Fear is a great motivator for new parents. That’s probably what the Illinois State Board of Health was counting on in 1916 when they published “Our Babies: How To Keep Them Well and Happy – A Booklet for Mothers.” It’s filled with tips that were sure to scare most parents (not to mention scaring readers a century later!)
On Fresh Air:
On the Regularity of Feeding:
And if you ‘re not sure how much to feed your baby, they’ve included this handy chart:
On Registering Your Child’s Birth:
As a genealogist, I applaud Illinois’ push to get parents to record their child’s birth. But, good grief, talk about scare tactics! (Click the image to enlarge it. You’ll want to read every over-the-top caption.)
“The Young Man: I have no birth certificate. The lack of it has been the greatest handicap of my whole life.”
Wow. The only thing that would have made it better would be a panel showing genealogists a hundred years later spitting on his parents’ graves, cursing them for not registering his birth.
You can read “Our Babies: How to Keep Them Well and Happy” and all of its spine-chilling tips on Internet Archive.