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Little secret you weren't taught: Parenting as a concept basically didn't exist before the 1970s. The overwhelming job that we call "parenting" used to be a community effort. (lemmy.today)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/parenting@lemmy.world
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[+] [S] -12 points 7 months ago (8 children)

Not really, no. The modern concept of a parent is really recent invention. Parents 70 years ago did not have expectations and responsibility that parents have today.

Your great grandparents would absolutely think the job of parenting today is absurd to the point of just being comedy.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    All kids used to be free range.

    Ask anyone born circa 1960.

    Pretty much everyone of them will have a 'Stand By Me' type story about travelling alone as a grade school kid.

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  • [–] [S] -3 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    Parents used to buy postage and literally mail their kids across the country.

    And people didn't think that was weird.

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    Compared to the conditions in the trains, it wasn't that bad.

    Also, the longest distance was about 700 miles, not really cross country.

    https://postalmuseum.si.edu/very-special-deliveries

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  • [–] [S] -2 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    In 1913, 700 miles was practically across the country. That was further away than most adults traveled from their birth town in their lives.

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    Not really. The transcontinental railroad had been around for over fifty years.

    Cars were already pretty popular. There were already about 5 million of them out there.

    Ocean liners and tourism was available.

    The St. Louis Worlds Fair of 1904 got 20 million visitors.

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