This paper explores the historical evolution of the relationship between families and medical care for children, highlighting the shift from traditional home-based remedies to modern public healthcare. It traces the establishment of the first paediatric hospitals in 19th-century Italy and the gradual, often conflicted, acceptance of academic medicine over popular traditions. A central theme is the changing perception of childhood, moving from an emphasis on obedience to a focus on the child’s well-being and happiness. This cultural shift influenced hospital practices, leading to the eventual, though delayed, admission of parents to children’s wards, a practice supported by the research of figures like Bowlby and Robertson. Drawing on an autobiographical case study of a haemophiliac patient in the 1960s, it illuminates the real-world impact of these transformative changes in paediatric care and family involvement.
University of Florence, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-0477-7944
Chapter Title
I bambini e la malattia: note storiche sulle relazioni tra famiglia e cure mediche
Authors
Gianfranco Bandini
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0943-4.05
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Formare professionisti dell’educazione, della scuola, della cura
Book Subtitle
La Scuola in Ospedale e l’Istruzione Domiciliare
Editors
Vanna Boffo
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
208
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0943-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0942-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0943-4
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0944-1
Series Title
Studies on Adult Learning and Education
Series ISSN
2704-596X
Series E-ISSN
2704-5781