kids these days

Quote: reno

Here's some trivia: the age of consent in 1880 was 10 years in most U.S. states.

Reason being, the number one cause of death
among humans until 1900 was infant mortality.
The younger the mother, the better chance the
infant had of surviving. So you better believe
as soon as a girl had her first period, she was
a candidate for motherhood. It had nothing to
do with horny old men, it was about having kids that
lived past the age of 3.

Quote: Evenbob

Quote: reno

Here's some trivia: the age of consent in 1880 was 10 years in most U.S. states.

Reason being, the number one cause of death
among humans until 1900 was infant mortality.
The younger the mother, the better chance the
infant had of surviving. So you better believe
as soon as a girl had her first period, she was
a candidate for motherhood. It had nothing to
do with horny old men, it was about having kids that
lived past the age of 3.

It was about more than that. Daughters cost more than sons, and if a daughter did not marry she would have to be supported. So a goal was to marry them off early and get them off the farm. Is still goes on today in muslim countries and some other poor places.

Quote: Evenbob

So you better believe
as soon as a girl had her first period, she was
a candidate for motherhood.

You're probably right. The irony is that 19th century girls actually went through puberty at a later age than modern girls. The numbers vary slightly from country to country, but the trend is unmistable, kids these days grow up faster:

It has to do with nutrition. The Japanese
started getting taller after WWII because
they were eating better. Same with girls
ovulating for the first time.

Nutrition and exercise perhaps but I think increased soy in the diet acts as a mild agonist to estrogen.

Having children doesn't have a monetized value I suppose. Birth rates have been falling for a long time so it's no surprise.

Quote: 1nickelmiracle

Having children doesn't have a monetized value I suppose. Birth rates have been falling for a long time so it's no surprise.

Children were once a major asset in the form of free labor, now they are a major cost. Because of this and the availability of birth control fewer people have fewer and fewer kids.

Quote: AZDuffman

Children were once a major asset in the form of free labor, now they are a major cost. Because of this and the availability of birth control fewer people have fewer and fewer kids.

In many parts of our society this may indeed be true. Consider the 300 family communes in Canada and Montana... no birth control or deodorants there.