Life for a child

         Children were treated in two different ways - they were either nurtured and had separate rights or they meant little or nothing to anyone. The concept of a child as we know it today, however, did not exist then. There was no law concerning a child.A person was either named a helpless baby or an adult - there was nothing inbetween. Children from poor families unfortunately suffered the most - their fate was usually to be sold or apprenticed to learn a trade from an early age or if they were born in a castle they would be a servant the rest of their lives. By contrast it was common for wealthy people of the Norman era to send their children away to be brought up by other people - this usually happened from the age of seven.Some people did indeed recognize children in their own right and it appears there were even laws to protect the rights of orphans as time went on. 
The first important date in a child's life was centered upon their baptism. this was designed to wash away sin or drive all evil away from the child. Although the Catholic church didn't agree with women taking on the job, some cases were so extreme the midwife had to do the ceremony as a baby couldn't die without being Baptized.