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In peasant families in Russia, children were very early accustomed to responsibility and systematic work: this was both the main issue of education and the key to survival. Moreover, the views of our ancestors on this process would hardly please modern teenagers.
Most importantly, the approach to their heirs among the people was not just strict, but very strict. First, no one then considered children equal to their parents. And it was in the first years of a child’s life that adults saw the guarantee of what kind of person he would become.
Secondly, the authority of mother and father in peasant families was indisputable. Usually the parents were unanimous in their views on the upbringing and duties of the child, and even if they did not agree on something, they never showed it publicly, so the child had no chance to “pull” one of the parents to his side.
Thirdly, neither with girls nor with boys was it customary to «almond» and pamper them in vain. Usually, assignments between household members were distributed by the head of the family in an orderly tone, and no one contradicted him in response. At the same time, the child was always praised and encouraged for a successfully completed task, emphasizing in every possible way that he benefited the whole family.
Our reference. Child labor – involving children in work on a regular basis. Currently, in most states, it is considered a form of exploitation and, according to the UN Convention N32 «On the Rights of the Child» and the acts of the International Labor Organization, it is recognized as illegal. Our great-grandfathers could not even dream of such a thing. Maybe that’s why they entered adulthood perfectly prepared and adapted?
«The father of the son does not teach badly»
The age criteria for children were very clear, and, accordingly, their work responsibilities were also clearly divided. Age was measured in seven years: the first seven years — childhood or «infancy». The kids were called «child», «baby», «kuvyaka» (crying) and other affectionate nicknames. In the second seven years, adolescence began: the child became a “lad” or “lad”, the boys were given ports (trousers), the girls — a long girl’s ueha. The third seven-year period is youth. As a rule, adolescents mastered all the necessary skills for independent living by the end of adolescence. The boy became the right hand of his father, a substitute for his absences and illnesses, and the girl became a full-fledged assistant to the mother.
Perhaps the requirements for boys were stricter than for girls, because it was from the sons that the future “breadwinners”, “caregivers” and defenders had to grow up. In a word, real husbands and fathers.
In the first seven years of his life, the boy comprehended many of the basics of peasant labor: he was taught to take care of cattle, ride a horse, help in the field, and also the basics of craftsmanship. For example, the ability to make toys from various materials, weave baskets and baskets, and, of course, bast shoes, which had to be strong, warm, waterproof, was considered an absolutely necessary skill. Many 6- and 7-year-old boys confidently helped their fathers in the manufacture of furniture, harness, and other household items. The proverb “Teach a child while it lies across the bench” was not an empty phrase in peasant families.
In the second seven years of life, stable and varied household duties were finally assigned to the boy, and they acquired a clear sexual division. For example, not a single lad was obliged to take care of his younger brothers and sisters or engage in a garden, but he had to learn how to plow and thresh — girls were not involved in such physically hard work. Often, already at the age of 7-9, peasant boys began to earn extra money «in people»: their parents gave them to shepherds for a moderate fee. By this age, it was believed that the child had already finally “entered the mind”, and therefore it was necessary to teach him everything that the father knows and knows.
Work on the ground
In Russian villages, arable farming was a confirmation of a full-fledged male status. Therefore, teenage boys had to work in the fields. They fertilized the land (scattered manure across the field and made sure that its clods did not impede the work of the plow), harrowed (loosened the top layer of soil with harrows or hoes), led a horse harnessed to a harrow by the bridle or rode it «when the father makes a furrow» .
If the earth was lumpy, then the father would put his son on the harrow to make it heavier, and he himself would lead the horse by the bridle. Teenagers took an active part in the harvest. From the age of 11-13, the boy was already involved in independent plowing. At first, he was allocated a small plot of arable land, where he could practice, and by the age of 14, the teenager himself could confidently plow the land, that is, he became a full-fledged worker.
Cattle care
Another important component of peasant life, which women were not trusted (they could only milk cows or goats, drive them out to pasture). The youths had to feed, remove manure, and clean the animals under the strict guidance of the elders. The main breadwinner in a peasant family has always been a horse, which worked all day in the field with the owner. They grazed the horses at night, and this was also the duty of the boys. That is why, from the earliest years, they were taught to harness and ride horses, to drive them, sitting or standing in a cart, to drive them to a watering hole — in full accordance with the saying «Business teaches, torments, but feeds.»
Fishing activities
They were especially common in the Russian North and Siberia, where they served as a reliable source of income. Looking at his father and older brothers, the boy first adopted the skills of fishing and hunting in the form of a game, and then improved this art.
Already by the age of 8-9, the boy usually knew how to arrange snares for small game and birds, shoot from a bow, fish or spear it. The collection of mushrooms, berries and nuts was often added to this list, which was also a good material help. By the age of 9-12, a teenager could join an adult fishing artel, and by the age of 14, having passed a probationary period, become a full-fledged member of it. Then he began to make a significant share in the family budget and moved into the category of adult «earners» and enviable suitors.
This is how “good fellows” grew up in peasant families — father’s assistants, whom parents were rightly proud of. In addition to labor education, the boys were also instilled with clear moral principles: they were taught to respect elders, to treat the poor and the poor with mercy, hospitality, respect for the fruits of their own and other people’s labor, and the foundations of faith. There were two more important rules that any boy knew by heart: first, a man must be able to protect his woman and his family, not only physically, but also from the material and psychological side. According to the second rule, a man had to be able to restrain his emotions and always control himself.
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