What was life like for a teenager in the 1940s?

Answer 1

It wasn't until the late 1940s that kids were called "teenagers." Zoot suits (like the one in the movie "Mask" with Jim Carey), bobby-soxers, soda shops (young men working behind the counters were called, "soda jerks.") There were "sock hops" and the dancing style was "Jitter Bug" similar to the Jive dances of the 1950s. It was also the big band era and the likes of Benny Goodman would get the teenagers up and jitter bugging. Teenagers also learned to ballroom dance! Those teenagers that were lucky enough to have a car had a "jalopy" which was basically a beat-up old car that they learned how to work on and brought back to life. To this day in antique car shows you can still see some of these magnificent jalopies.

1940s EDUCATION: If you stepped into a 1940s classroom you'd see girls making dresses, hats, learning to do laundry in the correct way and beauty culture and boys trained hard in physical education (football as well) which really kept the boys in shape for war. Educators knew that young people and their parents would choose school over work only if it served a practical purpose. In response, schools offered vocational and commercial courses from dress-making to bookkeeping. Growing numbers of young people soon filled technical schools. Schools taught lessons in family life, hygiene and health. If a student wasn't gaining anything from a college-prep curriculum they were given "life adjustment eduction." In 1940, 8 out 10 boys who graduated from school went to war and more than half of the population of the U.S. had completed no more than 8th grade. In 1945 50% of 17 year olds were high school graduates. Today, more than 13 million teenagers report to public high school classes across the U.S.

The Slimy and Atrocious Torture (SAT) began in 1941. They were used as a screening device for college admission and originally as an Army intelligence test. The SATs are a major part of today's teenager's life. To get into a good college you need to do well on the SAT, considering 60% of today's jobs require training beyond high school compared to just 20% in the 1940s. Some schools in the U.S. during the 1940s a gym and the music room, the cafeteria, library and the chemistry labs.

AFTER SCHOOL DUTIES & FAMILY LIFE: The father was usually employed, a stay at home mother, and two school-aged children or more. Families actually sat down for dinner and connected with each other and Sundays were a day of rest for the families to spend quality time with each other. This profile only fits 5% of U.S. families today. During the 1940s teenagers and their parents were very close. Some parents who supported the war effort left their teenagers unattended and could rely on them to take care of the duties at home. After school in the 1940s a teenager would go home, change clothes and to to work. If your family was poor, you would work hard after school or you did not even get to go to school, but worked all day and all of your earnings would go to the family. There were not a lot of high-paying jobs available and some jobs paid 25 cents an hour as a bus boy in a restaurant which added up to $5 a week and was considered fairly good money. Girls would often work at the YMCA as a locker room attendant for 66 cents an hour. Teaching swimming, working at a Pizza place, working in warehouses or as waitress'. There were delivery boys at the fish market, soda jerks and ushers in theaters.

NO SEX, JUST MARRIAGE: In the 40s girls seldom could date until they were 16 and had to be home early. The parents ACTUALLY MET the young man and he'd better have good manners and bring their daughter home at the time agreed upon and in good shape! Teenagers never lived with their boyfriends, but dated and yes, there were "lover's lanes" and this is where the term "submarine races" was dubbed. The code between the kids was, "We're going submarine watching." There were some girls who became unwed mothers during this time, but they were either whisked away to homes for unwed mothers or sent off to a relatives home in another town or State. Girls that smoked, had sex got a bad reputation and were classified as "easy" and snubbed by her peers and neighbors. It wasn't until the mid-40s when the likes of Bette Davis and other actors were seen smoking on the silver screen that many young women took up smoking and it became acceptable.

Because of WW2 there was rationing and victory gardens on the home front. There were scrap (metal) drives, war bond drives and stamps for food or shoes. Young boys with their wagons and teenagers would go from house-to-house collecting aluminum of any sort or any other metals. The average gasoline ration was 3 gallons a week; the yearly butter ration was 12 lbs. per person 26% less than normal the yearly limit for canned goods 33 lbs., 13 lbs. under usual consumption levels; and people could buy only 3 new pairs of shoes a year.

Even with war pending teenagers were still in a era of innocence and family values.

Answer 2

Well, I don't think they had ipods. : ) they also had to deal with the affects of the war. teens needed to deal with the shortages on food, clothing, and entertainment. they needed to be conservative and helpful at home. they needed to take care of other siblings when mom was at work and dad wsa away at war. they took the world more seriously. they understood the evils of the war and knew that the us was doing everything it could to keep them safe