Playing with a Jacob's ladder requires a certain amount of dexterity, as the trick to making it work lies in a deft wrist action. The name for the toy comes from the biblical story of Jacob, who saw in his dream a ladder leading to heaven.

 

200 Years of Childhood at Winterthur

WINTERTHUR, DEL. - "KIDS! 200 Years of Childhood," at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library through February 19, 2001, explores the many ways in which parents shaped the world of children in America between 1700 and 1900, and how the word "childhood" has had different meanings at different times. Furniture, portraits, clothing, school books, merit cards, samplers, apprenticeship contracts, toys, games and paper dolls help to tell the story about growing up in the past two centuries.

Home

In "Children in the Home," visitors will see vignettes of a child's home in each of three time periods. The starkness of a circa 1740 room, with no children's furniture or toys, demonstrates that children were expected to become adults as soon as possible. They wore clothes just like their parents by the time they were age seven or eight, including corsets. In contrast, a room circa 1800 reveals how toys and child-size furniture gradually were merged into a family living space. Clothing changed to promote freedom of movement. Finally, an 1880 nursery shows a space designed exclusively for children, and their clothing differed from adult styles.

Lessons

The "Learning for Life" section covers far more than the basics of formal schooling and explores what adults felt was important for children to know. Children learned through a variety of methods and in a variety of places about life and trade skills, religious and moral beliefs, and the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. From 1700 to 1900, the focus on learning gradually shifted from work skills to formalized schooling.

"Playtime" examines what activities adults encouraged children to pursue. Play could train children for their roles as an adult, or encourage good health through outdoor recreation. This section looks at outdoor play, gender-related play, and the development of toys designed "just for fun."

Insights

Several "Talk it Over" questions, located throughout the exhibition, encourage children, parents and grandparents to share personal experiences and insights into their own childhoods. These signs are designated by the Brownie on them. Brownies are legendary Scottish creatures that appear at night to assist people with their chores. Author and illustrator Palmer Cox created a Brownie craze in the 1880s with a series of books about the adventures of these fun-loving and helpful creatures. Brownies appeared on countless items, including school supplies, clothing, games and toys, not unlike today's Rugrats or Disney characters.

In addition, children will enjoy several hands-on activities such as swaddling a doll in the Eighteenth Century tradition, posing behind reproduction portraits of Eighteenth Century children, and experiencing life as a woodworking apprentice by turning a huge wooden lathe.

Visitors may also listen to the words of the past in several areas where they can hear accounts about raising children or being a child. Drawn from reminiscences by several people, these reflections range from Puritan preacher Cotton Mather to schoolgirl Susan Cooper who learned her lessons in her parlor.

Evolution

From the 1700s to 1900s, adult perceptions of childhood evolved from the integration of children into the adult world to the conscious separation of them from this same world. In the early 1700s, parents felt that the best way to protect children from the dangers of childhood was to guide them as quickly as possible to adulthood. Few changes were made to their homes to accommodate children; few playthings or child-sized furnishings existed. Instead, parents expected children to become part of the adult world. Walking stools and baby corsets hastened the transition from infancy to adulthood.

By the time of the American Revolution, new ideas about childhood emerged. Parents believed children were born into the world as a "tabula rasa," or blank slate. It fell to the parents or adults who raised a child to mold his or her character lovingly, to produce an upright, moral, and literate child and, eventually, adult. This change in perspective meant increased production of furniture forms crafted especially for children, the development of educational children's books, and the creation of toys designed to teach children their future roles. In addition, clothing became less restrictive to encourage a child's development.

In many ways, it is with these attitudes toward childhood that we most closely identify today. Influenced by Enlightenment philosophers, adults of the mid-1700s viewed childhood as a distinct and natural phase of human development, a time to cherish, not to hasten or fear. Playtime offered an opportunity to improve a child's physical and mental well-being. Lightweight, nonrestrictive clothing, furniture sized for a child, and toys designed to instruct are all familiar items compatible with a modern view of childhood.

Protection

By contrast, parents in the 1800s viewed the adult world as a dangerous place and sought to protect children by isolating them from its corrupting influences. A nursery was added to many homes, which physically separated children from the adult world. Specialized equipment - highchairs and a variety of children's toys - further differentiated a child's world from an adult's. Clothing de-emphasized the physical differences between boys and girls, delaying recognition of sexuality and safeguarding their innocence.

Work

For most children, however, this state of happy ignorance could not be prolonged indefinitely. Work was as much a part of a child's early life as play. Whether working on a farm or in a factory, children soon confronted the realities of the world. Because some children spent long periods of time away from home and from parental supervision, Sunday schools and common schools became focal points for moral and spiritual instruction.

Parents define their children's world. How children are taught, dressed, and raised depends on parental beliefs and traditions. Parents, in turn, learn these values from society. Differing perceptions of childhood over time are largely a social and cultural phenomenon and less a matter of individual choice.

Winterthur Museum, Garden Library is in Winterthur, Del., telephone 302/888-4600.