Was it easier to raise children in the 1970s and 1980s?

Nearly half of us think it was.

Juggling a job while looking after children means that most of us don’t even get half-an-hour to ourselves,  the Changing Face of Motherhood report has revealed.

The research carried out by the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) and published on International Women’s Day, based its findings on focus groups with mothers and grandmothers and a survey of 1,000 mothers.

According to the report, commissioned by Procter and Gamble, the 1930s and 1940s were seen as the worst decades for being a mother, with the 1970s and 1980s seen as the best.

It said: “In the 1960s women did three quarters of all housework, including childcare, averaging 18.5 hours per week.

“Data for the 1970s and 1980s are unclear but the hours spent on housework, including childcare, rose by 24% between 1974 and 1987.

So what was it like raising children in the 1970s?

Being a 1970s mummy

Margaret was one of the 78% of SAHMs in the 1970s.

“I was a stay at home mother – right at the end of the time when it was assumed that when you had a family you gave up work – at least until the youngest went to primary school.

“Chores took longer than they do now. For instance disposable nappies were only just coming into the shops and were expensive. I did have a washing machine but no tumble drier.

“I shopped everyday as I didn’t have a fridge until I had my second child. We left our prams outside the shops as they were far too big to take inside but they were weatherproof, solid, had plenty of space underneath for shopping and were beautifully sprung which resulted in a better ride for both the baby and the ‘pusher’.

“The world felt safer even though I do remember that at least two babies were snatched by disturbed women.

“New mothers were known to ‘forget’ to collect their prams on exiting the shop and have to go back for them! And there was a joke about a wife saying to her husband as he pushed the baby from a shop ‘That’s the wrong baby’ to get the reply ‘Hush – it’s a better pram’!

“Only one mother on our street had her own car. We walked everywhere, including the two miles round trip to the doctors. Not much fun with a four year old, two year old and a baby. It did keep us fit though.

“On the plus side, we had  tremendous fun playing. We lived in a modern cul-de-sac filled with families – 36 children under the age of nine in 19 houses – which provided our own playgroup every day. Fantastic! The children ran from house to house with impunity knowing they would be welcomed. My eldest son was famous for checking if his best friend was available for play by sticking his head through the cat flap!

“None of us had family living nearby, so if we were ill ourselves, with’ flu for instance as I was one winter, the children were whisked away and cared for by others.

“As the children grew older we felt able to let them wander – to take picnics by themselves to the village playing field. They were all known around the village and so were safe. This did not mean that they didn’t do things they were not suppose to – fishing where they had been told not to and most dangerously swimming near the mill race.

“On the way to his graduation, my son said that he had had a wonderful childhood. As I congratulated myself, he went on to list the forbidden experiences he had enjoyed – setting fires by the river being one.

“I was horrified and then realised that the freedom I had been able to allow my children was not necessarily available now.

“Today experiences are organised; children are organised; parents are constantly organising – all to fit everything in.

“So my advice … Relax! Be a bit 70s.

“Have a cup of what you fancy and let the children play in the garden or park and do their own thing. Find areas where they can safely be left to explore and have their own adventures. Let them walk some of the way to school by themselves, if possible, whilst you watch them from a distance.

“Eat with your children whenever you can – in a relaxed atmosphere they are more likely to tell you about their troubles and triumphs. None of this costs extra money.

“You survived this somewhat chaotic parenting conducted by people who worried just as much as you do about if they were doing the ‘right thing’.

“Parenting is a balancing act between protecting and letting go and was always thus.”

So what do you think? Do the 1970s and 80s give us ideas about how to improve our work/life balance?

Elizabeth

With thanks to my mummy!