The areas covered by A Historical Sociology of Childhood are of relevance to sociologists, to historians and, more broadly, to social scientists. The title deserves some clarification. From an analytical standpoint, it alludes to two distinct sets of meaning. The first that comes to mind evokes, at least for readers familiar with social sciences, the emergence of modernity – and, afterwards, its design and patterning – in a sociological and theory-driven approach to history. It brings into play the work of historians to a sociological purpose, namely explanation in a comparative framework focusing on large-scale processes, which, it should be borne in mind, are the core of classical historical sociology: capitalism, bureaucracy or the state (Delanty and Isin 2003). However, the historical sociology of childhood put forward here is somehow different: it does not arise primarily from the aforementioned processes. It rather proceeds from compounded social operations such as the circulation, translation, standardization and stabilization of children, which were crucial in shaping modern childhood; these will be spelt out later on.

A second meaning pertains to a more unusual thrust with regard to these complex operations, for it was tucked away under layers of connotation, piled up one above the other for over two centuries. They were rendered feasible by what is known as statistical thinking and reasoning with its share of technologies.