Family Roles: Working Dads and Stay-at-home MomsThe majority of baby boomers grew up in so-called traditional families, with dads who went to work each day and moms who stayed home. The importance of marriage and family was driven home in marriage manuals of the day. “Whether you are a man or a woman, the family is the unit to which you most genuinely belong,” wrote Dr. John Schindler in The Woman’s Guide to Better Living 52 Weeks a Year. “The family is the center of your living. If it isn’t, you’ve gone far astray.”
The belief that mothers should not work outside the home unless they had to for economic reasons was promoted by Dr. Benjamin Spock, the leading childcare expert of the day. First published in 1946, Spock’s Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care was a best seller for many years. Spock advised mothers to devote themselves full-time to raising their children. Any distraction from that task, such as a job or hobby, he argued, could damage a young child. The mass media reinforced traditional family roles. Magazines, movies, and advertisements portrayed the ideal family as one in which the husband was the breadwinner while the wife stayed home. The homemaker’s role was expanded to include a number of jobs. A mom became a teacher, doctor, nurse, cook, adviser, decorator, housekeeper, manager, and chauffeur all in one. A new medium called television brought this ideal family to life on screen. In Leave It to Beaver, June Cleaver was a stay-at-home mom who wore high heels and pearls while working in the kitchen. When asked what kind of girl her son Wally should marry, she answered, “Oh, some sensible girl from a nice family . . . who’s a good cook and can keep a nice house and see that he’s happy.” Jim Anderson, the sensible dad in Father Knows Best, calmly solved his family’s problems when he got home from work. In one episode, he advised his tomboy daughter Kathy to act helpless around boys. “The worst thing you can do,” he told her, “is to try to beat a man at his own game.” Such television shows taught children the roles they would be expected to play as adults. Children got the message in other ways, too. Toy stores were filled with dolls and tea sets for girls and toy guns for boys. Girls were given miniature hope chests to encourage them to dream of one day getting married. Children’s books reinforced traditional roles with sayings like this one, fromThe Happy Family, a Little Golden Book popular at the time: “The happiest time of the day is when Father comes home from work.” The strong emphasis on marriage led many young women to forgo a college education. College enrollment among women dropped sharply. And although some women pursued careers after college, many others dropped out early to get married or headed from graduation straight into marriage. A professor at Smith College complained of having to cancel a final class with female senior honors students because it conflicted with too many bridal showers. How to be a good wifeThe following excerpt is from a high school textbook depicting how a good wife should act.
Home Economics High School Text Book, 1954 Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too. Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home. Some don’ts: Don’t greet him with problems or complaints. Don’t complain if he is late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind. Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first. Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit. |
Leave it to beaverCoronet Instructional FilmsFrom the mid 40s to the mid 50s Coronet Instructional Films were always ready to provide social guidance for teenagers on subjects as diverse as dating, popularity, preparing for being drafted, and shyness, as well as to children on following the law, the value of quietness in school, and appreciating our parents. They also provided education on topics such as the connection between attitudes and health, what kind of people live in America, how to keep a job, supervising women workers, the nature of capitalism, and the plantation System in Southern life.
Family Life: Impossible drama proving that proper management of schedules, responsibilities, privileges and finances leads to a happier home. Another winner from Coronet Instructional Films! Get a little organized and you too will be able to afford those major medical expenses and finally get your hair under control!
Your Family: Family values in action bring happiness and concord. "Your Family" details a happy go-lucky family willing to jump through hoops to do family chores so they could get dinner over with so they can watch their home movies of them shoveling snow. All the family has duties, Mom takes care of the house, Tony takes care of the unfortunately-named terrier Fluffy, Nancy sets the table, and Dad, well, he doesn't deserve to do anything, as he's of course had a hard day at the office.
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