The article poses a question concerning the modern state of childhood and the possibility of its description in terms of cultural-historical theory. In particular, it deputes whether it would be adequate to characterize modern childhood to be in the state of crisis or transition by analogy with the works Daniil El’konin. An overview of international studies of contemporary childhood and early adulthood are provided. The data concerning childhood is analyzed in respect to the basic assumptions of cultural-historical theory. A description of a new stage of the life cycle - “emerging adulthood”- is provided, it is shown that young people in developed countries are not inclined to take final decisions regarding family life and a future profession, they do not fix marriage sexual relations even in a situation of cohabitation, do not plan the birth of children, alter short periods of study in universities with periods of work. It is shown that the presumption of universality of an adult position and its role in a child's development as a positive characteristic of childhood and a precondition of the development requires revision in the current situation. Description and consideration of the results of the international project «Childhood as a social phenomenon», in particular opts-out from the domination of the Euro-Christian model of growing up, recognition of the diversity of models of childhood is drawn from the analysis. These results are described and analyzed as a basis for refusing from the idea of uniqueness and universality of standards development. The insensitivity of the classical model of childhood to the recognition of socio-cultural values of individual and even marginal is stated. Thus a conclusion about necessity of refusal from submission of the reproduction of cultural forms as the only form of development is being drawn. It is also discussed that the presumption of a preset sense (posed by an adult) acquired in the course of development in interaction with an adult is also invalid. Attention is attracted to the necessity of self-forking sense. A hypothesis is put forward about the change of the axial (directional) child development to a rhizome-like (in which the movement can occur in different unpredictable directions).