Child rearing and parenting practices during the 1920s, the impact of science and scientific discoveries during this period, medical advances and the concurrent decline in the death-rate of infants and young children are discussed in this paper. Also discussed is the impact of the theories of psychologists G. Stanley Hall, Lewis Terman, and John B. Watson, all proponents of a scientific approach to child rearing. Hall, an evolutionist and a proponent of child study, was responsible for bringing Freud and Jung to the United States. Terman's contributions were the most influential in the measurement movement and in the area of intelligence testing. According to the paper, John B. Watson exerted the greatest influence on parents during the 1920s. His behavorist orientation was reflected in his emphasis on strict schedules, habit training, and a mechanistic approach to child rearing. Other writers reflected this same orientation. Not until the late 1920s and early 1930s did Freud's theories of unconscious motivation and impulse expression affect child rearing practices. It is suggested that parents were influenced not only by these conflicting theories, but also by memories of their own Victorian upbringing. (BD)