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Not to discount this passage, but fathers being absent is almost a trope until very recently. Many generations since the Industrial Revolution have grown up bar

by llampx 5y ago

Not to discount this passage, but fathers being absent is almost a trope until very recently. Many generations since the Industrial Revolution have grown up barely knowing their father, unless he had a job that allowed him to be around the children more than the usual. Long days at the factory were the norm, not the exception. However, to leave them entirely for months at a time was definitely not normal. I think most men would not want that.

wott 5y ago
> Long days at the factory were the norm, not the exception. However, to leave them entirely for months at a time was definitely not normal. I think most men would not want that. Maybe in urban context, but in the country it was common to: * go to the summer pastures for several months; * go for agricultural seasonal work for 1 month, 2 months (nowadays it is about picking fruits and vegetables, it used to be about cutting hay and harvesting corns (scythe works)); * the same for mining work; so basically in agricultural down times at your place, you'd go and work as a hired hand somewhere else; agriculture as mostly a mean of subsistence, not much as a mean of income, income would come from the salaries brought back during those "down" times; it is still like that in less developed countries/areas. And I am not sure that, in those days, all kids were extremely happy to see the return of the fathers when they returned, for they had heavy hands and sturdy belts :-)
nradov 5y ago
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, during the Age of Sail fathers who worked as sailors were frequently absent for months or even years.
- MisterTea 5y ago
  Yeah because the allure of running their tech consulting business from the the open sea was just too much for them to handle...
laumars 5y ago
Back then there was also a much greater sense of community than there is in recent times. It wasn’t just a single parent raising the child but the whole community was an extended family. So the whole family dynamic was radically different. These days we are much more dependent on dads being present. Which, as a dad of two myself, is so much more rewarding than working a day job anyway so while I think we’ve lost something in terms of communities we’ve definitely gained something in terms of Dads being more active. I honestly can’t understand why anyone would chose cycling on their own over bonding with their kid. You lose out, the kid loses out; everyone loses.
jdkee 5y ago
This man chose to do so voluntarily, not out of sheer necessity.

by llampx 5y ago

wott 5y ago

> Long days at the factory were the norm, not the exception. However, to leave them entirely for months at a time was definitely not normal. I think most men would not want that. Maybe in urban context, but in the country it was common to: * go to the summer pastures for several months; * go for agricultural seasonal work for 1 month, 2 months (nowadays it is about picking fruits and vegetables, it used to be about cutting hay and harvesting corns (scythe works)); * the same for mining work; so basically in agricultural down times at your place, you'd go and work as a hired hand somewhere else; agriculture as mostly a mean of subsistence, not much as a mean of income, income would come from the salaries brought back during those "down" times; it is still like that in less developed countries/areas. And I am not sure that, in those days, all kids were extremely happy to see the return of the fathers when they returned, for they had heavy hands and sturdy belts :-)

nradov 5y ago

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, during the Age of Sail fathers who worked as sailors were frequently absent for months or even years.

MisterTea 5y ago
Yeah because the allure of running their tech consulting business from the the open sea was just too much for them to handle...

laumars 5y ago

Back then there was also a much greater sense of community than there is in recent times. It wasn’t just a single parent raising the child but the whole community was an extended family. So the whole family dynamic was radically different. These days we are much more dependent on dads being present. Which, as a dad of two myself, is so much more rewarding than working a day job anyway so while I think we’ve lost something in terms of communities we’ve definitely gained something in terms of Dads being more active. I honestly can’t understand why anyone would chose cycling on their own over bonding with their kid. You lose out, the kid loses out; everyone loses.

jdkee 5y ago

This man chose to do so voluntarily, not out of sheer necessity.