The common-sense understanding of childhood as a protected space has led to violence against and by children being understood as spectacular or exceptional. In contrast, this edited collection shows how violence enters into ordinary, routine practices of childhood and children's experiences. It brings together academic and practitioner points of view to understand how violence is enacted against children in infancy, adolescence, in school, in care, at home and on the street. Each topic is addressed in one chapter by an academic and in the next chapter by a practitioner, to draw out and explore the differences and similarities between academic and practitioner perspectives. Wells' and Montgomery's introduction brings these viewpoints together and argues that violence against children can be related to issues of social recognition, particularly at the start and end of childhood and in contexts of poverty.