UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF.

MAGAD NAGM PRESENTED BY / ENAS MOHAMMED EHAB SHIMAA MOHMED FAWZY

Carefree childhood was considered the 1st stage of each childs life during which parents should care for their young children as this make them understand and respect the culture and the traditions of their country , and helped them to share their fathers in the activates such as : cultivating lands , fishing and hunting so carefree of children had a great influence in the development of any . civilization

Children were considered a blessing and had value in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians had 2 terms for child /children ms/msw and rd/ rdw . Both boys and girls were welcome in ancient Egypt, though the first born son was preferred. Ancient Egyptians considered giving birth to a male heir is a major task for woman and if she failed to do that, may be this causes divorce. Some families were proud of having 10-15 child as they believed that the deities smile to the families which had a lot of children and became angry from the families whose houses free of children's laughs, for example king Ramses II who mentioned a lot that he was the father of at .least 100 sons and 50 daughters The birth of the child was attended by female members of the house hold. The Egyptians depended on Seshat, goddess of writing and arithmetic, who settled the length of each life at

Some deities were associated with pregnancy and childbirth such as: Isis, Nephthys, Taweret who protected the pregnant women and the dwarf god Bes protected women in .childbirth

: Naming the child The happier aspects of family life when parents in ancient Egypt were choosing the right names for their young, regarding these as an inseparable part of the child's personality. Sometimes these names expressed delight at the new arrival such as "this boy I wanted " or "the pretty girl has join us ", others names included some deity like "May Amoun protect him" OR they might express devotion to the "reigning monarch like "sneferu is good The choice of children's names_ by their parents _ which related to the gods ' names indicated how they were influenced with their doctrine and believe in it. As we know that religion occupied an important part of ancient Egyptians' life and the person who sticked with his religion, he

: The childnourishment Egyptians took care of their children by good nourishment, so the most essential need for the child's early development was of course milk, and the only way to ensure this in those days was the natural one of breastfeeding. We have a lot of breast feeding scenes either royal or private such as a unique Amarna relief which portrays Queen Nefertiti feeding one of her six daughters, moreover the popular figurines of Isis giving . suck to her son Horus

Breastfeeding by the mother or the nurse went on for much longer than was the custom elsewhere normally it continued for three years.

In the condition of shortage of milk, mothers could use magical remedies to obtain the milk. So they resorted to the goddesses of magic such as the goddess Isis in some hymns who says: "Bring her !".this milk

A baby was carried in a sling at its mother's breast, seldom on the back .this is like nowadays that we can see women holding their babies in the same way.

: The wet-nursing If a mother did not have enough milk of her own and could not nurse her baby, she entrusted it to a wet-nurse who might have belonged to one of the poorer families who supplemented their incomes .by wet nursing The Egyptians realized the importance of the wet nurse and the strong relationship between child and its nurse which was established through the milk as in noble families the nurse remain with the child until it grew up, becoming its teacher and this relationship wasn't broken . Royal children had many nurses, often from noble families and their children grew up with the princes and princesses. So the nurses had a high rank such as: Tuthomosis III married the daughter of his nurse, thus the royal wet - nurses came to enjoy considerable status

The relationship between child and its parents :

Children grew up close to their mother. Who cared for them while they were small and while they went to school. A father was not only obliged to nurture his children, he was also supposed to protect them, he needed to know about the position of his child and help him in the time of need. Like their parents, Children were supposed to love and honor their parents and look after them when they were ill or old. It was mainly the duty of the eldest son to bury his parents and care for their funerary cult. So this indicates the right carefree childhood rules that

The close relationship between parents and children is expressed through all periods. From the old kingdom,we have a unique scence which considered to be one of the oldest and most remarkable finds of its kind comes from the mastaba of the vizier Ptahshepes at Abusir. This fragment of a relief shows part of a man seated with a little boy on his lap. His left arm encircles . the boy's waist

While the boy rests his own right arm on his father's shoulder. The youngster is naked except for the typical child's ringlets; he wears a small pectoral on his chest, and an amulet on a chain. The scene probably represents Ptahshepses himself with his .young son This scene gives us an idea about the strong ligature between a child and his father which helps him to have an intact personality. In the new kingdom, we can see the whole family on a pleasure trip in a papyrus skiff, hunting birds and .catching fish

Like their parents, Children were supposed to love and honor their parents and look after them when they were ill or old. It was mainly the duty of the eldest son to bury his parents and care for their funerary cult. So this indicates to the right carefree childhood rules that were .inherited through generations

: The treatment of the child As the Ancient Egyptians used to take care of their childrens nourishment and their heath as well , so they used one of the 2 methods to cure their : children : The 1st method Milk from mothers who had borne male children was regarded as a potent-medicine, stored in little jugs shaped like a kneeling Isis holding her ailing child Horus to her bosom. And they used to treat . babies' colds and even adult eye infections : The 2nd method The Egyptians seem to have suspected that a child's health could be affected by medicine. According to this way the child was supposed to consume a mouse and the same mouses bones would then be placed in a little canvas (cloth) bag tied with seven knots and hung around the child's neck as

: The graves of children It seems that many children, especially the newborn, were not buried in their own graves but they might be buried under the floor of their parent's house. Sometimes .such bodies were placed in clay vessels Rich families were interested to embalm their children, placed in their own separate coffins and sometimes wrapped in linen while Bodies of poor children were protected only by linen wrappings or palm-frond mats. When the child died, he was accompanied in his burial place with funeral equipment, at the head of which his toys and vessels of .various sorts

