The 1950s brought a widespread fear that kids were out of control under the influence of comic books and movies and rock and roll. Yet just a few years later, in Ingraham v. Wright, the court ruled that corporal punishment in schools is constitutional. 9. physical punishment could bring salvation to children. "I want" were two 'no no' words, it was always "I would like" or "may I have" (followed by the mandatory Please and Thank you of course. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, men spent an average of just 2.5 hours on child care and 4 hours on housework on a weekly basis back in 1965. When the weather was nice, neighbors gathered in one back yard or another to cook, eat, and chat. Schools increasingly deployed police officers, zero tolerance didn't succeed in making schools safer. However, research that came later seemed to prove that this was not the case. They encouraged their sons to excel in school, in athletics, and to attend college. They produced films such as High School confidential, Blackboard Jungle, Teen Rebel, The Wild One, Rebel Without a Cause, and more, which fed 1950s teens' rebellious spirit. Spare the Rod: Reforming School Discipline, Illuminating Journalism from American Public Media. At School, every Teacher was referred to as 'Sir' or 'Madam' and upon entry into the Classroom, everyone would stand and unanimously say "Good morning Sir". Boys were encouraged to enlarge themselves, explore, and claim extra territory. According to the Pew Research Center, while 73 percent of U.S. children under the age of 17 were living with their married parents in 1960, only 46 percent of that same demographic was living under the roof of still . As always, I acknowledge that I have sourced my images from the Internet and made efforts to copy only those which are marked as available for re-use. That's largely because back then, there was a huge amount of societal pressure placed on women to marry and have children, and less expectation that women would return to work after becoming mothers. Authoritarian parenting methods include high levels of discipline, direction and structure, according to the Youth Development Initiative of the Texas A&M System. Family Life in the 1950s. They should tell their children they were special, feed them when they were hungry, put them to bed when they were tired, and discipline them with words rather than corporal punishment. 8. Child-rearing practices of the past were more than abusive; they were flat-out insane by modern standards. There were grisly stories written for children to shock them into behaving. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd., all rights reserved. Family became a powerful unit, efficient enough to subdue the demons of war that were haunting the common man. The after-effects of the Second World War were still ongoing, for instance many goods were still being rationed in the . And bad behavior was seen as a major issue at the time. Many mothers read Dr. Benjamin Spock's 1946 book Baby and Child Care and followed his advice to hug, kiss, and encourage their children to express their individuality. if( 'moc.enilnoefiltseb' !== location.hostname.split('').reverse().join('') ) { To save my head I raised my arm, which he then hit with all his might. Every morning, when entering the classroom, a teacher would be greeted with a chorus of "good morning sir" or "good morning madam." A stitch in time saves nine. Children had to say "please" and "thank you," and if they didn't use these words correctly, they would be informed by adults that they were being rude. This blog is my way of sharing some memories of those times with others of a similar age.