Because somewhere along the line, the western world became "child centric" instead of children, from birth being taught they are "cogs in the family wheel. "   Children were expected to pitch in from toddlerhood.  Adult authority was absolute.   Back talk was NOT tolerated and each successive child was taught the family rules.   Obedience was reinforced by the older siblings as well and everyone knew their role in society. 

TBH I think this "old fashioned" system was far superior to what we have today and worked for centuries when life was truly difficult yet generations somehow managed. 

An example in modern times would be the Amish.

I'm guessing by the time the first got to be about 6.. (and the kids after).. they were expected to watch their younger siblings.

The parents also probably raised a majority of their food.. or at least a good portion of it.  Clothing was probably hand made.. and much less of it per kid.. probably a few outfits max.  (handed down too! do kids even know what that is these days?) They also probably made other things like soap.. and cut their own wood for their wood stoves..  

it was a much more subsistence way of life.. day to day life was about making your basic needs be met.. there was less about bulding wealth.. keeping up with the jones's etc.. and everyone was pitching in according to ability.. 

obv... divorce was less common.. working outside the home for women.. again uncommon.  There are plus and minus for those things.. would we be happier in some ways going back to that? maybe in some ways.. but we all are mostly able to live a life that is beyond just "living to survive".. to being able to enjoy things beyond that.. 

I agree with the above posts. Kids today are hard to deal with because parents are expected to wait on them, entertain them, clean up after them, and "grin and bear it" when the kids display annoying behavior. The way parents were back then would be considered child abuse today. 

My grandfather had 11 siblings, 10 of them lived to adulthood. My other grandparents each had 4 siblings, which is still a lot of kids by today's standards lol. Both of my parents have 3 siblings. 

I think a lot of the mental/emotional labor of raising children that we have today simply didn't exist for most people 75-100 years ago. I can't tell you how much time I spend agonizing over my parenting decisions. Am I doing what's best for her? Is she on the right track? Is she happy and fulfilled? Am I setting her up for a successful life? I think my grandparents and their parents probably stopped at 'is my child alive?' I'm half joking, but honestly sometimes I look back at how my parents parented me, and I realize that they didn't put half as much thought into what they were doing as I do when it comes to my kid. Not that they didn't love me, they just didn't think of parenting as an intentional act that has to be carefully considered on a regular basis. And they certainly didn't believe that every child needs an individualized approach. 

All that to say, it would be a hell of a lot easier to raise a ton of kids if you weren't worried about much beyond keeping them alive.

People went hungry, regularly. In fact, food stamps became a thing in 1939 when the military found that 40% of WW2 recruits couldn't serve because they were suffering from malnutrition. 

Complaining about dinner is a first world problem. People have forgotten to be grateful to be fed, housed, warmed, and educated. All luxuries.