Children in the developing world live in diverse and varied settings; the diversity of synergistic effects that impinge on childhood is often ignored by social scien tists. Citing human indicators data from six Southern African countries, the dif ficulties in establishing a meaningful prototype for conceptualising childhood in developing countries is highlighted. The paper focuses on two aspects of childhood in the developing world: the first year of schooling and the experience of urbani sation. Failure in the first year is a common feature of schooling in the developing world and is a phenomenon subjected to varying explanations. Gross regional dif ferences in early school failure rates are presented and discussed. Migration to urban areas for employment has diverse consequences for children, the outcome being determined by who migrates and the nature of the relocation. Studies are cited which highlight the importance of detailed analyses of childhood across var ied contexts in the developing world.
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