![Reach Out and Read artwork](https://is5-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts114/v4/52/96/94/529694b5-c03f-9f03-3689-8c39b9d40a28/mza_1301513718682888929.png/100x100bb.jpg)
Raising a Baby the Government Way
Reach Out and Read
English - August 18, 2022 07:00 - 34 minutes - 47.7 MBMedicine Health & Fitness Kids & Family Education for Kids earlychildhoodeducation literacy pediatrics reading books children earlyreaders librarians reachoutandread wellvisits Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: What is Material Culture of Childhood?
Next Episode: Adventures in Fatherhood: Raising Raffi
As in other times, women in the late 1910s-20s from all over the U.S. looked for parenting advice. Who did they ask? The federal government, believe it or not. They flooded the Children’s Bureau, a division of the Department of Labor, with letters about their worries and concerns around raising children. Molly Ladd-Taylor, author of “Raising a Baby the Government Way: Mothers’ Letters to the Children’s Bureau”, joins us to share the story behind the letters and what they can tell us about what has changed - and what hasn’t - regarding maternal and infant care.