tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post7121956544069484545..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: Childhood in the Past by Marie-Louise JensenMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-7561324906711388082014-10-17T11:31:46.002+01:002014-10-17T11:31:46.002+01:00I would imagine - or hope! - that those young brid...I would imagine - or hope! - that those young brides who were suddenly given the keys and put in charge of everything would have had the help and advice of an older woman servant. As Sue points out, you were not so alone in the past. Privacy may have been harder to find, but at least you had people around to support you.Ann Turnbullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484265041343702129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-49972881518516313112014-10-16T23:41:41.619+01:002014-10-16T23:41:41.619+01:00Yes, both your points are true. Teens love a certa...Yes, both your points are true. Teens love a certain amount of responsibility and respond really well to it on the whole. I can't help thinking the excessive drinking culture among the young is exacerbated by lack of responsibilities which can help ground and mature youngsters. And more community could be a really good thing. It can be restrictive but also endlessly supportive. Marie-Louise Jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006940874591015786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-475495831035264982014-10-16T10:35:32.222+01:002014-10-16T10:35:32.222+01:00I didn't mean that I want to see five year old...I didn't mean that I want to see five year olds working down mines again! Nor would I want a 12 year old to be responsible for the welfare of his entire family, including his parents - as happened to my own grandfather.<br /><br />But I do think that the capabilities of young people are often underestimated and that many could - with gusto - do much more than is usually allowed today.<br /><br />Something that makes life so awful for many of today's young carers is, I think, the isolation. In the past, few people had or expected as much privacy as we have. Famiies lived much closer together, viking farmsteads housed small communities, and a lot of village life was communual.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-73127698928287784752014-10-15T12:47:14.396+01:002014-10-15T12:47:14.396+01:00I don't know. I don't think I'd want t...I don't know. I don't think I'd want to turn back any clocks. And of course lots of teens do have jobs as well as school and plenty of sense of responsibilty. They just aren't often the ones you often read about perhaps because there's nothing exciting in that. I do firmly believe in childhood being a protected time for learning and developmen and wish it was for more children around the world. But that's not at all the same thing as being indulged. Perhaps teens need to be taken more seriously and the contemptuous dismissing of YA lit is syptomatic of society's disdain for young people. I don't know. This is a bigger subject than I thought it was!Marie-Louise Jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006940874591015786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-52705263708116712692014-10-15T12:33:49.949+01:002014-10-15T12:33:49.949+01:00A thoughtful post, and maybe why the past is so at...A thoughtful post, and maybe why the past is so attractive to write about. <br /><br />Times perhaps when, despite so many less-than-good aspects, children and teens had an economic worth in society not just a "consumer" worth?Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-37929581526749447692014-10-15T11:25:44.720+01:002014-10-15T11:25:44.720+01:00Thanks for an interesting and thought-provoking po...Thanks for an interesting and thought-provoking post, Marie-Louise.<br /><br />Perhaps in some ways, young people in the past, with what we now consider to be adult responsibilities, were happier, more grounded?<br /><br />I don't meant to glamourise what was often a life 'nasty, brutal and short,' - but they weren't, as modern single mothers and carers are, comparing themselves to peers who lead an easier life. What they had - whether working for a living, or managing a household - <i>was</i> their life, and they just got on with it.<br /><br />Being landed with such responsbilities must have been challenging and often daunting - but also a source of self-respect and achievement.<br />Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-28241386673913039352014-10-15T10:36:36.943+01:002014-10-15T10:36:36.943+01:00Thanks for pointing that out, Sue. I've been a...Thanks for pointing that out, Sue. I've been across and read Anne's piece - very interesting.Marie-Louise Jensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006940874591015786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-29531263002031380842014-10-15T08:27:03.044+01:002014-10-15T08:27:03.044+01:00A very interesting point - it links rather well wi...A very interesting point - it links rather well with yesterday's post on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure (see link on sidebar) which is about teen fiction for today's teens.Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.com