Child abuse in the earlier days (back in the 1900's)?

Question

Child abuse in the old days was dealt , how ?

Answer 1

there was no such thing as child abuse at first , children and women belonged to dads or husbands and it was legal to beat wife and kids :( Their were even devices to to put on the the wives faces metal maskes with a tongue piece that could be put on when the mouthed off.. that is the were the rule of thumb came from, Irish (I think ) used it they could beat there wives or daughter with a stick no longer than their thumb.... In both sociology and social work we at it in depth, yes some things were a hell of a suprise to learn,lol

Answer 2

Child labor laws weren't even inacted until the later 1800s -- so children were probably being worked just like adults out in rural areas. Look up on wiki for dates of child labor laws enacted in the US and then make some inferences off that

Answer 3

They didn't go to school when it was the season to work the farms, and some kids didn't go to school at all.



They were spanked, whipped, etc. and it was considered family business - no one elses.



Little girls took care of new babies - again a valid reason to stay home from school



Some were sent to work for others for practically no money



Sexual abuse was rarely reported

Answer 4

It wasn't dealt with. Most people never reported these things, because they just didn't talk about it. Unless a child was murdered and quite often they were and it was never found out. Sad thing.

Answer 5

Back then I suppose it wasn't seen as abuse and if it was, it was not reported for fear of being a witness (witness protection has never been a completely safe thing). Also, most abuse was assumable behind closed doors, so no one knew.