No not sitting doing nothing, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, sewing the clothes. Both my mom and aunt sewed and made all the kids clothes cause that was less expensive than buying man made clothes at Kmart. I remember walking myself to preschool at 4 and 5 yrs old and to elementary school when I was older and so did all the other kids I knew.
When I was a kid I lived in Europe, no frig, or dish washing machine. I even remember my grandmother washing clothes by hand. There were several stores around the block, dry goods, butcher, fish monger, and my mom would go get fresh groceries 2 or 3 times a week.