: Games Children had their games and toys in Egypt, as everywhere, using any objects that came their way pebbles, pieces of wood or cloth, household pets and monkeys were popular playthings . too However, youngsters were capable of making their own tops, rattles, simple blowpipes and, above

Some children, or their parents, used wood or other material to make carvings or models of crocodiles or leopards that could open their jaws and wag their tails; which indicates that they had good observation of .nature

It is noticeable that only the more civilized nations gave a lot of attention for children games, as it helps them recognize the surrounding environment . and enhancement their minds

Also there was a wide gamut of games to play, too. Children can amuse themselves by walking along planks, wrestling, running and jumping. On the upper register of one relief in the 6th- dynasty mastaba of Mereruka we see a boy balancing on the outstretched arms of a friend. In the lower register, there is a group of girls playing; the inscription ".mentioned the name of this game as "pressing the grapes

While, in the middle register there is a very interesting scene in which a group of children having a war game. Three boys, holding ostrich h feathers I their right hands, are marching around the 'prisoner' whose arms are folded: three other face the prisoner, holding 'insignia of rank' in their left hands, wooden poles ending in a model hand. Nearby squats a boy with arms stretched out to defend himself while his playmates strike him out .with their fist

It's clear that the idea of this game must have derived from the news which children could hear about their pharaoh, his various campaigns and how many captives he caught which indicates that .daily life events affected children's life

:Between a child and an adult From about the age of five children pastimes began to prepare them for the labours of adult life, as we see in some 18th-dynasty tomb murals of Sheikh Abd el Qurna. In the tomb of Khaemhet, for example, a boy is shown walking alongside the ploughman ,scattering seed; in that of Menna young girls are helping with the harvest ,while in Userhet's we see children gathering ears of corn in sacks. In the tomb of Rekhmire, there is a record of children of slaves being taxed according to the work they

Diodoros wrote that boys who had not reached maturity worked in the mines, carrying blocks through low galleries; possibly these were children of slaves working with their parents. Boys who went into the army had to leave their parents at an early age. According to the Egyptian principle of maat (justice) monuments only show us children at lighter work. On the other hand, papyri from the GrecoRoman period mentioned children being rented out . to work by their fathers or widowed mothers The ancient Egyptian parents encouraged their children to participate in practical life at an early age in order .to gain life experiences

: Reaching puberty The years of carefree childhood seem to have ended with the ceremony of circumcision 'sebi '.there is no exact information on the age at which it was done ,but scholars recently researched the probable age of ancient Egypt boys and girls at the climax of puberty and came up with 14 for the .boys and 12-13 for the girls

As the 12th-dynasty provincial princeling Khnumhotep found it worth mentioning that his reign had begun 'before he was '.circumcised Although it was a surgical operation it was carried out not by doctors but by priests. It seems that it was a religious ritual. This also accords with the fact that the instrument used remained always a hooked flint knife, which was used during the process of mummification. The ritual character of the operation emerges from the fact that large groups of boys were . circumcised together

A stela of the First Intermediate Period records the circumcision of 120 boys at one time. After a ceremony in which a band was knotted around the head (s m), a boy took over adult .responsibilities, thus ending his child hood According to some portrayals of unclothed labourers and craftsmen in mastaba murals it seems that circumcision was common among the lower classes in the Old Kingdom. Only in the Late Period do we find that it had become obligatory for the priesthood. It is known that king Piankhi in the 25th-dynasty avoided contact

Circumcision of girls was carried out exclusively by women in strict secrecy. This is probably why we have no information about its practice in ancient Egypt, if it did occur; it was probably the concern of a narrow circle of female relatives. Textual references to 'uncircumcised virgins' suggest that . female circumcision was known For girls, as for boys, it may have been the . stepping stone into adult life

: About Education The recognition of education considered to be the first step in establishing great .civilization
Children were considered to be ignorant, innocent, and without sin. According to the Egyptian belief, as the Greek historian Plutarch related, innocent children were closer to the gods and had prophetic gifts: children told Isis where she could find the coffin of her murdered husband. Other authors wrote that during the procession of the bull god Apis, children started to give . oracles

So according to this belief the ancient Egyptian parents used to advise their children. For example, sage Khety teaches his son "A good son, whom the god gives, is one who adds to that which his teacher told him." Other maxims from Ptah-hotep to his son: "To listen well is to speak well". "He who listens is beloved of god, he who does not listen is hated by god". Teach your son to be a hearer"." "Do not take a word and then bring it back". "Only speak when you have something worth saying." "The actions which are sealed by your name are better than your words in the wind".

Youths intended to become high functionaries were educated at residential schools, or together with the royal children at the palace, to become loyal followers to the future king. Boys coming from lower class could attain high office. They were educated by an official who was called their (mental) father. The first mention of a school is around 2000 BCE. The didactic method was to listen, obey, and learn the teaching of the master by (.heart (to memorize
Behavior was important: the ideal was the "silent one", who could listen well. Laziness .was punished by beating

But here the sexes play apart, girls grew up near their mothers. . They learn how to dance, to play music, and to sing, also . they take part in the acrobatic games

Letters from middle class women from Deir el-Madina suggests that women too could learn how to read and write, possibly from their father or brother. Poorer girls learned what they would need when they married by helping their mothers in the household.

After discussing this subject, we candeduce that the one who realized the needs of the child, how to bring up him, to look after him, to cure him and to give him the experiences of life, leads him to be aware and civilized person, must had reached .a high level of civilization

Thanks for your listening Special thank to Dr / Maged Negm