Babies made us modern : how infants brought America into the twentieth century / Janet Golden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Golden, Janet Lynne, 1951- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Child Rearing--history.

Parent-Child Relations.

Infant Welfare--history.

History, 19th Century.

History, 20th Century.

Parent and infant.

History.

Maternal and infant welfare.

Infants.

Child rearing.

United States.

Child rearing--United States--History--20th century.

Infants--United States--History--20th century.

Maternal and infant welfare--United States--History--20th century.

Parent and infant--United States--History--20th century.

Medical Subjects:

Child Rearing--history.

Parent-Child Relations.

Infant Welfare--history.

History, 19th Century.

History, 20th Century.

United States.

Physical Description:

xiv, 268 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, [2018]

Summary:

Placing babies' lives at the center of her narrative, historian Janet Golden analyzes the dramatic transformations in the lives of American babies during the twentieth century. She examines how babies shaped American society and culture and led their families into the modern world to become more accepting of scientific medicine, active consumers, open to new theories of human psychological development, and welcoming of government advice and programs. Golden also connects the reduction in infant mortality to the increasing privatization of American lives. She also examines the influence of cultural traditions and religious practices upon the diversity of infant lives, exploring the ways class, race, region, gender, and community shaped life in the nursery and household.

Contents:

Did babies make us modern?

Infant lives and deaths : incubators, demographics, photographs

Valuing babies : economics, social welfare, progressives

Helping citizen baby : the u.s. children's bureau, good advice, better babies

Bringing up babies I : giving, spending, saving, praying

Bringing up babies II : health & illness, food & drink

Helping baby citizens : traditional healers, patent medicines, local cultures

The inner lives of babies : infant psychology

Babies' changing times : depression, war, peace

Baby boom babies

Kissing and dismissing babies : American exceptionalism.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781108415002

1108415008

9781108400077

1108400078

OCLC:

1009182409