Reasons I’m Glad to Be a Modern Parent

When I was growing up, I devoured all of the Little House on the Prairie books. They stuck with me so much that as I go about my days, I still think of them. Whenever I feel like complaining about a “grueling” task, I think of the fact that not so long ago those tasks were truly grueling. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867  — a time of covered wagons, no electricity and hand-washing the laundry. Covered wagons! It helps me keep things in perspective and appreciate the time and place I live. Here are just a handful of reasons I’m glad I’m a modern parent.

9 Reasons I’m Glad I’m a Modern Parent

Bathing. I remember Laura and her sisters taking their once-weekly bath on Saturdays so they could go to church clean in their Sunday best. Can you imagine your stinky kids only bathing once a week? In the summer? You’d be sending them to the pond or river to play a lot. Moms would also never get that precious alone time in a hot shower.

Running water. I’m always so annoyed when work is being done on plumbing and the water gets turned off. I can’t imagine having to haul in well water for cooking and cleaning. You know how fun it would be to get up in the morning and have to hit the outhouse? Or potty train your kids without a modern bathroom?

Diapers. As I go through diaper after diaper with an infant, I try to imagine how difficult it would be to do without modern diapers. Sure, you’d use cloth. But then you’d have to scrub the laundry by hand. And that’s a lot of laundry. How many cloth diapers did a family actually have? How did they keep up with it? No wonder kids were potty trained ASAP.

Laundry. Sure, you’d have less laundry to do because there was no Target to buy super affordable and adorable clothes. But you’d be scrubbing them on a washboard by hand. And what happens when your child pukes all over everything — twice?

Medicine. I can’t even imagine the worry when your child gets sick and there isn’t a pediatrician around the corner with walk-in hours.

Clothes. Let’s revisit this. No Target. No animal-butt baby clothes.

Warmth. I have a hard enough time keeping a baby warm in a drafty house that was built in 1927. I can’t imagine a pre-1900 house with just a fireplace.

Cooking. I feel like I spend the whole day cooking and cleaning up, just to start the next meal shortly after. And that’s with a microwave, refrigerator and a stove. I can’t imagine how much time was spent doing work in the kitchen back then. That’s not even considering the fact that you couldn’t just run to the store to grab a bunch of bananas or some peanut butter. Ma churned her own butter, for crying out loud.

Google. How often have you looked up a strange kiddo behavior just to see if it was normal? You find one other person on the internet who had the same issue and you’re reassured. Back then, you’d never know if your kid was normal or just a weirdo.

What modern conveniences would you miss the most? It’s a tough call between electricity and modern plumbing … —Erin