There was no place for childhood in the medieval world, for in the medieval mind the image of childhood had no reality or interest; it was regarded as a period of transition. It was unimportant, passed quickly and was just as quickly forgotten. Children were not depicted in art or sculpture; if the subject needed children then miniature adults were painted. It was only Greek art that had realistic representations of the child, but by the Fifteenth and Sixteenth century sculptures and paintings of children with parents and family began to appear. Many children of course did not survive infancy. The mortality rate was high; death was ever present not only for children but also for adults across all ages. The rich always had more children than the poor, having better living conditions and nutrition, but diseases such as plague, small pox, dysentery, fevers, diphtheria, typhoid and cholera all took their toll of rich and poor alike.
Read more, when you purchase the article in full.