Book People Archive

Re: Childrearing Manuals

>  >Does anyone know of any 18th century, childrearing manuals? Or even perhaps
>  >some 19th century, childrearing manuals?

The lastest addition to the Celebration of Women Writers is a
manual focusing on what one might term "moral education",
the formation and direction of child & youthful character.

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/child/book/book.html
Child, Lydia Maria Francis (1802-1880)
                            The Mother's Book (1831)

As you can tell from the title, it's addressed to mothers;
A lot of  her advice is good sense, and still sound.
While both boys and girls are discussed as younger children,
one  gets a sense that older male children somehow quietly
vanish into a larger male world; her discussion of teenagers
and their upbringing focuses primarily on girls.

The previous posts inspired me to do a quick search through
the book for references for fathers.  The labor division of wife-at-home
and Father-elsewhere is clearly in place.  Father should back up
mother when a child is too big to discipline easily, and add
moral support for mom's decisions. (Parents are explicitly
counselled not to argue over decisions in front of the children;
Child recommends they  resolve any disagreements  in private.)

Alas, in the case of a marriage where the partners cannot agree,
and the influence of the father is  a destructive one,  a case
"so unnatural, so wretched, and so hopeless", Child can only
counsel  the unhappy wife to "pray to God... He alone can help you."

I spent a while trying to decide whether to list it under
"education" or "conduct manuals"; while Child introduces
it as an educational work, it doesn't really fit our current
more professionalized definition.  (It ended up in "conduct".)

Best wishes, Mary Mark Ockerbloom (Celebration of Women Writers)
--
My apologies: due to recent illness I am behind in answering email.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mary Mark (aka Mary Mark Ockerbloom) "JOY (le`): [Chinese Character]
557 Pelham Rd                        Also means music.  The ancient symbol
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celebration@[redacted]   www.members.dca.net/johnandmary/