Childhood socialization and companion animals: United States, 1820-1870

Between 1820 and 1870, middle-class Americans became convinced of the role nonhuman animals could play in socializing children. Companion animals in a nd around the household were the medium for training children into self-con sciousness about, and abhorrence of causing pain to other creatures includi ng, ultimately, other people. In an age where the formation of character wa s perceived as an act of conscious choice and self-control, middle-class Am ericans understood cruelty to animals as a problem both of individual or fa milial deficiency and of good and evil. Training children to be self-consci ous about kindness became an important task of parenting. Domestic advisors also argued that learning kindness was critical for boys who were developm entally prone to cruelty and whose youthful cruelty had implications both f or the future of family life and for the body politic. The practice of pet keeping, where children became stewards of companion animals who were then able to teach young humans such virtues as gratitude and fidelity, became a socially meaningful act.