Parenting in the 1950's

I love and am fascinated with anything from the 1950's. Although I know in realty it was probably not the perfect painted picture that we all think of when we think of the 1950's it still was time where the majority of people lived the lifestyle I live now. The dad goes to work and the mom stays home and takes care of the children. I have always been fascinated with the 1950's since I was a young girl. I always loved the 1950's section of Dollywood and the shows where they sing 1950's music. And I love watching Leave It To Beaver (although I'm sure life wasn't that perfect).

{credit}

Now as a parent I look back on that time and look at how kids were raised because I always here my grandparents and older people that were children back then say "if I had acted like that my mama would have whooped me". Back then kids were taught to obey and respect their parents and elders. It seems like everyday it is getting worse and worse with children not respecting adults. There were things back then that were no doubt too harsh of punishment, but I'm not talking about that kind of punishment.

Here's where I have trouble being a "1950's parent": back then the world did not revolve around their children. Gasp! One lady who raised children in the 1950's said when she would get together with her friends they would talk about the news, current fashion, knitting, etc, but never about their children. That's all I talk about to anybody really is my children!  Those women who were seen as perfect housewives rarely talked about their children! Nowadays if you have children and you don't talk about them constantly people will think you don't care about them. 

Here's a list of expectations of children back in the 1950's and I would love to instill these manners in my children like standing when an adult enters the room and not leaving the dinner table without asking to be excused. 

"Children had to stand up on any occasion when an adult would enter the room, even if that adult was the child's parent. On the bus, it was expected that boys would give up their seat for a woman or anyone senior in age and also give up their places in line for the bus. You could never leave the table at dinner time without asking permission first. Children had to say "please" and "thank you," and if they didn't use these words correctly, they would be informed by adults that they were being rude. When wearing a hat, it would be suitable etiquette to take it off when going indoors, into a shop or when talking to a lady on the street. A child would be taught to say, "I would like," and was taught never to say the words, "I want." Opening the door for someone, especially a woman or an adult, was necessary, as was letting her exit before the child did so."

Maddox is almost 3 and I already feel like he doesn't respect me as an adult and as his mother as much as he should, so that will definitely be something I will take away from my research into 1950's parenting. 

As far as baby care, back then they gave babies a bath every day sometimes twice a day in the summer! Cleanliness was very important. They also fed their babies Karo syrup mixed with evaporated milk as formula! I remember as some of my earliest memories as a child of my Nanny giving me evaporated milk to drink! I can still remember the taste too...yuck! They used simple flat birdseye cotton diapers with pins which now when you think about modern disposable and cloth diapers they have come a long way and have become much more complicated. Honestly, I have tried just about every disposable and cloth diapers out there and have decided that simple flats and covers are the most effective, simple diapering option out there so they were definitely doing something right there. 

Trying out  flats and pins the old fashioned way. Safety pins-not a good idea! But the same flats with a modern diaper cover works great!

I know things weren't all butterflies and rainbows as they appeared (ahem...Mad Men), but bottom line is that kids were taught to respect their elders and the world didn't revolve around them all the time. Things were also simpler and people used their common sense and didn't over think simple problems as we tend to do today. Once the big shift in society happened around the 1960's we defintiely left some wisdom behind that should be brought back to today's times!

What is your favorite time period or decade?