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Advice for mothers of toddlers

Broadcast Date: May 19, 1953

Toddlers can be both delightful and devious. Some mornings their mothers just want to go back to bed.

What would you give for a sleep in? Mary Hill poses the question to Canadian moms in this 1953 Radio clip of CBC's Trans-Canada Matinee. But she advises them to be strong and wait for the day when little ones get up quietly and play on their own.

Hill's narrative is full of tips on raising toddlers; from discipline techniques to dealing with the stresses of child rearing.

In this clip we learn that in 1952, experts say parents most often forget the time when their children are the ages from 14 months to 2 1/2 years. Hill notes: "After some of the days I've spent with my toddlers, the sooner forgotten, the better."

Advice for mothers of toddlers

• Trans-Canada Matinee began as a "women's interest show" on CBC Radio in 1952. It was broadcast every day across Canada at 2:15 p.m. (EDT).
• Early presenters were Eustella Langdon from Cooking School of the Air, emcee Bill Bessey and other veterans to CBC daytime, Allison Grant and Mattie Rotenberg.
• The mandate was to produce items on: fashion, medicine, travel, housekeeping and books.

• During the first week of the program in 1953, Dr. Anna Sharpe presented a talk on the cobalt bomb and Jane Weston hosted a segment called "What's New Around the House?"
• Journalist Gordon Sinclair also had a regular column on the show. He argued in a 1953 Toronto Daily Star article that the show was not just for women because almost half of the 197 presenters to date had been men.

• In the same article, Sinclair said the show's mandate was for it to be smarter than its daytime homemaking predecessors.
• He said the topics had to be national and intelligent, but also aim to be at least "provocative, informative or controversial."
• Two of Trans-Canada Matinee's riskier items were "Opinions on Mixed Marriage" (1955) and "You and Your Teenager" (about teenage drinking and dating, 1959).

• An article in the 1957 CBC Television and Radio guide said Trans-Canada Matinee originally went on the air in 1952 because of requests from women for more "adult radio fare during the day."
• The article also said that 75 per cent of radio listening in Canada happened before dinner.
• Trans-Canada Matinee later updated its image and shortened its name to Matinee. Listen to a clip of a 1969 Matinee program about divorce.

Advice for mothers of toddlers

Medium: Radio

Program: Trans Canada Matinee

Broadcast Date: May 19, 1953

Guest(s): Mary Hill

Duration: 5:41

Last updated:
July 21, 2009