I really love running into articles, written years ago, that echo what we need to hear today. Nothing has changed, yet everything has changed. No guilt trip intended; just think about it…
THE PRESENT-DAY NEED FOR TRAINING OUR DAUGHTERS IN HOMEMAKING SKILLS
“No matter what other interests a girl has in life, what line of academic learning she desires to pursue, what service she chooses to render in the world, every normal girl expects some day to marry and have a home. Such being the case, regardless of the training she may acquire in other fields, she should be trained in the art and skill of homemaking. Girls cannot fully enjoy their homes and families unless they have learned proper values relative to homemaking activities.
Homemaking experiences include clothing purchase, production, and care, food purchase and preparation, home improvement activities, infant care, guidance of children, home management, consumer buying as well as experiences in family and social relationships and personal care and improvement.
Mothers want their daughters to find peace and happiness in their homes. They also want them to have time outside of their homemaking activities for intellectual development, social and religious activities. This will be possible if girls have acquired managerial ability and a working knowledge of homemaking skills.
No girl should grow up to say, ‘I’ve never taken a stitch in my life; I can’t use a thimble; I’ve never helped with the family laundry; I can’t bake a cake’ No one girl is apt to become an expert in all lines of homemaking, but there is no reason for her not knowing the fundamentals in all lines in case a need for this knowledge arises. The family income may be large enough to relieve her of the necessity of home production in order to conserve and stretch the buying power of the family dollars, but one cannot see all the problems that lie ahead, and there is no greater asset to any individual than to be prepared.
If mothers and daughters plan together, and work together to carry out their plans, a closer companionship grows up between them than is possible when mothers make all the plans in the home and execute them themselves while daughter goes her way with her interests all outside the home. Mothers need to get close to their daughters and enjoy confidential companionship with them.
We should sense our responsibility in doing all we can to help our daughters prepare themselves to be wise, helpful wives and mothers, and women, when they assume those roles in homes of their own. As mothers in Israel we should resolve to rally to our responsibility and to discharge it with enthusiasm and efficiency.”
Article written by Leda T. Jensen, RS General Board Member, RS Mag Oct 1941
Postscript: While searching for a nice picture to add to this post, I entered mother working with daughter. What came up were pictures of mothers working at computers, or talking on the phone, with daughters sitting by her side reading, or on her own computer. Most pictures had the mother and the daughter “together”, but separate. That is a sad commentary on our society today.