Kenneth Glad
Raising a child is hard. Every generation of parents relies on expert advice to survive the early years, trusting the science of their day. But looking back at historical guidelines reveals a wildly different world.
Teething infants have always caused sleepless nights. According to HistorieNet, a German priest named Hans von Louffenberg offered a unique fix in 1429.
He told parents to rub a mixture of chicken fat and hare brain onto the sore gums. The outlet notes this idea traced back to ancient Greek medicine. Doctors claimed the animal parts held special powers to fight ailments.
A few centuries later, British parents used something far more dangerous. Eighteenth-century experts widely recommended opium to quiet crying babies.
These unregulated syrups put infants right to sleep. Mothers could finally work in peace. Sadly, many children died from overdoses or fatal malnutrition caused by extreme lethargy.
Tough love for tots
Physical comfort was not always encouraged. American psychologist John B. Watson warned parents in 1928 to avoid kissing or hugging their offspring.
He believed too much affection made children dependent. Instead, Watson suggested giving them a firm handshake in the morning to prepare them for adult life.
Philosopher John Locke pushed a different kind of toughness in seventeenth-century England. The historical records show he wanted boys to wear thin shoes. This let the cold water seep straight in.
Locke told parents to wash those little feet in icy water every single morning. He thought the daily shock would harden them against winter diseases.
Pain and strict diets
Extreme discipline reached startling levels in ancient Sparta. HistorieNet details how boys were deliberately starved so they would learn to steal food. This cruel practice was meant to build military cunning.
Modern eras had their own harsh rules. In 1970, American psychologist James Dobson advocated for severe physical discipline.
He argued that a beating should hurt enough to make a child cry sincerely. Dobson claimed the intense pain would completely break down their resistance. Tears would then open the door to a proper reconciliation.
Food choices also carried moral weight. Dietary reformer Sylvester Graham told Americans in 1838 to restrict young boys to bread and water. He insisted that meat and sweet treats would awaken their sexual desires too early.
Frights and banned books
Even modern authorities got things wrong. Between 1979 and 1991, the Danish Health Authority advised parents to put infants to sleep on their stomachs, according to HistorieNet.
Officials worried that sleeping on the back could cause babies to choke if they spat up. The government reversed this advice in 1991 after research proved stomach sleeping actually increased the risk of infant death.
Sleep training was much wilder centuries earlier. In eighteenth-century Germany, a common parenting method involved deliberately scaring children to force them to calm down and sleep.
Physician Bernhard Faust eventually spoke out against this terrifying tactic. He warned that sudden frights and loud noises could trigger cramps, urging parents to use gentle care instead.
Entertainment also came under strict medical fire. English doctor Edward John Tilt warned young women against reading romantic novels in his 1851 health manual.
Tilt believed these books caused intense emotions that damaged the nervous system. He claimed repeated reading could literally make young girls sick with hysteria.
From dangerous remedies to harsh discipline, these historical parenting practices reveal just how dramatically ideas about raising children have changed.
