Back to Modern Reason

Childcare and Gender in Sweden c. 1600–1800

“…and after that there was no one to nurse me: For my father could, because of his duties, not stay at home all day; eventually I got ill from lack of care, then finally our neighbours had pity on me, and persuaded one of my Godparents to take me to her. 156 Another example is the saddler and his wife who had gone away leaving their children, of whom one was six years old, alone at home without anything to eat. The children were starving and had to turn to the neighbours for food.…”

“…Some autobiographies describe children being sent away when the mother left and children returning when she came back or when a new mother was brought in. 161 In other cases, the sending away of children was for a shorter time and caused by a more temporary strain or absence, like the birth of a sibling or the parents being called to court. 162 Sometimes, a child born out of wedlock was sent away to avoid a scandal.…”