While today's child views his or her life as stressful and busy, children of the Puritan religion had many more reasons to worry, in addition to all their daily activities. The adults in the community looked down on the children who represented the devil and his works. Children are born with the burden of Adam's sin, and they must be freed from it. At the age of five, children were put to work to contribute to the family's needs. Most of the children were small and able to help with weeding plants and housework. After an early morning work session, most children went to school. The school was very important to the Puritans because they believed that the devil would influence anyone who was easy enough to deceive. Schooling was not accessible to everyone and only taught the necessary basic skills of reading and writing. Schooling being a privilege, it was much stricter. This means that if a child did something stupid, he or she would be humiliated in front of the class. Even after a long day of work; work, Bible classes, and schooling, the children still had some play time. Once these basic skills were learned, they got to work and followed in their parents' footsteps. There was no intermediate stage between childhood and adulthood, they were forced straight into adult life. This would force children to lead a miserable life, which many would hate to live. Most children did not want to follow in their parents' footsteps, so another burden fell on the small shoulders of an innocent child. Thus, the tragedies of Salem in 1692 were caused by the strict rules of the Puritan religion. The Church will become the dictator of the Salem community. There were many rules set in the middle of paper......and children in exile. Maryland: Heritage Books Inc., 2002. Print. Norton, Mary Beth. In the devil's trap. New York: Vintage Books Inc., 2002. Print. Gaustad, Edwin Scott. A Religious History of America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1990. Print. Linder, Douglas. “The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Commentary.” University of Missouri-Kansas. October 2009. Web. March 28, 2014. Campbell, Donna M. “Puritanism in New England.” Washington State University. August 4, 2013. The web. March 28, 2014. None. “People and ideas: the Puritans. » Public broadcasting service. 2014. Internet. March 28, 2014. None. “Puritan Life.” Online textbook of United States history. April 1, 2014. the web. April 7, 2014None. “Salem Witch Trials.” Discovery education. 2014. Internet. March 27, 2014. Sayles, Jameka K. “Children's Lives in the New England Colonies.” » Yale-New Haven Institute. March 2, 2006. the web. April 8 2014.