In this lecture on the history of childhood, listeners will trace how the perception of the child has changed from medieval notions of the "little adult" to the image of a well-rounded individual. The discussion will cover philosophers, cultural practices, and how the past shapes our current view of childhood and the boundaries between the worlds of children and adults. Today, childhood seems like a natural and self-evident stage of life, but this has not always been the case. For many centuries, the child was perceived as a smaller version of an adult, expected to obey and quickly integrate into the "adult" world. In the lecture at the "Na Stremyannoy" library, the topic of childhood is examined as a historical construct shaped by philosophy, politics, and everyday culture. First, listeners are invited to transport themselves to an era when children's games were rarely documented in sources, and young family members were depicted in portraits wearing the same clothes as adults. Through examples of texts and images, it is explained why childhood remained "invisible" in historical discourse for so long and how the idea of a separate world of children's concerns and joys gradually emerged. Next, attention shifts to the 18th and 19th centuries. Thinkers of the Enlightenment and Romanticism begin to speak about the value of early years, educators discuss new methods of upbringing, and literature creates the image of a sensitive, receptive child. The lecturer shows how this shift changes perceptions of family and the role of adults in a child's life. The next step is a discussion of the 20th and 21st centuries, when childhood is increasingly linked to the market and the entertainment industry. It examines how advertising campaigns, cinema, and the toy industry directly address children and shape parental expectations, and how commercial logic influences perceptions of children's rooms, education, and leisure time. A separate block is dedicated to how modern culture constructs the figures of the "ideal child" and the "responsible adult." Listeners see that familiar family scenarios have deep roots.