Baby behind bars. I'm Jason Horton.

I'm Rebecca Leeb.

And this is Ghost Town.

Parenting in a city is much different than in smaller towns, suburbs, or rural places.

Smaller spaces, different price points, whatever.

Differences aside, in the 1930s, many city-bound parents were part of a very popular,

very disturbing trend, suspending their child out their apartment window inside of a cage.

Yes, a cage for a baby. Let me explain.

The idea of putting a baby in a cage for its health was first introduced in the 1890s by Dr. Luther

Emmett, who wrote about it in his book, The Care and Feeding of Children. Already a disturbing

title, Emmett's book covers basic baby care topics like bathing, nursing, and when they're

a little older, masturbation. Yeah.

Most notably, at least for the purposes of this podcast, is the section in the book titled

Airing. Emmett argued that babies like laundry should be aired out to keep them healthy.

Despite what you might think, airing out your baby actually has a lot of rules.

An excerpt from the book reads,

Fresh air is required to renew and purify the blood, and this is just as necessary for health and

growth as proper food. The appetite is improved, the digestion is better, the cheeks become red,

and all signs of health are seen. It is not true that infants take cold more easily when

asleep than awake, while it's almost invariably the case that those who sleep out of doors are

stronger children and less prone to take cold than others. Rustic, robust, outdoor babies are

good for everyone, I guess. Anyhow, this is where the idea came from, and urban moms took notice.

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