What was daily life like for children during WWII?

Question

^^^ Title says it all

(In America)

Answer 1

As one of those children in the United States, I have good memories of that childhood. There was far more of making your own toys, such as making our own kites, toy cars, sticks which became guns and swords. I can remember making a raft for the river, scooters from old metal roller skates, and lots of swimming in the local pond. Of course the war did change things, I remember black out drills and drives to collect scrap and paper and all sorts of things.

I don’t remember ‘crazy amounts of patriotism’ rather, our heros were the soldiers and sailors who lived just down the block, and flying the flag was something we wanted to do. We all knew who had the blue stars in their windows and we all knew when one of them changed to gold.

I suppose some of what we got could be called propaganda, but it so happens that what our country was about was a ‘right cause.’

I can remember some women working in the factories and others who helped with local projects. Most everyone volunteered to help in some way and was happy to do so.

Yes, there were shortages and I can remember playing with ration stamps. I can remember people getting so frustrated fixing the same inner tube for the umpteenth time and then it blowing out again.

Most people had gardens and most people canned food.

I remember the enemy troop camps in the United States and how some of them worked in the farm fields.

On the farm we still had lots of things and activities left over from the depression. Our sheets were still made from flour sacks. We still had a wood cook stove and the water came from a cistern through a hand pump. We did have a telephone (a multiple ring party line) but it seemed as if it was out as much as on. We used the outhouse with teh Sears Roebuck wish book the primary source of paper.

Oh yeah, we 'watched' the radio.

It was a time when most people pulled together and helped each other. That’s the part I miss.

Answer 2

My father was born in 1934 and has some memories of his childhood during WWII. He still has some old rationing books from back then. He remembers that they traded a lot with their neighbors for food and things like cotton fabric and thread. His family had a large garden and canned food. He said he used to spend all day snapping green beans and his hands would hurt for days. He had a strike against him because his family came from Germany (generations ago) and they lived in a German part of town. The non-German kids insulted them a lot, but he didn't get beaten up too badly because the Germans were the majority at school. They called sauerkraut Liberty Cabbage, which infuriated his mother. He and his friends took their metal toys to a drop-off point so they could be melted down for weapons, and the iron fences in the neighborhood were melted down as well.

Answer 3

It really depends on which country you're talking about. For example, American children were affected little in terms of daily life, while children in coastal China lived under Japanese occupation and some witness brutal atrocities.

Regardless of where, however, I'm sure all children were exposed to a lot of political propaganda.

Answer 4

It was a life of perpetual hiding. no time to be a child, hiding consisted of sleeping in railway tunnels to avoid the noise of continous shell blasts.Those in the tunnel had to be out before 5 am when the train came through. Sophia Loren the actress has written a true documentary of her life as a child in war times.5 year old children learned to stuff flaming rags into tank exhausts, knowing they could be killed in the process. may we never forget the suffering and trials of children during this time Amen. donalore_43

Answer 5

My mother lived in London during the blitz. She would go out during the overhead battles and watch the "dogfights". Then she and her friends would see who could find the most links from the chains that fed the bullets into the machine-guns, as they were fired by the duelling planes. Pretty normal stuff for a kid, I guess. You know, make the best of it and have fun.

Answer 6

That's going to vary widely depending where they were. Much of the world was unaffected by the war and life continued as usual. But whether they were affected by the war or not, local conditions were what determined how they lived their daily lives.

Answer 7

You could read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. It'll tell you everything.

Answer 8

In what country?

the US was pretty much the same as its always been. Only with rationing of some products and crazy amounts of patriotism

Answer 9

Depends on which country you're talking about.