Ideological and ontological grounds of childhood in the Ukrainian culture

The article considers the understanding of childhood and the attitude to children in the Ukrainian culture in the XVIII - ХІХ centuries, the two side nature of this attitude has been shown; on the one hand it is parents' love to the children and social and cultural setting to the birth of children, and, at the same time, on the other hand - the use of child’s labor, severity in up-bringing, the insufficient care for the child.