In peasant families in Russia, children were taught very early to take responsibility and systematic work: this was both the main issue of education and the guarantee of survival. Moreover, the views of our ancestors on this process would hardly have pleased modern teenagers. Most importantly, the approach to their heirs in the popular environment 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 a 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 united in their views on the upbringing and responsibilities of the child, and even if they did not agree with each other on something, they never demonstrated this in public, so the child had no chance to "drag" one of the parents to his side
Thirdly, it was not customary to "indulge" with either girls or boys and pamper them in vain. Usually, instructions between households 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 had benefited the whole family.
Our help. Child labor - recruiting children to 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, is recognized as illegal. Our great-grandfathers could not even dream of this. Maybe that's why they entered adulthood perfectly prepared and adapted?
Ivan Pelevin "Children in a sleigh" (1870)
Father's son teaches not 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 "dite", "young", "kuvyaka" (crying) and other affectionate nicknames. In the second seven years adolescence began: the child became a "boy" or "adolescent", boys were given ports (trousers), girls - a long girl's shirt. The third seven-year period is youth. As a rule, adolescents mastered all the necessary skills for an independent life by the end of adolescence. The boy became the father's right hand, a substitute for his absence and illness, and the girl became a full-fledged assistant to the mother.
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Perhaps the requirements for boys were stricter than for girls, because it was from the sons that the future “breadwinners”, “carers” and protectors were to grow up. In a word, real husbands and fathers.
Vasily Maksimov "Boy Mechanic" (1871)
In the first seven years of his life, the boy learned many of the basics of peasant labor: he was taught to look after cattle, ride a horse, help in the field, and also the basics of skill. For example, the ability to make toys from various materials, weave baskets and boxes, and, of course, bast shoes, which were supposed to be strong, warm, waterproof, were considered an absolutely necessary skill. Many 6- and 7-year-old boys confidently helped their fathers in the manufacture of furniture, harnesses, and other things necessary for the household. The proverb "Teach a child while it lies across the shop" was not an empty phrase in peasant families.
In the second seven-year life, the boy was finally assigned stable and varied economic responsibilities, and they acquired a clear sexual division. For example, not a single youth was obliged to look after younger brothers and sisters or to take care of the garden, but he had to learn how to plow and thresh - girls were not involved in such physically hard work. Often, 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 is necessary to teach him everything that his father can and knows.
Work on the ground. In Russian villages, tillage was a confirmation of a full-fledged male status. Therefore, teenage boys had to work in the fields. They fertilized the soil (scattered manure across the field and made sure that its clods did not interfere with the work of the plow), harrowed (loosened the topsoil with harrows or hoes), led a horse harnessed to the harrow by the bridle, or rode it "when the father leads the furrow." …
If the earth was lumpy, then the father put his son on a harrow to make it heavier, and he himself led the horse by the bridle. The teenagers took an active part in the harvest. From 11-13 years old the boy was already involved in independent plowing. At first, he was given a small plot of arable land, on which 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.
Vladimir Makovsky "Shepherds" (1903)
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, clean the animals under the strict guidance of their elders. The main breadwinner in a peasant family has always been a horse, which worked all day in the field with the owner. They herded horses at night, and this was also the responsibility of the boys. That is why from the earliest years they were taught to harness horses and ride them, drive them while sitting or standing in a cart, drive them to a watering hole - in full accordance with the saying “Business teaches, torments, and feeds”.
Fishing occupations. 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 youth usually knew how to set snares for small game and birds, shoot a bow, fish or beat it with a spear. 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 14, having passed the probationary period, become a full-fledged member. Then he began to contribute a significant share to the family budget and moved into the category of adult "earners" and enviable suitors.
Alexey Korzukhin "Enemies of Birds" (1887)
This is how “good fellows” grew up in peasant families - father's helpers, whom the parents were rightfully proud of. In addition to labor education, the boys were also taught clear moral principles: they were taught to honor the elders, to treat mercifully the poor and the poor, hospitality, respect for the fruits of their own and other people's labor, the foundations of faith. There were two more important rules that any youth knew by heart: first, a man should be able to protect his woman and his family, and 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.