RURAL CHILDHOOD

Sunrise to Sunset

 

     

Many farm parents believed that a child’s first obligation should be to the family enterprise, their parents, and their siblings. This belief meant that children were most needed working on the farm to support their family and keep the family enterprise going.  Children might work from sunrise to sunset, as no labor laws permitted them from doing so.  The traditional agriculture associated with keeping a farm operating at that time without the machinery used today meant that the entire family had important jobs to keep the farm going.

 

Families worked together to complete jobs on the farm such as tending the garden, harvesting and canning fruits and vegetables, caring for the animals, and harvesting.  At a young age, children began their farm work by feeding the pets and chickens, gathering eggs, and bringing in the wood for fire.  Some also helped out in the field by bringing water to the workers.