The pram was
invented at the end of the
nineteenth century and was made
presentable by Queen Victoria. The
entrance of this rolling vehicle
into the baby-care was a logical
consequence of the common
child-rearing practice of the
better-off classes of society at the
time. It was quite usual in wealthy
families to have their children
raised by nurses and nannies, partly
completely outside of the family
circle.
Not having to look after your own
children as parents was a sign of a
household with sufficient staff that
would take over the child-rearing
chores. And thus, nannies with prams
were crowding the streets and the
parks of the towns, where the
construction of roads and streets
was quicker than in the
country-side. The pram is also a
sign for the in those days practiced
distance between mother and child in
the upper classes.
But how did the not so well-off
families handle child-rearing?
Surely, before the "era" of the pram
children had to be transported
somehow, too?
Recorded history and, too, history
of art and culture often neglected
the lives of poorer or average
families, so that our view of the
past cultural eras is mirroring only
the life-style of the upper classes
of society.
But now and again you can find on
old pictures motives reflecting the
rural life or - at least as a
part-aspect - of poorer families.
Rembrandt drew e.g. a woman with a
child strapped to her back (pic on
the bottom left). Women in rural
traditional wear were portrayed, who
were glancing full of love at their
baby lying in the sling. As well, a
Swedish mother in a Sunday dress can
be found, who is carrying her child
in an almost modern-looking
sling.(pic left)
A painting of the late middle-ages
in an Italian chapel, that is
showing the holy family during their
flight from Egypt, is in accordance
to some aspects of the circumstances
during the time of it's origin; and
thus it seems to have been quite
usual during the middle-ages that
mothers, like Mary in the picture,
took their babies with them in a
sling. Gradually, quite a lot can
actually be found that proves that
carrying babies was quite usual in
Europe, too. (Chamberlain 1997,
Manns, Schrader 1995, Zglinicki
1979). It is a sad fact to have to
refer to such pictures to bring this
home to us. It seems that the - at
least until the beginning twentieth
century - tradition, to always take
your child with you during its first
year, is mainly forgotten. Often all
of the women of the family took part
in this, beside the mother and aunts
also older sisters. You can only
find few reports or tales about
this, mainly stemming from the rural
parts of the country. The memories
end in the 1940s. - By the way, it
was also common, not to leave the
little ones sleeping alone. They
didn't have their bed necessarily
with their parents but with other
grown-ups. (Chamberlain 1997)
This, too, was completely forgotten
or got a bad reputation. - But
sometimes stunning proofs for a
carrying-tradition in Germany
emerge. Especially rural clothing
has one or the other surprise to
offer. Not only slings were in use,
but some coats are showing
specialties for the child-carrying
or can be transformed easily in a
way that the carrying is made
easier.
To carry children and have close
body-contact especially seems to
have been common in rural areas. But
often this was connected with
poverty and being part of the
uneducated class of society.
However, the accurate clothing on
some pictures seems to contradict
this image, even though the carrying
of babies was mainly important for
travellers, who were not at all part
of the wealthy population.
The distance between parents and
their children, the idea to have to
start education early, not to spoil
them and to prepare them early
enough for the hard way of life were
a widespread phenomenon in upper
classes of the last century. |
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