As an introduction, this article presents an overview of the history of childhood. It goes on to point out a selection of topics significant to the discourse on children growing up in contemporary new religious movements such as: parenting styles and abuse, education and religious freedom, and legal matters and state interventions, through examples from the research field. The discussion highlights the polemic between perspectives in the secondary construction of childhood within new religions and concludes that although the study of new religions has turned from first generation converts to second generation children, research based on the notion of children as active agents is still much needed.