21 એપ્રિલ, 2026

Childrearing tips from Eleanor Roosevelt.

My son Chris sent me that clip, which I think is from "FDR: A New Political Life" (commission earned). Chris has a project of reading (at least) one biography of each of the U.S. Presidents. He's not reading them in chronological order though, and he's a lot closer to the end than it looks. Anyway, I'll correct this post if I'm naming the wrong bio. So hold off on snapping up that book until later in the day. And think twice about jury-rigging a chickenwire cage to hang your baby out an upper story window. Or are you the sort of busybody who calls the authorities on a very modern mother who just might be Eleanor Roosevelt?

UPDATE: The book is actually "FDR" by Jean Edward Smith. Chris says it has "a lot of anecdotes." 880 pages. That other one is a mere 284 pages. 

55 ટિપ્પણીઓ:

gilbar કહ્યું...

so, it turns out; that lesbians that are forced to marry a cousin;
and then forced to have kids... do NOT like their kids?
got it!

Enigma કહ્યું...

And this is why AOC has a thing about keeing "kids in cages"? It's her Party's century-long tradition and she wants in on the captive action?

Aggie કહ્યું...

Monstrous. But babies grow into toddlers, and that's what the flagpole is for.

Dave Begley કહ્યું...

Liberal icon; beloved to this day.

Ralph L કહ્યું...

Is Anna the daughter who got her back by inviting FDR's former side piece Lucy Mercer to Warm Springs?

Lloyd W. Robertson કહ્યું...

Eleanor's father didn't just disappear somehow; he was a disgrace. The ladies who raised Eleanor acted as though it would have been better if she hadn't been born.

Dave Begley કહ્યું...

The kids turned out okay except for the one who died in childhood.

Justabill કહ્યું...

In the spirit of Johnny Dangerously, “my mother hung me in a chicken wire cage once. Once.”

Dave Begley કહ્યું...

“FDR, JR. Died in infancy at seven months old due to complications from the flu and a heart murmur.”

Are we sure about that cause of death?

Howard કહ્યું...

Eleanor's four boys whom survived to adulthood all served in the armed forces prior to and during WWII. John Wayne, conservative icon, couldn't be reached for comment.

NKP કહ્યું...

Makes sense. The question is: what was Franklin's motivation? There ARE limits, right?

Joe Bar કહ્યું...

I seem to recall seeing pictures of the "kid in a chicken wire cage" somewhere. Apparently, not an uncommon practice. My daughter has one for her cats.

NKP કહ્યું...

Howard plays the John Wayne Card. I suspect Wayne's injuries sustained playing college football, would get him an immediate "pass" in any era. They might even exclude him from enlistment.

Contrast with Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, et. al.

Enigma કહ્યું...

John Wayne also died from cancer -- thought to be caused by above-ground nuclear testing that happened while filming a movie. He was effectively 'drafted' into the national security industry.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4743810-conqueror-hollywood-fallout-radiation-exposure/

Peachy કહ્યું...

sounds like my mom.

Wince કહ્યું...

He had a dream one night
That the tree had lost its middle
So he built a trunk of chicken wire
To try to hold it up
But the wire, the wire turned to lizard skin
And when he climbed inside
There wasn't even time to say (gonna miss you, boy)
Goodbye to Wendell Gee (gonna miss you, boy)
So whistle as the wind blows (gonna miss you, boy)
Whistle as the wind blows through leaves (gonna miss you, boy)

Big Mike કહ્યું...

Ralph L said...

Is Anna the daughter who got her back by inviting FDR's former side piece Lucy Mercer to Warm Springs?


Yes.

Temujin કહ્યું...

So the Roosevelts started the practice of Americans putting children in cages. Later updated and polished along our southern border by Barack Obama.
Seriously, her quote on motherhood and caring for children makes her sound like an awful person. Exactly the kind of person my gut tells me the Roosevelts were.
I know people love them and many still swoon over them. But I suspect they were simply very well to do, very well connected WASPs of the Northeastern US in that time. What we would call 'blue bloods'. With as much feel for humanity outside of their circles as a brick would have.
FDR showed his stuff refusing to allow Jews fleeing the Holocaust to enter the US. Famously refusing the allow those on the ship MS St. Louis to enter the US, even while off the coast of Florida. Instead sending them back to Europe to be sent to concentration camps.
That is the character of the man. Sounds like a great couple.

