The Reshaping Of Everyday Life

13 Pages 3125 Words

mber was about seven to ten. Some far exceeded that; others barely managed having two or three.
In the early colonial families, every member had a different job. The head of the family was mostly the father. He presided over family prayers and worked on the family farm. Mothers usually raised the children, acted as midwives to other women in town, and tended to household chores. Up until about the age eight, boys and girls wore the same thing. They only wore wool or linen dresses. After a boy reached the age of eight or nine, he would begin to help out with the father’s job, which was farming, and a dress would not suit the job very well. Girls usually wore their hair long, but always pulled tightly back and up under a bonnet or hat. The reason for this was that social and religious custom did not approve or look kindly upon women or girls being in public with an uncovered head. The women were given a workload since their early days. For example, while boys were off with their fathers, girls would stay home with their mothers, mostly helpi...