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Home : Technology : Insane 1930s Invention: Outdoor Baby Cages For City Apartment Windows

baby cage
baby cage

Insane 1930s Invention: Outdoor Baby Cages For City Apartment Windows

In the 1930s there was a curious invention that sought to help save space in your apartment and help your kids get more fresh air: the baby cage. The invention attached a wire cage to your window, similar to a window air conditioner, and suspended the baby outside above the sidewalk below.

Nov 11, 2016 by Nancy Lee
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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • “Airing Your Baby” In Outdoor Baby Cages
  • Cold Temperature Exposure
  • Outdoor Baby Cage Alternatives
Reading Time: 2 minutes

In the 1930s there was a curious invention that sought to help save space in your apartment and help your kids get more fresh air: baby cages. Similar to a window air conditioner, the invention attached a wire cage to your window and suspended the baby outside above the sidewalk below.

“Airing Your Baby” In Outdoor Baby Cages

As a parent myself, the idea of caging my child outside a window and inviting the possibility of an accidental fall is terrifying. But in the late 19th century, “airing” your baby was a popular trend and frequently discussed in parenting books. The concept of baby “airing” was first introduced by Dr. Luther Emmett Holt who wrote about it in his 1894 book The Care and Feeding of Children.

An Article About Outdoor Baby Cages In Popular Mechanics
An article about outdoor baby cages in Popular Mechanics

“Fresh air is required to renew and purify the blood, and this is just as necessary for health and growth as proper food,” Dr. Holt wrote. “The appetite is improved, the digestion is better, the cheeks become red, and all signs of health are seen.”

Cold Temperature Exposure

The experts at the time also encouraged parents to toughen up their babies by exposing them to cold temperatures. Outdoor “airing” was part of this practice. The theory was it would make babies better able to withstand common colds and minor illnesses. Parents would routinely expose their infants to cold temperatures outside and through cold-water bathing.

Outdoor Baby Cage Alternatives

Why parents thought it was necessary to hang their babies outside a window in a cage is a mystery to me. There were other ways to “air” your baby back then. For example, going for a walk. And even just opening the window would have accomplished the same thing. The screen window was invented a century before the 1930s. Advertisements for wire window screens appeared in Boyd’s Blue Book as early as 1836.

However, none of those common-sense ideas took hold in the 1930s, and instead parents “aired” their babies in outdoor baby cages. The baby cage: Probably one of the worst inventions of all time.





Insane 1930s Invention: Outdoor Baby Cages … #BadParents #WeirdInventions #ParentingFail
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Nancy Lee
Nancy Lee

I’m a dog owner that loves poetry, vampires, mountain biking, and cosplay. I’m open to ideas and still trying to figure my SFO life out one blog post at a time. LF ISO SWF GSOH SI DDF.


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Category: Technology, Family Tag: 1930s, airing, Babies, cage, Common cold, Dr. Luther Emmett Holt, inventions, Microsoft Windows, Photography, The Care and Feeding of Children, wind
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  1. Ralphie

    Jan 19, 2017 at 10:30 AM

    People were nuts!!!

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