Life, 1911-01-12 · page 9 of 44
Life — January 12, 1911 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page satirizes parenting practices and child-rearing advice in early 20th-century New York City. The cartoon's caption—"Surely, you don't find her interesting?" "No; but she has so many interesting things the matter with her"—mocks society's focus on children's ailments and medical conditions as conversation topics. The article "Fresh Air Babies in New York" addresses a genuine public health concern: high infant mortality rates. It discusses the practice of sending babies outdoors year-round and critiques the casual, sometimes negligent attitudes toward infant welfare among wealthy families who employ nannies. The satire targets both overzealous parenting discourse and class-based indifference to child welfare—poking fun at how New York's elite discuss their children's health problems as fashionable social currency rather than genuine concern.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“SURELY, YOU DON’T FIND HER INTERESTING?’ “NO; BUT SHE HAS SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS THE MATTER WITH HER." Fresh Air Babies in New York T is the fashion now, in New York, for the baby to sleep outdoors as much as possible, winter and summer. Fami- lies that have back yards put him out in the back yard in his perambulator, well covered up. Families that live in flats leave him and his perambulator on the sidewalk by the street door, and trust to luck that he won't be stolen. He doesn’t Seem to mind it, even on cold days. There must be a con- siderable distribution of expert advice about raising babies in this town. The mortality statistics say that it is good advice. One baby in seven dies in its first year. It used to be, and not long since, that about two in seven escaped before they were yearlings. Wait and sce what we shall see when the architects discover this belief that babies sleep better out of doors in winter. Some advanced grown-ups who want to live forever favor the same habit. Very well. Get the tariff off of woot. Wt you can, use discretion; when you can’t, use a club.