Do you think life is hard? Well, think of it compared to kids growing up in the early 1900's. Life for them was school and work. A lot of work and little play would be a good summarization of their life.

Most families were self-sufficient which meant their kids would have to do a lot of the work. The boys were usually working on the farm or working with the animals, while in the mean time the girls did the cooking, cleaning, and other house chores. Sometimes families would have up to 10 or 12 kids raised to do work. The kids were there whenever their parents needed them to do something.

When kids weren't working they spent their time wisely. On hot summer days they would go swimming at a nearby lake or pond. They would also just relax while eating ice cream or something else refreshing. If they wanted a little bit of extra money they could sell lemonade on the busy corners. In winter kids would skate at the skating rink or have fun in the snow having snowball fights.

Although kids were always working they treasured the little time they had just to play around like kids do. So to summarize it up kids were pretty much like they are today.

To learn more and read personal experiances go to the following sites:

http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/bitsandpieces/GrowingupinBullock.htm
http://www.curtislibrary.com/hhs/book/allen.htm
The Life Of A Young Person In The 20th century