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> for most of human history, a child who is with their parents 24/7/365 is an anomaly Where do you get this idea? It's actually the opposite. Modern universal

> for most of human history, a child who is with their parents 24/7/365 is an anomaly Where do you get this idea? It's actually the opposite. Modern universal schooling is an aberration that only took hold in the 1800s, with some schooling for the upper classes before that. For most of recorded history, children helped their parents around the house and field, with some going off to an apprenticeship around 12-14.

ip26 6y ago
Modern schooling is obviously new, but in tribal communities the world over, children are watched over by many adults over the course of the day. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_takes_a_village https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_takes_a_village As for recorded history, kids had a lot more unstructured time to themselves even fifty years ago to play in the mud or run about the neighborhood.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  From what I can tell, the change comes with motor vehicles, when people have to start monitoring the kids' every moment. Before motor vehicles arrive, you just set them out to play and other adults/older children take care of them. After motor vehicles, there's a lot more risk to just letting them roam, and now you have to arrange an area where they can play and since there isn't a lot of people milling about outside that can watch them, the parents and other immediate family members shoulder more of the load.
ajsnigrutin 6y ago
This depends on the meaning of "24" in "24/7/365" Kids spent a lot of time outside with their peers, and with extended families, neighbors, and even alone. Maybe not 9 hours per day (time kids spend in school (and "afternoon care" in my country) with both parents working 8 hours/day), but still a considerable amount of time, when they didnt help with the chores. It might be anecdotal, but only recently I have seen the trend of parents filling up every minute of their kids schedules with after school activities, burning out their children at a very young age.

ip26 6y ago

Modern schooling is obviously new, but in tribal communities the world over, children are watched over by many adults over the course of the day. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_takes_a_village https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_takes_a_village As for recorded history, kids had a lot more unstructured time to themselves even fifty years ago to play in the mud or run about the neighborhood.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
From what I can tell, the change comes with motor vehicles, when people have to start monitoring the kids' every moment. Before motor vehicles arrive, you just set them out to play and other adults/older children take care of them. After motor vehicles, there's a lot more risk to just letting them roam, and now you have to arrange an area where they can play and since there isn't a lot of people milling about outside that can watch them, the parents and other immediate family members shoulder more of the load.

ajsnigrutin 6y ago

This depends on the meaning of "24" in "24/7/365" Kids spent a lot of time outside with their peers, and with extended families, neighbors, and even alone. Maybe not 9 hours per day (time kids spend in school (and "afternoon care" in my country) with both parents working 8 hours/day), but still a considerable amount of time, when they didnt help with the chores. It might be anecdotal, but only recently I have seen the trend of parents filling up every minute of their kids schedules with after school activities, burning out their children at a very young age.