Ideas of childhood are social constructions and as such closely linked to the values and norms of a society, according to the premise of social science research on childhood. The study examines the shaping of these ideas in the mid-19th century. The school discourse on children and childhood in Swiss-German teachers' association journals is analysed using constructivist grounded theory. It is shown that children are consistently constructed in deficit and that a strictly asymmetrical generational order prevails in school. In this way, teachers legitimise their goal of being recognised in society as a professional occupation.