[The child in our society].

Peter Berger once said that children are our "hostages to history", we expect them to ensure continuity. At the same time we project our wishes on them, they are our vectors of the future. Public discourse on children in modern society--charged with historical traditions and diverse expectations--provides a seismographic reading of our hopes and fears as the 20th century draws to a close. Pessimistic attitudes, the sense of looming dangers, appear to be ever more widespread, the discourse about modern childhood takes on an apocalyptic tone, children are seen increasingly as victims or dangerous delinquents. There are complaints that childhood disappeared or would be extended more and more. The paper provides a critical review of present day attitudes to children, investigates the current situation, and discusses the dilemmas that have arisen in the conditions of life and relations between the generations in modern civilization. But a question is also asked: How can we create the conditions that will do children and adults good? Last but not least, what can the health and social services contribute to making childhood worth living?