Study finds childrearing much changed over past nine decades

By William Atkins
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 20:03

Science - Biology

Dr. Markella Rutherford conducted an analysis based on parenting articles from the 1920s to the mid-2000s. She found that children have more freedoms within the home, but less independence outside of it.


Dr. Markella B. Rutherford, a professor within the Department of Sociology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, performed the historic study on children and parenting style.

Her article “Children’s Autonomy and Responsibility: An Analysis of Childrearing Advice” appears in the December 2009 issue of the journal Quantitative Sociology (volume 32, number 4).

Dr. Rutherford used three hundred advice columns and articles, between 1920 and 2006, on childrearing, child discipline, parenting methods, and family relationships in the magazine Parents for the background on her study of historical changes in the relationship between parental authority and their children.

Rutherford stated, "In earlier generations, children and adolescents were given meaningful opportunities to be responsible by contributing not only to their households but also to their larger communities.” [Guardian.cu.uk: “Lack of household chores making children less responsible, claims survey”]

In the 1930s, Rutherford found that children were given regular chores to do around the house. For instance, parents told children when to sleep and what to eat.

By the 1940s, parents were demanding less of their children and allowing them more freedoms and independence.

Still, from the 1930s to the 1970s children were often regularly and routinely given chores to do around the house, such as preparing meals, cleaning, and taking care of ill relatives.

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