Early 20th Century Child Welfare, Maternal Health, and Government Instruction on Raising Children, 1914 to 1937

Children's Welfare

Archive

Early 20th century child welfare publications from 1914 to 1937, from the formative decades when federal and state governments were extending their authority into matters once largely managed within the household. The six items show how that intervention worked in practice, documenting the prescribed diets of infants, how states removed and cared for dependent children, instructions for parents on obedience and discipline, and by 1937 advised them how to discuss sex and respond to childhood masturbation. Borden’s earlier baby manual places commercial infant feeding advice beside these government programs, while the 1927 Sheppard Towner proceedings record officials constructing a national system of maternal and infant health work. These materials show what was considered to be proper childhood, proper parenting, and the boundaries between family authority and government supervision during the first decades of modern American child welfare.

Six printed items, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, and Idaho, 1914 to 1937.
[1] “Baby’s Welfare: Proper Care and Feeding.” New York: Borden’s Condensed Milk Company, 1914. 48 pp. Illustrated wrappers. A commercial infant care manual promoting Eagle Brand condensed milk while advising mothers on feeding, sleep, bathing, illness, and emergencies; a full page montage declares, “Healthy Children are the most Valuable Asset of a Nation.”
[2] “Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Conference of State Directors in Charge of the Local Administration of the Maternity and Infancy Act.” Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Labor, Children’s Bureau, 1927. Bureau Publication No. 181. 167 pp. Grace Abbott opens the conference with discussion of the pending extension of the Maternity and Infancy Act; the volume addresses maternal mortality, obstetrical practice, breast feeding, public health nursing, and rural medical care.
[3] Blackburn, William J. “Child Welfare in New Jersey. Part 1: State Supervision and Personnel Administration.” Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1927. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 174. 77 pp. A Children’s Bureau investigation of state supervision and welfare personnel, undertaken at the request of New Jersey officials.
[4] Berolzheimer, Ruth, and Florence Nesbitt. “Child Welfare in New Jersey. Part 2: State Provision for Dependent Children.” Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1927. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 175. 148 pp. Examines the state’s provision and supervision of dependent children.
[5] Thom, Douglas A. “Child Management.” Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Labor, Children’s Bureau, 1937. Bureau Publication No. 143. 107 pp. Federal guidance on development, discipline, sex instruction, and childhood masturbation; parents are advised not to describe sexual questions as “bad,” “dirty,” or “shameful,” and to avoid “unwise treatment.”
[6] State of Idaho, Department of Public Welfare, Bureau of Child Hygiene. “Diet, Age 18 to 24 Month: For the Well Baby.” [Idaho, undated]. Single sided sheet. A fixed daily feeding schedule issued with “United States Children’s Bureau, Cooperating,” prescribing meal times, foods, milk, and water for an eighteen to twenty four month old child.

The group traces the expanding reach of American child welfare from the 1921 Maternity and Infancy Act through the late 1930s. By 1927, federal and state officials were addressing obstetrical care, public health nursing, breast feeding, and child hygiene as matters of coordinated public policy. The New Jersey reports extend that oversight to dependent children and welfare personnel, while the Idaho sheet carries government instruction directly into the home. By 1937, “Child Management” had moved further into discipline, development, sex instruction, and psychological adjustment. Borden’s 1914 manual shows the commercial counterpart, using the language of infant welfare to market a branded milk product. Moderate rubbing, toning, and scattered soiling on some issues; “Baby’s Welfare” with pronounced wrapper staining and ownership inscription of Mrs. Susie E. Young of San Francisco; conference proceedings with penciled notation to front wrapper; “Child Management” with cover rubbing and creasing; New Jersey reports with light wrapper wear; Idaho sheet with light soiling. Overall good condition. A record of how child welfare expanded from infant health and public administration into the daily regulation of feeding, behavior, development, and family life.

Item #23746

Price: $450.00