What peasant children knew how to do in the old days: Adult responsibilities and non-child labor

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Today, a child is considered the joy of parents if he studies well and plans to enter a prestigious university. But literally 100-150 years ago, excessive book wisdom in most peasant families was considered self-indulgence, and the children spent most of their time at work. Even just listing their usual daily chores can have a nervous breakdown for any modern teenager.

The main difference from modernity, of course, is not even a huge amount of work, but the attitude towards it. Parental authority was indisputable, so none of the educated children of the 19th century would dare to even discuss what the father had punished. Everything that the parents instructed was done without fail. Of course, the old methods of upbringing also played a significant role in this obedience - probably most of them would fall under the articles of modern juvenile justice, but then they did not hear about the rights of the child, but the little helpers had more than enough responsibilities.

Clear age criteria divided the children into three groups. Age was measured in seven years. Babies from 0 to 7 were called "baby", "young", "kuvyaka" (crying) and other affectionate nicknames. However, due to their small age, children were rarely pampered. Folk wisdom said that "You need to teach a child while it lies across the bench" - it will be too late later. In the second seven-year period, the grown up "youths" or "young women" wore more adult clothes: for boys they sewed ports (trousers), and for girls - a long girl's shirt. The third period of childhood was called "adolescence", and adolescents were already becoming full-fledged helpers to their parents.

Another difference from modern household chores was clear gender differentiation. Today, of course, the boy also revolves around his father more, but he can wash the dishes or clean up the room. But in the old days such a mixture of works would have been unthinkable. Even a little boy would never be asked to do women's work. But the male duties were asked of him in full - after all, they were raising the future owner and protector.

Even before the age of seven, boys were already taught to look after livestock, ride a horse, help in the field, as well as make simple, but necessary crafts at home: toys for the younger ones, and for themselves too, weave baskets and boxes, and, of course, bast shoes. These comfortable and lightweight shoes wore out quickly, so all their free time men of all ages occupied their hands with such weaving. Girls had to spin constantly. Already from 3-4 years old, the future hostess was given a spindle and a spinning wheel, and she did not part with it almost all her life. The little needlewoman had a lot of work - after all, before her wedding, she had to have time to strain, weave, sew and embroider several sets of clothes and underwear. It was with these tools that many beliefs were associated. For example, you could not give your spinning wheel to the wrong hands. Since ancient times, the umbilical cord of newborn girls has been cut on a spindle - in order to connect them with this craft from the very first minutes.

Work on the ground was another important matter. She also clearly shared. The vegetable garden has always been cultivated by women, and the arable land by men. In this difficult case, the boys were at first in the hands of their father - they led the horse by the bridle or rode it, sometimes they sat on the harrow for weighting, but from about 12 years old, the boy was allocated a small piece of the field, which he tried to cultivate on his own. By his youth, such an assistant was already an experienced worker.

By the age of 10, the girl was considered a completely independent mistress: she could completely clean the house, cook dinner and look after the younger ones. Therefore, when leaving, the parents could rely on the child, who today, even to school alone, is unlikely to be released if she is not in the neighboring yard. And, by the way, girls, more than boys, from an early age were forced to "earn the image" of a good housewife - after all, her chances of a good marriage depended on this in the future. The nickname "naughty" was really offensive and could do the girl a disservice in the future.

Another common activity for children was picking mushrooms and berries. The boys, moreover, looking at their father and older brothers, quickly learned the skills of fishing and hunting. Children felt calm in the forest and in the field - they knew how to navigate and usually knew their surroundings very well. True, most of the fairy tales began with the children alone in the forest, and not all grandmother's stories ended well.

Very often, children from 10-12 years old were sent to earn money. For the boy, there was more choice: he could become a shepherd, join a fishing artel, or leave to receive any specialty "in the people." Girls, on the other hand, usually by this age were already experienced nannies, having trained with their younger brothers and sisters, so they were most often hired to look after the children. In any case, a teenager, barely leaving infancy, could already bring home money, thus contributing to the family budget. No documents, of course, regulated either their working conditions or age, but no one complained - it was an honor to benefit the family.

And in continuation of the theme, a story about how children were given names in Russia, and which were forbidden for commoners.