In the late 19th century, per Mental Floss, a parenting book written by Dr. Luther Emett recommended the process of “airing out children” to “renew and purify the blood.” The idea was that getting infants regular bursts of fresh air would theoretically build their immune systems and ward off common colds. In 1922, as a solution for people living in cramped apartments who still wanted to abide by airing, the baby cage was invented. So, what, exactly was a baby cage? Well, it was a metal structure built into apartment windows that acted as an enclosed mini terrace of sorts. The fence-like cages resembled a chicken coop or modern-day air conditioner guard. But instead of holding a fowl or frigid-air pushing appliance they offered apartment-dwellers an area to place their babies. That’s right: Babies were placed in a cage hung out a window, above the street below, while parents attended to things in the house. Let’s play devil’s advocate here. As long as it was secure, the cage sort of seems like a great solution for time- and space-strapped trendy parents? I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? A bird shits on the baby? Someone heckles it from the street below? If it wasn’t horribly cold outside, what’s wrong with fresh air? This was another time: It’s not like you had to worry about someone filming it and parent shaming you on social media. It seems that early 20th century Londoners also adopted the baby cage trend, as this old newsreel shows: And, as Chris Wild wrote for Mashable on the subject, the baby cage trend had some high-profile adopters in New York, including first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The popularity of the baby cage declined after the 20s. But, in terms of long-ago parenting trends, it still acts as an emblem to one thing in particular: parents will try every weird contraption for the health of their baby, including a window cage. Is this so different from the monitors and swinging bassinets found in homes today? Well, yes. But in the future, our accessories and trends might be looked at as strange or outdated. Despite the differences, one truth persists: Parents love a good trend, no matter how weird.
