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Guide to Puritan Dating 101

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Dating, or courting, for a Puritan teenage girl in the 17th Century involved a lot of pressure from her parents, community, and men who had an eye for her. Coercion came first and foremost from a cultural pressure to marry, and all marriages had to be approved by the community at large. All this might have been too much for a teenager to cope with if it weren't for the fact that Puritans generally believed that marriage should be for love. That love could be hard to find though in such small communities with so little time, but for some lucky enough to marry their childhood friend or to have love at first sight, that love would be rare enough and strong enough to break all bonds.
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Whatever Happened to Coming-Of-Age

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Whatever Happened to Coming-Of-Age? A Puritan teenager lived a life of great freedom and responsibility, but it came at a price. In 17th Century New England, a child was expected to move directly into adulthood not long after puberty. There was no adolescence. Boys became apprenticed into a trade, and girls were either married or worked as midwives or servants until married or apprenticed into gender-specific trades such as dress-making or millinery (hat-making). Even though for older children, play was considered a waste of God's time, young-ones were allowed to seek amusement. Games were simple, such as leap-frog depicted in the above Colonial picture (children were sometimes painted as with adult frame). No toys, just sticks or whatever could be found.
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