7 of the Worst Parenting Tips And Practices Throughout History

Parenting has changed drastically across the ages—and with it so has the tried and true advice every parent is inevitably given. While some platitudes and nuggets of wisdom have remained, much of what was once considered commonsense child rearing strikes us as totally absurd today. 

1. Send your kid to work in the mines. 
2. Don’t show your children any affection.
3. Drink a Guinness while you’re pregnant. 
4. Put your baby in a cage.
5. Spare the rod, spoil the child.
6. Give your teething child opiates.
7. Ignore your crying baby.

Send your kid to work in the mines. 

Throughout the Industrial Revolution, children in Britain (particularly the children of low income immigrant families) became a prime source of cheap, unskilled labor for opportunistic businessmen. Children as young as 4 years old were frequently employed in British coal mines during the early 19th century, often working 12-hour days. Victorian child labor was largely normalized and expected during this time—the tots sometimes accounting for nearly half the mining labor force.  

They were frequently employed as “trappers” or “hurriers” in Industrial Revolution era mines. The kids were exploited for their small size and made to climb into small caverns for opening ventilation. 

Following the 1842 Children’s Employment Commission Report, public support for child labor weakened significantly after testimony from child workers depicting horrid conditions shocked the public. Subsequent legal acts and the expansion of compulsory public schooling largely eliminated child labor in mines by the turn of the century. 

Don’t show your children any affection.

For much of the Victorian era, parents were discouraged from showing their children any sort of affection. This particularly icy parenting practice—widely believed to be a way to keep children from becoming spoiled—was largely a byproduct of the prevailing social attitudes of the time that emphasized restraint, temperance, and reserve. 

Many parent-child relationships of the era were characterized as detached and distant. Today, much of that Victorian austerity has been done away with as leading experts in child psychology uniformly agree affection is a crucial piece of child development and parent-child bonding. 

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Drink a Guinness while you’re pregnant. 

As recently as the 1980s, some physicians were reportedly recommending pregnant women consume Guinness for its nutrient value. Guinness even co-opted the questionable medical advice for a misleading advertising campaign more than half a century ago. Though Guinness does have some health benefits not seen in other beers (namely its higher levels of fiber and Vitamin B when compared to other stouts), this hardly proves the beverage’s antiquated “Guinness is good for you” slogan. 

Alongside being recommended to expectant mothers, Guinness was also routinely given to patients after operations to aid in their recovery. But most experts agree that alcohol at any level is best to be avoided (pregnant or otherwise). 

Put your baby in a cage.

As urban life became increasingly common for families, parents took unusual measures to make sure their children were still able to get “fresh” air. Airing was a term coined in the late 19th-century referring to a practice wherein parents would periodically expose their children to the outdoor elements to toughen up their immune systems and aid in their development. The concept was introduced by Dr. Luther Emmett Holt, who posited that by exposing children to cold outdoor air early on, they’d gradually grow accustomed to it while “renewing and purifying” their blood. 

By the early 1900s, countless parents—including future First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt—began improvising their own “baby cages” so their children could get exposure to the outdoors, even while living in densely populated cities. Multiple patents for portable “baby cages” were awarded through the 1920s; the trend continued through the first half of the century. These cages, primarily made of wire and fastened to highrise apartment windows, later fell out of fashion, likely due to a combination of safety concerns and increased urban air pollution.

Spare the rod, spoil the child.

The phrase spare the rod, spoil the child originated from the Proverbs 13 verse “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” It first came into common use through English poet Samuel Butler’s satirical work Hubidras, which was released throughout the 1660s and 1670s. Though many biblical historians have posited that the “rod” in the aforementioned verse refers not to an actual rod, but of the concept of discipline more broadly, many took a much more literal interpretation of the passage. Butler—like many of his readers—took this verse as a Biblical co-sign on the corporal punishment of children. 

Attitudes toward corporal punishment have since shifted drastically. Though psychologists generally agree discipline is a crucial part of a child’s psycho-social development, experts have generally moved away from the belief corporal punishment is beneficial to children.

Give your teething child opiates.

In the mid-19th century, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was a godsend for parents of fussy children. It was purported to treat a myriad of maladies like teething pains, indigestion, and colic.

But Mrs. Winslow’s patented syrup was actually a dangerous concoction of morphine and alcohol—making it effective but exceedingly dangerous. The American Medical Association (AMA) labeled the medicine a “baby killer” in the early 20th century after countless children died from overdoses or respiratory failure due to consuming the syrup. 

Yet despite the AMA’s evidence that Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was a considerable danger to children, the product continued to be sold in the United States until 1930. In the product’s extensive advertising in calendars, newspapers, and recipe books, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was also recommended to freshen breath and clean teeth.

Ignore your crying baby.

In the early 20th century, behaviorist John Watson published the parenting manual Psychological Care of Infant and Child, which recommended a slew of questionable parenting practices. Watson’s now-controversial work essentially suggested parents treat their infants and toddlers much in the same way they would a young adult. 

Parents were instructed to not console their crying babies to toughen them up; the book also posited that the child’s care should never come at the inconvenience of the parent. Despite a dearth of scientific evidence, Watson’s work was hugely successful upon its release, furthering his dubious claims that children are products of nurture not nature. 

Unsurprisingly, much of Watson’s advice is incredibly dated and holds little esteem in modern parenting. Arguments like Watson’s of encouraging children to “cry it out” have largely been disproved and have been linked to adverse development of emotional regulation in some cases.