Sydney કહ્યું...

My mother-in-law told me this story about Eleanor Roosevelt years ago. In her version, though, it was putting them out on the balcony to get fresh air. She didn't mention the cage.

narciso કહ્યું...

Son of a china trader with what that entails he brought breckenridge long back from rome

Sydney કહ્યું...

Another children in cages, although fictional, was in the movie "Don't Eat the Daisies." The family kept their youngest in a cage because he was too rambunctious and could climb out of play pens.

Howard કહ્યું...

I love it! How you people Will bend over backwards to justify John Wayne's draft dodger status. Even is great friend and mentor. John Ford used to publicly mock him for it. Many cripples fought in World War II. The story below is one of Eleanor's cousins:

Theodore Roosevelt Junior during the Battle of Normandy Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died of a heart attack in his sleep on July 12, 1944, in France, not strictly "exhaustion". However, his death at 56 came five weeks after D-Day—where he was the only general to land with the first wave at Utah Beach—following an intense, high-stress tour of duty against doctor's advice.
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Key Details Regarding His Death:
Cause: Coronary thrombosis (heart attack).
Context: He had been experiencing heart issues and had severe arthritis from World War I injuries, walking with a cane.
Location: He passed away at his headquarters in France shortly after being recommended for a promotion to major general.
Legacy: He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery on D-Day, with General Omar Bradley calling his action "the bravest... I ever saw".
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He is buried in the American Cemetery in Normandy, next to his brother, Quentin Roosevelt, who died in World War I.
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narciso કહ્યું...

Who was running the european division at state as hornbeck ran far east branch sumner welles told laredo bru dont let off in havana

Cappy કહ્યું...

Mentor to Hillary.

narciso કહ્યું...

Probably prolonged the depression with his many schemes let a gang of communists infest the government

narciso કહ્યું...

That was more likely carl oglesby sdser

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

The real mystery has always been why FDR married her. He was quite a catch in his day, although some sneered at him and labeled him "the featherduster"

All of her children were rather distant from her. And Eleanor was obviously more interested in politics than in her grandchildren.

CJinPA કહ્યું...

Search for "Baby Cages" to see the 1930s craze of babies in 10th-floor window cages to get some fresh air.

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/this-is-real-em-the-baby-cage-em-220848

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

I find it hilarious that Jews and Communists often attack FDR - since he helped destroy Nazi Germany the greatest enemy the Jews and the USSR ever. He didn't do enough. But then it seems no powerful friend of the jews has ever done enough.

I dont think anyone has ever accused Eleanor of being an antisemite. At least for her actions after 1932. Morganthau considered Eleanor his closest friend. And Martha Gellhorn, Joe Lash and Trudi Platt (all communists) were in her inner circle till her death. Some speculate she in love with Dr. David Gerowtiz (sic) her Polish-Jewish Doctor.

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

Eleanor recounts being thrown in the water by "Uncle Ted" as a young child. A rough way to teach you how to swim. Maybe hanging the kid in a cage got her over a fear of heights. No mollycoddles need apply.

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

Both books are pretty good. Recommended.

JAORE કહ્યું...

"Eleanor's four boys whom survived to adulthood all served in the armed forces prior to and during WWII. John Wayne, conservative icon, couldn't be reached for comment."

Someone fell into the non sequitur cesspool this morning.

But when you have no pertinent comments.... go left.

hombre કહ્યું...

That anecdote fits my pictures of progressive parenting.

Enigma કહ્યું...

@RCOCEAN II: The real mystery has always been why FDR married her. He was quite a catch in his day, although some sneered at him and labeled him "the featherduster"

Perhaps to keep the money in the family?

The Egyptian Ptolomies were the last rulers of independent Egypt before the Romans took over (i.e., Anthony and Cleopatra). They practiced incest because they were a group of foreign Greek rulers in an alien land.

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

"Perhaps to keep the money in the family?"

The money was with FDR's mother - Sara Delano. And she against the marriage.

n.n કહ્યું...

Military service is critical of liability attached to personal status.

FullMoon કહ્યું...

