<p>During the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century Sweden experienced social changes. The proceeding industrialization led to a process of urbanization where people were forced, more or less, in to the cities to find work. The traditional agricultural self-sufficiency society was successively replaced by salaried employment. This meant that family and home was no longer the major centre of production, nurturance and care. In order to support themselves and their families, even women applied for industrial work. This led to further changes to the family. The women now worked away from home, and the children were left without anyone to look after them and care for them.</p><p>These children tended to be regarded as a problem to the society, when they after school spent their time in the streets in the city, without any necessary forms of care or supervision. Through the ideas of the middle class or bourgeoisie, the philanthropic charity organizations came to act and solve the problems. Their work was based upon educational and moralizing aspects. A way of solving these problems for the society, as well as for mothers and children, was to establish child nursing institutions or activities.</p><p>This essay describes when and how the child nursing institutions or activities Arbetsstugan and Barnkrubban were established in Karlskrona, and the motives for the establishments.</p><p>As results of this study we can see that the motives and purposes of the establishments and the activities at the institutions, resemble with certain patterns of child nursing institutions during this special period.</p>

During the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century Sweden experienced social changes. The proceeding industrialization led to a process of urbanization where people were forced, more or less, in to the cities to find work. The traditional agricultural self-sufficiency society was successively replaced by salaried employment. This meant that family and home was no longer the major centre of production, nurturance and care. In order to support themselves and their families, even women applied for industrial work. This led to further changes to the family. The women now worked away from home, and the children were left without anyone to look after them and care for them. These children tended to be regarded as a problem to the society, when they after school spent their time in the streets in the city, without any necessary forms of care or supervision. Through the ideas of the middle class or bourgeoisie, the philanthropic charity organizations came to act and solve the problems. Their work was based upon educational and moralizing aspects. A way of solving these problems for the society, as well as for mothers and children, was to establish child nursing institutions or activities. This essay describes when and how the child nursing institutions or activities Arbetsstugan and Barnkrubban were established in Karlskrona, and the motives for the establishments. As results of this study we can see that the motives and purposes of the establishments and the activities at the institutions, resemble with certain patterns of child nursing institutions during this special period.