Rock a by baby... in a cardboard box? Imagine bringing your newborn infant home and having it take it’s first nap in a crib made out of cardboard (Lee). Strange, right? Not to the people of Finland. Since 1938, Finland’s government has provided every expecting mother a sturdy cardboard box filled with all the essentials needed for their new youngin’ to live- including a mattress (“Finnish Baby Box: Unique”). Originally created to crutch low-income mothers, the box has progressed to be a trademark of the country’s public policy: every child gets an equal start no matter the social circumstances (Picard). Though motherhood itself is a rite of passage, the mothers of Finland take pride in receiving their maternity packages and find it as a way to connect themselves to the struggling, yet strong mothers of the country’s past (Lee). Because of certain restrictions put on the grant, receiving the box not only benefits the families of Finland, but the healthcare of the country improves as well. Overall statistics of the country have also been altered in a positive way by the box; Finland results as what appears to be one of the “happiest” and “smartest” countries of the world due to these figures (“Finnish Mothers Are”). The maternity package has concluded to be so successful, that the concept is envied and even wanted by other countries around the world. It is intriguing that something as simple as a box can serve as a cradle, a closet, a stepping stone, a role model, and an overall statistic for the little country of Finland. In 1938, Finland, along with the U.S, and other countries, was suffering from the stock market crashing. Many people were left in poverty and lacked money to correctly raise and support their families. Though the flow of money stopped, the flow of children being born did not. Due to shortages of income, many families were unable to purchase cribs
In the late 1920s, numerous banks failed around the nation. This meant that any money families had in the bank, was just lost; all life savings down the drain. Therefore, families had to start saving all over again, during a time when money was scarce in the first place.
The Great Depression often seems very distant to people of the 21st century. This article is a good reminder of potential problems that may reoccur. The article showed in a very literal way the idea that a depression can bring a growing country to its knees. The overall ramifications of the event were never discussed in detail, but the historical significance is that people's lives were put on hold while they tried to struggle through an extremely difficult time.
In different countries and cities, infant caretaking styles can differ widely due to varying cultures and values. For example, the study done by Morelli, Rogoff, Oppenheim and Goldsmith in 1992 revealed differences in the infant sleeping practices between Mayan parents and U.S. parents from Utah. While more Mayan parents preferred to let their infants sleep on their bed to develop a close mother-infant bond, more U.S. parents preferred to keep their infants on a separate bed and to let them sleep alone as soon as possible in order to allow their child to become independent (Morelli et al., 1992). The purpose of this study is to examine the caretaking practices of a current parent through an interview and to compare and contrast the parent’s
Newborns do not contribute much to society at large. In fact, they do not do much in general. It is impossible to know the details of what goes on in an infant’s mind. One of the things we do know about newborns is that sleep is crucial and they spend an average of 16-18 hours each day sleeping (Ward, 2015). This paper will examine the experiences of one mother’s decisions in regard to sleeping arrangements and the values, both cultural and personal, that support these arrangements. It will also compare her decisions to the decisions of U.S. and Mayan mothers discussed in the research article “Cultural Variation in Infants’ Sleeping Arrangements: Questions of Independence.” The mother who was interviewed for this paper is 54 years old and
“The Stock Market Crash was the most devastating in history. After World War I it was a period of peace and the crash interrupted it.” (“The Wall Street”). The public demanded deposits from the banks and as they were handing the cash over little did they know it was leading to less money in circulation. Companies closed down because of deflation and low demand while others laid off over half of their workers. As the unemployment levels increased, properties were repossessed and citizens started mortgaging their houses and selling everything just to get through the depression with their own home. Post war time the United States was booming, with the trade from Germany and Europe. The 1920’s turned out to be a decade, which lead America into the depression. As more and more people invested their money, the stock prices raised. “A multitude of large bank loans that could not be liquidated, and an economic recession that had begun earlier in the summer.” (“American
A time in America’s history was made dark by an economic downfall. The Great Depression made life almost unbearable for most people living in the 1930’s. The stock market crash started on Tuesday October 29, 1929, it is also known as “Black Tuesday”. The stock market crash is known as the worst economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world (“The Great Depression”). The Great Depression was a deep economic crisis that began in 1929 and lasted until the nation’s entry
By 1929, the U.S. economy was in serious trouble despite the soaring profits in the stock market. Since the end of WWI in 1918, farm prices had dropped about 40% below their pre-war level. Farm profits fell so low that many farmers could not pay their debts to the banks; in turn this caused about 550 banks to go out of business. The nations illusion of unending prosperity was shattered on Oct. 24 1929. Worried investors who had bought stock on credit began to sell it. A panic developed, and on October 29, stockholders sold a record 16,410,030 share. By mid-November, stock prices had plunged about 40%. The stock market crash led to the Great Depression, the worst depression in the nation’s history (until…2014 ☺). It was a terrible price to pay for the false sense of prosperity and national well being of the Roaring Twenties.
