The Short Stop—They Grew Up Fast
During my recent radio interview with Debbie Chavez, she asked what surprises I uncovered while researching Then Comes Marriage? A Cultural History of the American Family. One of them concerns the way in which Americans have viewed youth and adulthood over the years.
It floors me that when a 10 certain year-old girl’s parents went on a trip a few centuries ago, they put her in charge of the household. That meant caring for the younger children and an aged grandfather, as well as cooking, keeping a fire going, chopping wood, getting water from a stream, cleaning, babysitting, and taking care of laundry. When the mother and father returned some days later, they rewarded their little girl with a new apron!
Debbie also couldn’t get over that young people in their mid-teens got married, and their parents encouraged them! What’s different between then and now is the way we view childhood; namely, we have an extended period of youthful irresponsibility. Back then, Americans saw the early years as a time of preparation for adulthood, for assuming mature behaviors and duties. They regarded children as basically undeveloped and in need of growing up as quickly as possible in order to pull their weight around a parents’ farm or business, as well as to exhibit trustworthy behavior.
I find it interesting that a few weeks ago, President Obama proposed that young people be covered under their parents’ medical insurance coverage until well into their mid-20s. By that age in colonial America, and actually all the way up until the 1950s, young people were expected to have married and be raising their own children. In 2010, however, our culture considers it virtuous to remain young for as long as possible.
Tags: Debbie Chavez
Gary 
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