"CJinPA said...
Search for "Baby Cages" to see the 1930s craze of babies in 10th-floor window cages to get some fresh air.

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/this-is-real-em-the-baby-cage-em-220848

Link shows vid from 1930's with baby and toddler in window cage. Roosevelt didn't come up with the idea, she was following professional advice.

gspencer કહ્યું...

Putting a child in a wire cage. Must be a Democrat thing,

https://i.insider.com/5b2af0921ae66238008b5360?width=1200&format=jpeg

https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/president-obama-wants-continue-imprisoning-immigrant-families

Lazarus કહ્યું...

John B. Watson, a behaviorist of psychology was very influential in the 1920s. He advocated a cold and distant method of child rearing. Children raised according to his theories (like his granddaughter, Mariette Hartley -- her other grandfather was FDR crony Harold Ickes) had problems in later life.

Eleanor's kids had problems too. They were something like drifters, going from marriage to marriage and from fresh career start to the next start without getting very far in anything. Elliot, though, did manage to have a pleasant old age writing his Eleanor Roosevelt mysteries (they may still be coming out, written by another author). They could be made into movies, and I imagine that the flicks would be hilarious (maybe unintentionally, maybe not).

FDR did a lot to end the world that produced him. But maybe it was dying anyway. Or maybe a lot of it is still around. The rich still live in luxury. They just don't flaunt it in Park Avenue palaces. The old rich don't play much of a role in today's politics or in anything, but a Sheldon Whitehouse or John Forbes Kerry can still make it into the Senate.

john mosby કહ્યું...

So that’s why she kept arguing with James Garner. CC, JSM

narciso કહ્યું...

I dont get it

narciso કહ્યું...
આ ટિપ્પણી લેખક દ્વારા દૂર કરવામાં આવી છે.
john mosby કહ્યું...

Marriette Hartley, in the Polaroid commercials. CC, JSM

john mosby કહ્યું...

https://youtu.be/WsjdMv9qyoU?si=3PVPgj80fV-sUUj3

narciso કહ્યું...

I had no idea

narciso કહ્યું...
આ ટિપ્પણી લેખક દ્વારા દૂર કરવામાં આવી છે.
CJinPA કહ્યું...

Link shows vid from 1930's with baby and toddler in window cage. Roosevelt didn't come up with the idea, she was following professional advice.

Indeed. That's why I suggested folks search for this "craze" to see a variety of images that have nothing to do with Ellie Roosevelt.

Ralph L કહ્યું...

And she against the marriage.
Maybe her disapproval was part of why Franklin was for it.

DINKY DAU 45 કહ્યું...

TIM APPLE WHAT A MAN!!

Narr કહ્યું...

As an older, Jewish, colleague of mine used to say, "American Jews believed in three things--this world (welt), the next world (welt), and Roosevelt."

Mencken suggested in the late '30s that the US should take all the Jews the Germans wanted to get rid of, but the country wasn't ready for that.

JK Brown કહ્યું...

The Fresh Air Movement in the post-Spanish Flu years was not a "craze". It cause steam heating in cities like NYC to be sized to heat the house on the coldest day of the year with a strong wind blowing and the windows open. It was also advised to sleep with the bedroom window open. And they removed double glazed windows and put in single pane to encourage air exchanges.

Ironically 50 years later in the 1970s, double pane windows for energy efficiency was all the craze. Of course, by then, everyone had returned to spittling on birthday cakes, heavy breathing on each other in the back of movie theaters and promoting speaking into each others faces having lost the memory of the pandemic.

Ralph L કહ્યું...

TB treatment was breathing cold air long before the Spanish Flu. Sleeping porches first became popular in the late 19th century, says Grok, partly for hot weather, but my grandparents used one year round until '52.

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

Eleanor Roosevelt just left her kids to be raised by the help, and she wasn't particularly warm towards them even after they were grown up. Most of the kids were closer to Sara then her.

Her love towards FDR didn't last long either. Once she found out he'd had one affair, it was over. She was sad when FDR took Anna on the trip to Yalta, but that was because she wanted to meet Stalin, not because she wanted to be with her husband.

Howard કહ્યું...

Hey, your kid in the cage out of the third story window sounds like the kind of child rearing advice one would expect. From Margaret Sanger

Known Unknown કહ્યું...

CWAA

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