Life, 1909-09-16 · page 7 of 32
Life — September 16, 1909 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous instructional page offering satirical advice on child-rearing practices. Rather than depicting actual political figures or events, it presents nine illustrated vignettes with tongue-in-cheek etiquette tips: The captions cover practical (if sometimes questionable) parenting scenarios: never leaving cats alone with babies, avoiding kissing children on the mouth, punishment techniques, preventing water accidents, bathing procedures, and protecting valuables from curious toddlers. The satire lies in the deadpan delivery of common-sense (and period-specific) parenting wisdom through formal "etiquette" framing—treating child management as a matter of social propriety rather than genuine safety or child development. The cartoons mock both overprotective parenting and the era's somewhat cavalier attitudes toward childhood dangers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE* Etiquette for Children Never leave a cat alone with a baby. It A child should never be kissed on the If it is necessary to punish a child, the is dangerous—for the cat. mouth—the forehead is usually less sticky. best plan is to remove all obstacles and get at the sect of the trouble. To make a child stop crying when all Young children should not be allowed Never get up at night when baby cries— else fails— remove clothing and extract access to the water cooler—they are apt to it is better simply to stay up. safety pin. get their feet wet. To prepare a child's bath: Fill tub with To keep a female child from fretting, hi id fs to walk—tock warm water, undress child, place soap and nothing is more effective than a pearl neck- up your valuables. towels within reach, and call in the neigh- lace or a diamond sunburst. bors, comicbooks.com