Childhood has its ways
As was pointed out in para3_note1 above, the idea that childhood was a special stage of development with its own needs, characteristics, and challenges was a relatively new concept in the 18th century. Rousseau is the thinker perhaps most responsible for developing the modern notion of childhood as a separate realm of innocence requiring nurture and protection. In para261 below Rousseau exhorts his readers to "Treat your pupil according to his age."