Childhood
Through the ages, until relatively recently, it was not
even a given that a child would make it to adulthood. Improved
medical services and developments in hygiene understanding mean
that diseases which were once rife are no longer the danger they
once were. Quite often a child would die, sometimes along with
their mother during birth or shortly after. Smallpox, diphtheria,
whooping cough, measles and tuberculosis were just some of the
illnesses which could afflict the whole population, and children
with their lower resistance and lack of vaccines frequently
succumbed. The contagious nature of the illnesses and the close
conditions of housing meant whole families could be wiped out
within days. Today, the infant mortality rate is very low in
comparison.
In Scotland, after the birth of a child, a drink of whisky
was taken, called the 'blythe meat', and
following the baptism of a child, a gift of food - the
christenin' piece - was often made to the first
person encountered when leaving the church. The ceremony was nearly
always in a church, and it was important for luck to ensure that
the child was not taken into any other building until it had been
to the church.
Before the introduction of Education Acts and suchlike, few
children went to school full-time; the
poorer classes could not afford to pay for classes and they
required to work with the family or for someone else. Children were
frequently employed as chimney sweeps because of their ability to
get into small spaces - this, however, was a dangerous occupation
and many were killed. Jobs on the farm were undertaken by children,
such as scrubbing, fetching water, helping with washing, collecting
eggs and obtaining wood for the fire.
However, although it was hard work, it was good exercise and
little excess money for luxuries meant that children had fewer
sweets and a good diet, generally. There were still the unfortunate
who frequently went hungry but vegetables and little meat was the
mainstay.
Before the advent of television, children would spend
evenings, especially in the winter, listening to the wireless with
their family. Games included tug of
war, hopscotch, hide and seek and dodgie. Toys were often
homemade, and examples include the gird and cleek, whip and peerie
and the yo-yo. The gird and cleek consisted of a hoop and rod,
usually metal, which had to be rolled along with the 'cleek' for
guidance and building speed. A whip and peerie was like a spinning
top with a string attached; this also had to be kept going with the
string. Conkers was played, especially by boys, who tried to smash
each others stringed chestnuts with their own. Girls played with
skipping ropes and if they were lucky, they may have had
a doll
. The more affluent families could afford a china or wax
headed doll, but poorer children had rag dolls made from scraps of
material. For a time, golliwogs were popular, but fell out of
favour in the later 20th century as they were deemed to be racially
derogative. Occasionally a lucky child would find themselves with a
painted wooden or metal rocking horse or a set of tin soldiers,
usually if their parents were affluent. The downside to belonging
to the upper classes, however, was that a child was rarely looked
after by their mother, but had a nanny or governess instead.
Families were generally much larger, with as many as ten children
being not unusual.
Books
were comparatively expensive, so when not listening to
the radio or playing, children had a variety of magazines to choose
from. They bear little resemblance to the type of publication
available today for children from preschoolers to
teenagers. Girls'
Own (published 1880-1956), Boys'
Own (1879-1967) and Hotspur
were particularly popular, with adventure stories,
advice articles and other columns. Girls also had recipes and
fashion pieces.
During the war many children found it a time of worry and
fear. Not least because of the invasions themselves, but many were
separated from their parents for their own safety and sent to live
in the countryside. For some, this would be their first taste of
rural life and many enjoyed it, but there was the constant anxiety
for their parents who were still in the towns and
cities.
Children in rural areas were already expected to participate
in the running of the farm, but in wartime they were sometimes
excused from school for this reason. The effort to keep the economy
as stable as possible was even more vital at this time so all hands
were needed; many farm labourers had enlisted and were away
fighting. Gas
masks were issued to each child, who received
instructions on usage and were expected to carry it at all
times.
During World War II, boys collected all the scrap metal they
could find for the war effort - it contributed to the manufacture
of planes and weapons - and the Scouts were used as messengers and
signallers.
The Scout movement began in the early 20th century,
established by Robert Baden-Powell. The basic intention was to
instil in young people good values such as service to others.
Morals at the time would not permit the mixing of boys and girls
(they were also separated in many schools) so the Girl Guides were
formed. They worked on the same principles as the Scouts - they
were originally the Girl Scouts - and soon after groups were set up
for younger movements - Brownies and Cubs. These are still ongoing
worldwide, and it is estimated that approximately 50% of UK women
were in the Guides at some point.
