It’s 1958 in Victoria, Australia. Mum’s just given birth to their new baby Wendy Allison, while dad’s doing what he does best – sitting on his arse in a hospital chair. And what does the reporter say? “Thank heaven for Father.”
Yes. Father. He’s worked so hard to grow this little human and push her out of his womb. Because that’s how they did it in 1958, after all…
Bringing home baby in 1958
We recently stumbled across a video made by the ABC that takes viewers into the home of a couple with a new baby back in the 50s and we couldn’t help but share it. It’s short and sweet and paints a pretty clear picture of life back in the day with a new baby.
It’s equal parts hilarious and painful, especially considering pretty much the whole focus is on dad!
All about dad
While mum, Gwen Allison, is at home with baby Wendy, wrapping her in WAY too many blankets, feeding and burping her – dad, Les, is at work, eating his packed lunch, and rolling his own smokes to save money. No more pub lunches and fancy tailor-made ciggies for old Pop now. Poor dad.
Although the video admits ‘he’s probably quite useless,” he is also riddled with anxieties. He is forced to wake up at night to listen to his baby crying, after all. And, of course, he believes his wife is doing something wrong when the baby is fussy.
But, at the end of the day, with a little help from a trusty maid service (BRING THIS BACK) and the Infant Wellness Centre, all’s well in the household. Dad’s reassured that his baby is fine and, mum, well, we actually don’t know how mum feels because apparently this didn’t matter.
Gotta love the 50s.