The years berween 1929 and 1933 were trying years for people throughout the world. Inflation was often so high money became nearly worthless. America had lost the prosperity it had known during the 1920's. America was caught in a trap of a complete meltdown of economy, workers had no jobs simply because it cost too much to ship the abundance of goods being produced. This cycle was unbreakable, and produced what is nearly universally recognized as the greatest economic collapse of all times. These would be trying years for all, but not every American faced the same challenges and hardships. (Sliding 3)
It was not until October 29th, 1929 that the Canadian economy but more importantly the world experienced the ‘Great Depression’. Large amounts of money were lost over the period of five days, as investor’s worldwide scrambled to withdraw th...
The Great Depression was the greatest economic downturn America had ever faced. With the fall of the stock market in one day the entire country was in chaos. People’s entire life saving as well as plans for the future were destroyed in minutes. This paper will discuss how The Great Depression affected family dynamics and everyday life as the result of economic hardship.
In October of 1929, the United States witnessed the crash of the “stock market” (Foner,799) that led to a chaotic downfall of the economy. Although the destruction of the stocks did not directly impact the middle-class yet, it caused more than “26,000” “investment companies” (Foner,800) to lose billions of dollars that they had “invested.” The major corporations that were able to salvage their finances began “laying off workers” consequently leading to “thousands” (Foner,801) of Americans to “search for work.” The fear of poverty led many Americans to desert their homes in the “city” to “grow food for their families” (Foner,801). The sudden flood of American families to the mid-west led to the creation of the “Dust Bowl” (Foner,817) that increased
“The buying frenzy continued through mid-1929 in stocks and trusts, with most investors becoming drunk on profits and oblivious to the instability of the market” (George 29). President Coolidge’s presidency was coming to an end and “President Coolidge neither knew nor cared what was going on…he had comforted himself with the thought that this was the primary responsibility of the Federal Reserve Board” (George 26). On October 29, 1929 the stock market crashes sending the United States into an economic depression. The definition of “The Great Depression – this period of high unemployment, poverty, broken families, low profits, and few opportunities for growth and personal advancement – lasted from mid-1929 to late 1941, and its effects struck not only the United States but the entire world” (George 8). The American people were in shock and their lives were all of a sudden turned upside down with lots of uncertainty in their
] This catastrophic event is caused by the accumulation of a large scale of speculation by not only investors but also banks and institutions in the stock market. Though the unemployment rate was climbing during the 1920s and economy was not looking good, people on Wall Street were not affected by the depressing news. The optimism spread from Wall Street to small investors and they were investing with the money they don’t have, which is investing on margin as high as 90%. When the speculative bubble burst, people lost everything including houses and pensions. The main reason ...
Many of us can relate to baby Hattie and baby Mari, being raised with developmentally appropriate resources. However, this film has shown me that all cultures and family dynamics are different and there is no wrong way or right way. All four babies received all basic needs and were nurtured by their parents, which made them all the same regardless of their culture or
October 1929 a catastrophic stock market crash occurred and just two months afterward the crash stockholders had lost $40 billion. This was more than the cost of World War I. It humbled many investors and caused more than 4 million to be jobless, homeless and hungry. Many were buying luxury items that would need to be liquidated just to supply food for the family. This type of economy proved to continue for several more years after the crash causing many to look for jobs and continue to try to