Camden Historian Researches Baby Books

As you always suspected, first children have completed baby books, subsequent children tend to have their milestones scribbled in the margins.

This was one of many conclusions historian Janet Golden came to when studying collections of baby books dating back to the early 1900's; this was part of a larger study on babies in American history. She also studied the use of babies in advertisements. For more information see "Camden historian researches babies across the decades," by Coleen Dee Berry in the 3/25 Rutgers Focus.

One of Golden's other finds:

“I was surprised to see how, throughout the 20th century, parents have been extremely focused on the costs of childrearing and on saving for education,” Golden said. “I always cringe when I read baby books from the 1920s and see that parents have opened bank accounts for their babies, because I know they'll be wiped out in the Great Depression.”