He is known above all for his book L’Enfant et la Vie Familiale sous l’Ancien Régime (1960), which was translated into English as Centuries of Childhood (1962).

[2] Its central thesis is that attitudes towards children were progressive and evolved over time with economic change and social advancement, until childhood, as a concept and an accepted part of family life, from the 17th century.

"[3] As soon as a child could function without their mother (around seven years old, according to Ariès), they entered the adult world, but this would later change as the importance of education was recognized and more children began attending school.

[5] Ariès is likewise remembered for his invention of another field of study: the history of attitudes to death and dying.

[6] He was initially close to the Action française but later distanced himself from it, as he viewed it as too authoritarian, hence his self-description as an "anarchist".