The article provides an overview of the issues of social guardianship of children and young people that were covered in the national periodicals of the second half of XIX – the early XX century. It was found out that the media of that time covered the problems of child homelessness, vagrancy, prevention of crime among children and young people, patronage of minor orphaned children, the role of government religious institutions and private initiatives in the care and patronage, paying considerable attention to such essential areas as: all-round development of the child’s personality in the educational process (the development of mental, moral, aesthetic and physical abilities of children, elementary education, labor education and others); realization of medical rehabilitation and preventive measures (assistance for the sick, the insane, the disabled, the blind, the deaf and the dumb, the health care by complying with hygiene standards) the ensuring of basic necessities of life (housing, clothing, food) and the promotion of personal development (providing the necessary tools, toys and etc.), as well as the charity as the means of solving the major problems of social protection of children and young people.