In Rome the father ruled over his wife and children. He could whip or beat his children and he could divorce his wife for quite trivial reasons - even if she was no longer attractive.

However women were allowed to own and inherit property and some ran businesses. Nevertheless most women were fully occupied with looking after children and doing tasks like spinning wool for the family.

In Rome Boys and girls were given a kind of necklace called a bulla. It consisted of a charm inside a pouch. It was worn around the neck. When a boy became a man he discarded his bulla. A girl wore hers until she got married.

To read more about the Ancient World click here.

The Family in the Middle Ages

Saxon women were allowed to own and inherit property and to make contracts. However most Saxon women had to work as hard as the men spinning and weaving, preparing food and drink and performing other tasks.

In the Middle Ages women had even less freedom than in the Saxon era. They were now definitely subordinate to men. (At least in theory!).

However in the Middle Ages women worked as hard as men. They also spun wool and they did cooking and cleaning. Women washed clothes, baked bread, milked cows, fed animals, brewed beer and collected firewood as well as looking after children!

Children from noble families saw little of their parents. When they were very young nurses looked them after. When they were about 7 they were sent to live with another noble household. Boys became pages and had to wait on lords and ladies. They also learned to fight. At 14 a boy became a squire and at 21 a knight. Girls learned the skills they needed to run a household.

Childhood ended early for children in the Middle Ages. In upper class families girls married as young as 12 and boys as young as 14. They did not normally choose their own marriage partners. Their parents arranged their marriages for them. Children from poor families might have more choice about who they married but by the time they were about 7 or 8 they had to start helping their parents by doing simple jobs such as chasing away birds when crops had been sown or helping to weave wool. Children were expected to help the family earn a living as soon as they were able.

To read more about life in the Middle Ages click here.

The Family 1500-1800

In the 17th century both boys and girls from well off families went to a form of infant school called a petty school. However only boys went to grammar school. Upper class girls (and sometimes boys) were taught by tutors. Middle glass girls might be taught by their mothers. Moreover during the 17th century boarding schools for girls were founded in many towns. In them girls were taught subjects like writing, music and needlework. (It was considered more important for girls to learn 'accomplishments' than to study academic subjects).

As usual poor children did not go to school. By the age of 6 or 7 they were expected to do some jobs e.g. scaring birds away from newly sown seeds. However at least when they were not working they could play the same games children had played for centuries.

In the 16th and 17th centuries most women were housewives and they were kept very busy. Most men could not run a farm or a business without their wife's help.

In those days most households in the countryside were largely self-sufficient. A housewife (assisted by her servants if she had any) had to bake her family's bread and brew their beer (it was not safe to drink water). She was also responsible for curing bacon, salting meat and making pickles, jellies and preserves (all of which were essential in an age before fridges and freezers). Very often in the countryside the housewife also made the families candles and their soap. The Tudor housewife also spun wool and linen.

A farmer's wife also milked cows, fed animals and grew herbs and vegetables. She often kept bees. She also took goods to market to sell.

On top of that she had to cook, wash the families clothes and clean the house.

The housewife was also supposed to have some knowledge of medicine and be able to treat her family's illnesses. If she could not they would go to a wise woman. Only the wealthy could afford a doctor.

The Family in the 19th Century

For many children in the early 19th century things grew worse! The industrial revolution created a huge demand for female and child labour. Children had always done some work but at least before the 19th century they worked in their own homes with their parents or on land nearby. Children's work was largely seasonal so they did have some time to play. When children worked in textile factories they often worked for more than 12 hours a day.

In Victorian times families were much larger than today. That was partly because infant mortality was high. People had many children and accepted that not all of them would survive.

In the early 19th century the churches provided schools for poor children. From 1833 the government provided them with grants. There were also dame schools. They were run by women who taught a little reading, writing and arithmetic. However many dame schools were really a child minding service.

The state did not take responsibility for education until 1870. Forsters Education Act laid down that schools should be provided for all children.

In the 19th century the Industrial Revolution transformed life in Britain. It changed from a country where most people lived in the countryside and worked in farming to one where most people lived in towns and worked in industry. In the 19th century 'work' became separated from 'home'. A middle class woman’s place was definitely in the home.

However for working class women life was an endless round of hard work and drudgery. As soon as they were old enough they worked on farms and in factories. Even when they married and had children housework was very hard without electricity or modern cleaning agents.

In a Victorian family the Father was head of the family. He wife and children respected him and obeyed him (at least that was the theory!). Until 1882 all a woman's property, even the money she earned, belonged to her husband. Divorce was made legal in 1857 but it was very rare in the 19th century.

To read more about the 19th Century click here.

The Family in the 20th Century

Things greatly improved for most children during the 20th century. They became much healthier and better fed and better clothed. They were also better educated.

Until the late 20th century teachers were allowed to physically and verbally abuse children. Corporal punishment was phased out in most primary schools in the early 1970s. The cane was abolished in state secondary schools in 1987. It was finally abolished in private schools in 1998.

For thousands of years it was normal to beat children. However in the late 20th century, for the first time, many people began to feel that it is wrong to hit children. Today in many countries hitting children has been banned by law.

The rights and status of women greatly improved in the 20th century.

More occupations were opened to women. In 1910 the first policewoman was appointed in Los Angeles. In 1916 the first policewoman (with full powers) was appointed in Britain. The 1919 Sex Disqualification Removal Act allowed women to become lawyers, vets and civil servants.

Nevertheless in the early 20th century it was unusual for married women to work (except in wartime). However in the 1950s and 1960s it became common for them to do so - at least part-time. By the end of the century it was normal for married women to have their own careers.

In 1970 the law was changed so women had to be paid the same wages as men for doing work of equal value. In 1973 women were admitted to the stock exchange. From 1975 it was made illegal to sack women for becoming pregnant.

Meanwhile during the 20th century new appliances made housework much easier. (Even at the end of the century most housework was still done by women!). By 1959 about two thirds of British homes had a vacuum cleaner. However fridges and washing machines did not become really common till the 1960s.

In 1921 Dr Marie Stopes opened the first birth control clinic in England. Contraceptive pills went on sale in Britain in 1961. They gave women new freedom.

Meanwhile the traditional role of the Father as head of the family vanished. Increasingly men and women were seen as equal partners.

A history of Children

A History of Women

A history of English society

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