The Do’s and Don’ts of raising kids – advice from years gone by

 

Everyone it seems, has an opinion when it comes to how best to raise children! Not that that’s anything new. All throughout history ‘useful’ snippets of information have come to light.

As early as 1684 it was recorded that John Locke, in his wisdom, thought that the best way to increase the strength of a newborn baby was to put slices of steak on their bottom and pour warm wine over their head!

The very first comprehensive childcare manual was published in the UK in 1753 and ever since it seems parents have been bombarded with advice on what’s right and wrong for their baby. Long before the Treaty of Waitangi had even been signed, James Nelson’s Essay on the Government of Children was full of the dos and don’ts of raising a child in the 1700’s.

The advice in the 1800’s wasn’t much better, with William Cobbett, proclaiming in 1829, the importance of giving babies an hour-long, ice-cold bath every day, with the mother singing the whole way through. Apparently to overpower the voice of the child!

In 1861, the famous Mrs Beeton instructed all breastfeeding mothers to down two pints of stout a day and to strictly avoid "that delusion called chicken-broth". Such a contrast from the ‘don’t drink when you’re pregnant’ awareness campaigns we have these days.

Seems Pye Henry Chavasse was a fan of an alcohol cure or two as well. The author of the 19th century's bestselling baby manual, The Young Wife's and Mother's Book, he suggests that if a child was suffering from wind, a very small quantity of gin might be the answer. Perhaps with ice and a slice of lemon?!

Parents of small children didn’t escape from advice either with Mrs Frankenburg, in her 1922 book Common Sense in the Nursery, declaring that "infants should hardly be indoors at all between 8 in the morning and 5 at night in the winter, and from 7am to 10pm in the summer." So much for TV and video games!

On reflection, all things considered, perhaps things aren’t so bad these days after all!

Article written by the team at Under 5s www.under5s.co.nz. Remember to check out our other articles on kids Health & Wellbeing too.