Introduction. The article discusses theoretical considerations of the child and childhood in social pedagogy. It also presents various approaches and concepts of childhood in a broad context of social sciences and humanities (philosophy, psychology, history, and sociology). Aim. The analyses aimed to present the contemporary approach to the research on the child and childhood. Contemporary research on childhood places the child at the “centre” of interest. The child is treated here subjectively and integrally as a “humanum”. Such a point of view has been presented here. The specific objectives involve presenting various images of childhood that emerge from the research of social pedagogues and emphasising the importance of diagnosis in creating a particular image of childhood (a description of the child’s living conditions in the family, at school, in the local community). Materials and methods. The article is mainly based on pedagogical literature such as monographs on childhood, scientific articles, chapters in edited studies, and reports. The literature review is based upon a content analysis. Results. Childhood is a very important stage in human biography. It lays the foundations for further stages of life. Therefore, the childhood becomes a subject for pedagogical research, especially social pedagogy that describes, among other things, environmental conditions of widely understood upbringing, socialisation, and educational processes in terms of their correct or incorrect course. Research on childhood is carried out according to various theoretical and methodological paradigms as well as according to different criteria. Most often it is thematic research. Research on childhood grounded in social pedagogy is an object- and subject-oriented, objective-subjective, qualitative and quantitative, or it combines both orientations (mixed research, triangulation of research). These can be defined as traditional and contemporary research on childhood. Particular attention is paid today to the child as a subject of development and upbringing rooted in history, and in the local culture, especially in the family. The approach to the child is also related to respect for his/her dignity, rights, and participation in their own development as well as in social life.