinal or cultural shift is required concerning the moral and legal status of children. This revised, expanded, and updated edition of the bestselling Challenge of Children's Rights for Canada will be of interest to academics, policymakers, parents, teachers, social workers, and human service professionalsindeed to anyone who cares about and for children.

The essays in Home Words explore the complexity of the idea of home through various theoretical lenses and groupings of texts. They consider the myriad ways in which discourses of home underwrite both children's and national literatures.