A 1950s Mother: Bringing up Baby in the 1950s

by Sheila Hardy

Overview

Embarking on motherhood was a very different affair in the 1950s to what it is today. From how to dress baby (matinee coats and bonnets) to how to administer feeds (strictly four-hourly if following the Truby King method), the childrearing methods of the 1950s are a fascinating insight into the lives of women in that decade.

In A 1950s Mother, author, mother and grandmother Sheila Hardy collects heart-warming, personal anecdotes from those women who became mothers during this fascinating post-war period. From the benefits of "crying it out" and being put out in the garden to gripe water and Listen with Mother, the wisdom of mothers from the 1950s reverberates down the decades to young mothers of any generation and is a hilarious and, at times, poignant trip down memory lane for any mother or child of the 1950s.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750999342
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	03/10/2022
Edition description:	Second Edition,New edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Sheila Hardy was a teacher and lecturer of English and history before becoming first a wife and mother, and then a full-time writer. The author of A 1950s Housewife, she has also written several biographies of notable women, including Anne Candler, Lady Nelson and cookery writer Eliza Acton. She lives in Ipswich.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9

1 Expecting 15

2 The New Baby Needs … 30

3 Baby and Mother Should Live by the Clock 42

4 Baby's Carriage 56

5 Customs, Practices and Old Wives' Tales 66

6 Baby's First Year 76

7 Brothers, Sisters and Friends 89

8 The Premature Baby 105

9 Adoption 111

10 Holidays 119

11 What to Wear? 132

12 Mother's 'Me' Time 146

13 Childhood Illnessess 156

14 Training the Child - The Early Years 171

15 Endings and Beginnings 181

Sources 196

Appendices

Significant Events of the 1950s 197

Popular Names in the 1950s 200

Popular Advertisements from the 1950s 201

Author's Note 205

Index 206