6 Parenting Techniques That Have Not Seen Any Changes Since The Prehistoric Era
Niharika has a passion for all things art, music, and travel and has over 4 years of experience in writing for social media. During her spare time, she likes experimenting in the kitchen, playing video games, and hanging out with stray animals.
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Homo sapiens as a race have moved on from the rudimentary necessities present in the Stone age. However, as time has passed and as much as we’ve evolved as a species, the love that a parent has for their child has remained the same. Sure, the tools that we use to parent may have changed over time, the instinct still remains just the same. There are many things that cavemen and humans don’t have in common anymore. Like we don’t usually hunt our own food and eat it raw like in the prehistoric era. Read on to know more about the different parenting techniques that have existed since the dawn of civilization:
1. Keeping Your Children Busy By Making Art
Every child enjoys art and every parent sees it as teaching tools for children. Art allows children to not just express their creativity but their feelings as well. Today, there are dozens of different coloring books and millions of art tools out there. Just like modern day kids, kids in the prehistoric era too enjoyed making art. They would use their fingers to paint and would dip their hands in soft clay and make zig-zags, lines and swirls. Many believe that children from the prehistoric era also attended a kind of nursery that helped them nurture all of their drawing talent.
2. Breastfeeding Was A Must With Baby-Led Weaning
Just like in the modern era, breastfeeding was the preferred choice (since there was no formula milk at that time). However, most mothers from the prehistoric era let their babies breastfeed till they were three and four even, which most modern day mothers don’t do. This would mean that the weaning is usually baby-led and it was said that this way has even had an effect on their brain development and provided them with better immunity.
3. Babies Were Carried And Loved On
Babies don’t like to be left by themselves. Most parents have to perform a whole bunch of chores during the day while juggling the care of their babies. Like babies in a modern era, prehistoric babies too enjoyed being carried and loved on by their parents. These days, things are a lot easier as we have access to many ergonomic and easy to carry baby slings and carriers. Most experts also recommend that the baby share skin-to-skin contact with your baby. The reason why babies were carried around by their mothers during that era was because it was the best way to protect them from predators.
4. Older Members Of The Family Took Care Of The Children
Although there are plenty of distant and nuclear families in the world today there are just as many joint ones. If you grew up being raised by your grandparents then you have something common with the children of the stone age era. Since elderly folk were not as active in gathering and hunting due to their advanced age, they ended up becoming the families designated caregivers.
5. Crying Babies And Children Were Comforted By Their Parents
Many experts believe that one should try the cry-it-out method of sleep training. Experts believe that if a baby is full, comfortable and dry, they should sleep off on their own. However, if you have a baby that cries and fusses often. Letting them cry without attending to them can teach them how to be self-reliant. However, this technique is quite controversial and hence many other experts do not recommend it. During the stone age era, this was a major no-no. If your child cried, then the caregivers or parents would immediately tend to the child. The child would be handled with affection and cuddled.
6. Children Were Guided But Also Set Free
In various caves across the globe, art has been discovered that points to children being guided by adults into drawing shapes correctly. Children were also given free reign to draw what they liked however. These days, we hold our kids’ hands and help teach them how to draw or how to write the alphabet. Art was often used to teach a child constructively and helps them gain confidence as they grow older.
Just as modern day parents love their children, so did prehistoric human beings. While times may have changed and society may have progressed to a more advanced level, the basic facts of life often remain quite the same. We have much to learn from our prehistoric ancestors and could maybe even look at them for guidance. So now that you are aware of the various parenting techniques that your prehistoric ancestors have in common with you, which technique surprised you the most? Let us know all of your thoughts in the comment section below and tell us if your family practiced any of these techniques.
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