As we say, not as we do!
Children’s Etiquette in the Roaring Twenties
Read the following excerpt to get a sense of the expectations of children’s behaviour in the twenties.
The Early Twentieth Century
There were many new works for children published in the twentieth century, but these, too, display a
remarkable continuity of expectations. Gelett Burgess revived an old practice of setting rules to rhyme in
his popular Goops and How to Be Them (1900). Burgess began with table manners, and gave all the
ancient injunctions about not talking while eating or eating too fast. He reiterated the old advice to respect
elders, joking "When you're old, and get to be, Thirty-four or forty-three; Don't you hope that you will see,
Children all respect you?" Gelett's work is stamped with a certain late-Victorian fastidiousness. It devoted
separate pages to the need for cleanliness, neatness, tidiness, orderliness, and punctuality. It begged
children to refrain from "Disfiguration" (drawing on fences and walls), and playing in Sunday clothes.
This combination of traditional rules with a new push for cleanliness and order persisted in the 1920s. It is
seen in Margaret Bailey's The Value of Good Manners (1922), where she named cleanliness and tidiness
as the first requirements for well-mannered children. And she held out for deference to elders, disagreeing
with those who would suggest that it was passé. She thus gave rules that are found in Moody: when adults
entered the room, for example, children were to rise and offer their seats.
Even authors who thought they were coming up with something new were actually giving old advice.
Lillian Eichler (1924) and Margery Wilson (1937) both claimed to be offering "the new etiquette," but
their advice was strikingly traditional. Eichler stated, "The new etiquette does not attempt to stifle the
child's personality. But it does attempt to stifle the bad habits … [of] rudeness, disobedience, untidiness,
bad table manners, and lack of courtesy" to parents and elders. While her pleas that children should not be
repressed sounded new, her specific injunctions for children were old. As had authors before her, she
stressed the importance of table manners, and gave the same basic instructions to "eat slowly and
carefully, and keep the mouth shut while chewing." The nineteenth-century banishment of children from
adult social life persisted as well, with her claim that children should not be included in formal dinners.
Moody could have penned her advice for informal dinners, where she claimed that children "must not seat
themselves until all the elders have been seated. They must come to the table with hands and nails
scrupulously clean, hair brushed, clothes neat. They must not show greediness at table, displeasure
because of some dish they do not like, or delight because of some dish of which they are particularly fond.
They must not begin to eat before the others or leave the table before the elders have finished dining."
Margery Wilson gave the same advice, and added precepts on correct speaking and greeting of adult
guests that also echoed Moody.
There were some new notes sounded in advice to parents in these early-twentieth-century works. More
often than in the past parents were reminded that they taught manners best by setting an example for their
children, and that they should respect their children's rights. But what parents were encouraged to teach
their children had changed little. At the same time that books of manners kept to the old standards,
however, it is likely that changes in other social areas, especially in popular culture, began to have an
effect on the actual behavior of children and youth. New, less formal signals about carriage and POSTURE,
dress and language, and other matters began to stream out of movies, magazines, and school peer culture
by the 1920s. While these changes had a greater impact on youth, soon new child-rearing manuals would
also begin to emphasize greater informality in parent–child relations.
Excerpt from:
Hemphill, C. Dallett. “Manners” http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Ke-Me/Manners.html <accessed: August 20, 2008>
Your Task
Comics started to gain popularity and were being mass produced in the twenties. Use this
format to create an appealing etiquette guide for a twenties child. Try to represent the
tension that would exist for children – remember, they are watching the world go wild when
they are expected to be clean, quiet, and respectful.
You may choose to complete this as either a black and white OR colour comic. Keep in mind
that you will be earning most of your marks for believable and correct writing (8 marks)
and a smaller part of marks for creativity and visual polish (2 marks).
Knowledge and
Understanding
-K/U of the tension
between
childrearing
practices/ideals and
the actual
behaviour of the
1920s
Thinking
-creativity and
originality in visual
display of the
tensions in 1920s
childrearing.
Application
-use of instructions
Communication
-polished and
professional
writing
Level 4
Student
demonstrates a
very good
understanding
of the inherit
tensions of
1920s
childrearing
Level 3
Student
demonstrates a
good
understanding
of the inherit
tensions of
1920s
childrearing
Level 2
Student
demonstrates a
moderate
understanding
of the inherit
tensions of
1920s
childrearing
Level 1
Student
demonstrates a
limited
understanding of
the inherit tensions
of 1920s
childrearing
Student has
created
something
which is unique
and interesting
Student has
made good use
of traditional or
familiar models
Student has
created a project
with little
originality or
logical creativity.
Student has
thoughtfully and
dynamically
followed all
instructions
Student has
completed all
stages of the
ISU process in
detail.
Student has
depended on
familiar
storylines.
Limited
originality
Student did not
submit all
stages of the
ISU process.
Student writes
or speaks
comfortably
with an
appropriate use
of tone, diction,
and formality
Student makes
only a few
mistakes when
writing or
speaking.
Student makes
many mistakes
when writing or
speaking.
Student only
submitted final
stage of the ISU
process (all other
deadlines were
missed).
Student’s errors
when writing or
speaking interfere
with the
audience’s
understanding of
the project.