Figure 1.--The photograph here was taken in August 4, 1924. The occasion was "Better Babies Day" at the Delaware County Fair in Indiana (near Muncie). The mothers of the area gathered their smaller children together to show them off by having their pictures taken collectively.

A popular event during this era were beautiful baby contests when young children were dressed in their best outfits. These contests had many different names. The oine pictured here was "Better Babies Day". Not all actually were contests which selected the most beautiful childre, but many did. These were not precisely beautiful baby contests as infants and young children were involved. The precise age ranges varied from contest to contest. We are not sure when these events first developed. We believe in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. It is during the 1920s and 30s that they appear to have been most common. We notice them in Ameica, but they may have also been held in other countriues as well. They were held throughout America. A popular venue were county and state fairs. But this was not the only venue. I believe that some newspapers and magazines, for example, sponsored contests. Photographs of these events are good illustrations of how younger children were dressed during the era.

Better Babies Day (1924)

The photograph here was taken at the Delaware County Fair in Indiana (near Muncie) on August 4, 1924 (figure 1). The children were participating in "Better Babies Day". The mothers of the area gathered their smaller children together to show them off by having their pictures taken collectively. All the boys (about 5 years old) wear short pants. Several of them wear sailor suits, one with knee socks. Another boy wears button on shorts with white long stockings and sandals even though it was a hot day in midsummer. His mother obviously thought that the dressy white long stockings and sandals would make her son look special for the occasion. He is only boy among many who wears long stockings. This boy also wears and open-necked shirt in a style similar to a sailor suit but without the striping, with contrasting darker collar an matching cuffs.

Eugenics

Better Babies" contests were part of the Eugenics movement. Eugenics became a popular concept, and at its height, it infused many areas of American culture. There were magazines such as Eugenics Quarterly, and many state fairs featured contests searching for "Fitter Families" and "Better Babies". The topic even became the central theme of some movies. When turning over history's stones, sometimes you find some nasty bugs hidden underneath.

Created: September 17, 2003
Last updated: September 17, 2003