Growing up in the shadows of your sibling
The way we raise our children has changed considerably throughout the years. Although some principles do still apply, many have been proven not to be as effective. While parents in the 19th century did have access to books that would guide them in their parenting journey, and some did actually have good tips, many of these books were just plain bizarre. Indeed, when was the last time you "aired" your baby in a cage outside your window, or gave your child some opium, really?
Click through the following gallery and get to know more crazy parenting tips from the 1800s.
Putting babies in cages outside of windows was a common practice in the 19th century. This was so the babies could get fresh air. They called it "airing."
The concept was introduced in the 1890s by Dr. Luther Emmett Holt in his book ‘The Care and Feeding of Children.’ This practice was supposed to make babies grow stronger and healthier.
Author of 'The Mothers Book,' Lydia Maria Child suggested in one of her books to tie the child to an armchair, “or something of that simple nature,” as a form of punishment.
Child also recommended giving buttons to children to play with. Shiny ones preferably, as long as they’re not made of brass. Choking hazard, anyone?
Reading fiction was somewhat a guilty pleasure that children should only indulge in with moderation. Child explained: “Reading works of fiction too much, tended to destroy a relish for anything more solid, and less exciting [...] To prevent an exclusive and injurious taste for fiction, it is well to encourage in them a love of History, Voyages, Travels, Biography, etc.”
In fact, it could kill you. In the 1846 book 'Fireside Education,' Samuel Griswold Goodrich gave an example of a mother who encouraged her son. At eight he was a prodigy, but died when he was just 10. “Premature fruit never ripens well,” he pointed out.
Indeed, too much imagination was thought not to be a good thing. Apparently it led to a distorted view of reality.
'Cassells Household Guide' advises: “With respect to the time of feeding, irregularity should be guarded against, by not giving children scraps to eat between meals; neither should they be exposed to the sight of tempting food at unsuitable times.”
If you did really want to give your kid a snack, then ‘Advice to a Mother on the Management of her Children,’ by Pye Henry Chavasse, had the answer: a piece of dry bread
According to the author, the reasoning is “he will never eat more of that than will do him good, and yet he will take sufficient to satisfy his hunger, which is very important.” Plus, “if a child be never allowed to eat cakes and sweetmeats, he will consider a piece of dry bread a luxury, and will eat it with the greatest relish.”
Sick child? A few drops of Paregoric syrup would do the trick in the 19th century. Children would definitely feel calmer with all the alcohol and opium it contained! (
For tapeworms, for instance, you’d give your child turpentine.
For dysentery, you’d give your kid some mercury.
‘Der Struwwelpeter,’ a German children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann published in 1845, had some really terrifying lessons to teach kids.
Another is about a child who ventures outdoors in bad weather and is taken by the wind, never to be seen again. “No one heard his screams and cries," reads the book.
Gum lacing was the answer. Yes, dentists would cut children’s gums instead of letting teeth break through naturally.
A 1857 American medical journal indicated that “a superficial incision will be of no avail; the gums must be cut down until the lancet impinges on the approaching tooth.”
This was listed as the most important quality to instil in children. This was the way to avoid children growing into greedy and self-absorbed adults.
The methodology was easy. All parents had to do was to never give children what they wanted. Ever.
'Cassells Household Guide' states: "It is commonly believed that no harm can come of letting a child have its own way, so long as it is a mere babe. But this is a serious delusion. As soon as a child is of an age to express its wants, whether by one means or another, it is old enough to be brought into habits of obedience. Obedience is the first lesson to be taught and very sensible are all well-managed babes of its meaning."
“No harsh words, no impatient gestures, need be added to enforce the rule which consists simply in not doing as the babe demands, if it be not the right time and the proper place for the desired gratification,” reads the guide.
While a bit of opium and mercury would be freely administered to children, drinking green tea was not recommended.
A number of disorders were associated with green tea, including hysteria and stomach aches. Green tea made people nervous, according to Pye Henry Chavasse.
A green pigment created at the time using arsenic was being used in a number of things, from clothes, to decor, and toys. Luckily, some experts at the time realized this and recommended children to stay away from green.
At least that’s what George Napheys suggested in his book, ‘The Physical Life of Woman: Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother.’ He blamed rooms with poor light, poor-fitted windows, and even the type of letter used in books.
Napheys also suggested that “Children conceived in the spring time have greater vitality, are less apt to die during infancy, than those conceived at any other time of the year.”
“Let them sleep while they can,” wrote Thomas E. Hill in his 1878 book ‘Manual of social and business forms.’
Sources: ('The Care and Feeding of Children'), ('Cassells Household Guide'), ('Advice to a Mother on the Management of her Children'), ('The mother’s book'), The American Academy of Pediatrics, The Bible, ('A Few Suggestions to Mothers on the Management of Their Children'), (‘Fireside Education'), (‘Der Struwwelpeter’), (‘The Physical Life of Woman: Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother’)
Bizarre parenting tips from the 19th century
From babies in cages to opium syrup
LIFESTYLE Parenthood
The way we raise our children has changed considerably throughout the years. Although some principles do still apply, many have been proven not to be as effective. While parents in the 19th century did have access to books that would guide them in their parenting journey, and some did actually have good tips, many of these books were just plain bizarre. Indeed, when was the last time you "aired" your baby in a cage outside your window, or gave your child some opium, really?
Click through the following gallery and get to know more crazy parenting tips from the 1800s.