Compare And Contrast Early Childhood Development In The 1800s

Childhood development in the late 1800’s and today differ greatly, all the way from birth to schooling. Rather we’re talking cognitive, behavioral, or physical there are clear and vast differences in all categories of childhood development. Some of these differences served as advantages for the children of that era, while some served as disadvantage.

One major example of a difference in childhood development in the late 1800s is schooling. During the time there was a growth in public schools, and attendance became a requirement, which were huge changes at the time even though we think little about such things today. There were also fewer books and other school supplies that we rarely think twice about having in our schools today. Discipline,

Most of the time children were only able to play on days that when the weather conditions were bad enough that they could not work and in the 1800s they didn’t have the fancy complex dolls, board games, or toys children have today. (Toys and play in eighteenth-century America) There were no motorized race cars, plastic dolls, Barbie dream houses, or pretend kitchens. Until the Industrial Revolution toys had been made of wood, fabric, or ceramics and with the revolution brought what would be known as the “golden age of American tin toys”. (Kovel) Not only were the toys children had at this time not very fancy but there were very few, particularly if you were a lower class family you were lucky to have even one toy to share with all your siblings, and were often passed down from child to child. Toys were also different for boys and girls. (Toys and play in eighteenth-century America) This likely had an effect on child development as many of their toys were more thought provoking and difficult so it taught them patience, how to think “outside of the box”, and since toys were so rare it likely taught them to appreciate what they had. Some of the toys and games they had also taught them hand-eye coordination, and survival

In the late 1800s, the years following the Civil War particularly, there was an era of industrial growth which led to a growth in the working class. This growth gave rural families a dream of a better life, so many moved to cities for steady and reliable jobs just to be disappointed. They were met with jobs that required long hours, little pay, and unsafe working conditions. Due to the awful pay even children as young as three sometimes had to work and often met injuries and death. (Childhood Lost: Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution) Even those families who did not live or move to the city were required to work long hard hours on the farms, and it was not uncommon for young children to have many chores to help the family. Mornings usually started around 5:00am with the mother starting breakfast and the father doing whatever hard labor he needed for the rest of the day to go smoothly. The chores for the children were split up based on gender; while the girls worked on preparing meals, and doing basic chores around the house the boys helped their fathers out on the field. (B) This made a vast difference in how children developed as compared to today. Due to how much work children had to do to help their families many of them didn’t have much time to play or go to school, in fact it was not uncommon for children to drop out