#requested post

Babies-

Ever since its invention plastic has been molded, shaped and put into about everything. At the time a hard but durable material mainly reserved for Tupperware and some tiles and toys. It was far from today where it is in literally everything, but it was getting there. There was a lot more glass, metal, rubber and other stronger, more quality keeping real materials for most things, including baby products. (Pills, drinks, jams, foods etc.- glass! Now usually plastic)

Baby bottles still tended to be glass, though there were some plastic ones. Glass baby food jars. Metal baby spoons with a soft rubber end for the baby. Safety pins for diapers- usually metal but there were cute ones with plastic mold charms on the end or completely plastic. Reusable diapers still held on but disposables like pampers were also popular and could sometimes need a pin.

Kids are going to be well dressed too, of course to your adorability/consideration. Babies weren’t in constant pj’s, once they were old enough they would be dressed like mini adults (look at old photos) and usually in the frilliest little clothes you’ve ever seen.

I mentioned a bunch of names in my previous list here’s some more: Deborah (Girl), Sandra (girl), Laverne (girl), Pamala (girl), Dennis (boy, Jeffery (boy), Lawrence/larry (boy), Donald (boy), Marcus/mark (boy)

Many caretaking activities we would now consider completely unsafe today. It’s important not to have historical relevantism and just think people were dumb or purposefully endangering anyone. These were either believed the right thing or there weren’t many alternatives, it’s just how it’s done:

Lack of baby proofing (less extensive), second hand smoke exposure (universal and everywhere), bikes without helmets, no sunscreen, sleeping in the back of cars, smoking/drinking while pregnant, unsafe cribs and car seats (not on purpose) babies at this time we’re encouraged to sleep on their stomach.

There was less of a hyper-attentiveness but not full on neglect. Young children would be around and close to mother or family but able to move freely around a space but within eyesight hopefully. Getting hurt is a teaching momment (within reason). There’s a lot more of young children learning for themselves, through discovery or curiosity. Rules and behaviors are kept and enforced with time outs or the occasional spanking.

Grammar school and old names-

Grammar school, you’ll see this sometimes in older books but it is a way to refer to an elementary school or sometimes prek or daycare type situation. It is slightly regional but largely phased out today. Same goes for “primary school” being occasionally used for elementary or “junior high” instead of middle school.

I believe I already talked about Latchkey kids at noseum so I’ll move past to some more child care. However, a lot of the time once a kid was old enough the expectation would be they’d walk or find a way home and take care of themselves (or maybe there’s a family member or neighbors house they’d go to once home)

Childcare/day care-

Starting in the late 19th century it was considered charitable and often associated with : The poor, minorities and immigrants. As upper middle class were heavily encouraged to have women stay home and care for the house and children and upper class had private nanny’s and tutors etc.

It started to modernize and reform even in the 19th century but even into the 20th there was a bit of that stigma remaining. That you couldn’t stay home and do it, especially with the rise of the middle class and heavy push of women home post war.

It faced major reforms in the 50s, acknowledging more women choosing to work outside the home, and that childcare could benefit and boost children themselves by adding some education and skill building etc. as well as incentive for poorer women to work and leave children at a facility. By this time it was not quite a preschool facility (not all of them anyway) but it was also not just holding them and napping till you can pick your little kid up like a coat.

Childcare facilities were also early grounds for integration. Or at least planned to be interestingly enough.

Info.

Info

Siblings-

Siblings have always been siblings and will always have the same love/hate dynamic I think until the end of time. There will always be annoying each other or whomping or helping out (spoken as an older sibling). I think the most notable thing would be the greater expectation on the older sibling as a role model and as a caretaker, especially if they’re latchkey kids. The younger sibling might imitate a lot more… as occurring to what I looked into that was like rampant back then idk what they put in the water but little kids were really Monkey see monkey do, no peer pressure needed though occasionally applied.

Batteries-

Really a great time to be a kid, as a lot of great toys already existed but this also saw the rise of batteries and plastic toys. Sound effects! Light up! Movement! (Now there were moving toys like tinker toys but these are different.)

Your toy gun can now make a “pew” or a “bang” - the walk along dog barks and really walks! Not just pulled! Etc.

This goes along with the many many board games, unsupervised time outdoors or indoors etc.

Television became more specialized, more adult v kids programing instead of a broad scrubbed and sanitized family friendly (censor still heavy don’t get me wrong) more child specials or shows. Lot of puppet shows… so many puppet shows since the 40s. Mentioned in my last post but a lot of cowboys too.

Hey you,

So… don’t tell anyone, but I’ve been thinking about you. A lot. More than I probably should. Not that I’m complaining—quite the opposite, actually. You have this way of sneaking into my head and refusing to leave, like the best kind of trouble. And honestly? I wouldn’t want it any other way.

You make things… better. Dangerous things, boring things, even the things that make me roll my eyes—I notice you in all of it. I like that. I like noticing you. I like watching you do your thing and thinking, how did I get this lucky? Yeah, I said it. Don’t roll your eyes at me; I meant it.

I know I tease you—hell, it’s basically my full-time job—but it’s not just to annoy you (okay, maybe a little). It’s because I like seeing you react. I like making you laugh. I like being the one who gets to see that spark behind your eyes, the one that makes the world feel… brighter, somehow. I swear, it’s unfair, the way you make even the most ridiculous days feel alive.

And here’s the thing: I’ve been thinking about the quiet moments too. Not just the chaos or the pranks or the trouble we get into, but the way it feels when it’s just you and me. You know, the kind of silence that isn’t empty because it’s full of… us. I like those moments almost as much as I like getting under your skin. Almost. But don’t let it go to your head.

I’m not going to lie—I like being a little dangerous around you, but I also want you to feel safe. That’s the weird part, isn’t it? How can someone like me—someone who thrives on chaos—want to be your calm too? But I do. I want to be the one who’s there when your day’s been too long, the one who makes you laugh when nothing else will, the one who reminds you, without words sometimes, that you’re not alone.

So here’s the deal: I’m yours, if you’ll have me. I’ll be the trouble you can’t resist, the hand that’s always there, the smirk that drives you crazy when I shouldn’t. And if you ever find yourself awake at night, thinking about everything and nothing—think about me. Maybe even sneak a smile. I promise, I’ll be doing the same.

Stay reckless, stay brilliant, stay you. But maybe—just maybe—leave a little bit of that space for me too. Because I can’t get enough of this… whatever this is between us, and I don’t ever want to.

Always scheming, Yoomtah Zing