At the beginning of the nineteenth century childhood was a fluid concept with a variety of meanings and responsibilities dependent on class, gender, and religious identity. By 1860 the idea of what childhood was supposed to be had been consolidated to a large degree by the middle classes, who rejected the lavish opulence of the aristocracy and the economic dependency of the working classes to create their own brand of child-rearing. The book explores ways in which adults dealt with children, particularly within the family and in educational institutions across the island of Ireland. This book takes a holistic approach towards the middle-class child’s social world utilizing medical and educational literature, religious tracts, personal correspondence, school archives, and material culture sources. It facilitates an understanding of gender roles, children’s participation in middle-class domesticity, and the use of education by middle-class families to shape a cultural narrative of childhood. The chapters address child-advice literature, differences in Catholic and Protestant childhoods, children’s fashions, and Irish boarding schools.