It's hard to believe, but in the early 20th century, children were sent by mail like ordinary parcels. This service was actively used in the United States. People fully trusted their children to the postal workers and calmly sent their children on long journeys with them. 

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On January 1, 1913, the United States Postal Service launched a service for sending parcels weighing up to 50 kg. This innovation allowed the Postal Service to compete with private couriers and enabled some enterprising parents to save on purchasing train tickets. In rural areas, parents would send their children to their grandparents in a mailbag, and the grandparents would return them the same way.

The first to use this service were Jesse and Matilda Beagle from Ohio. They sent their 8-month-old son James to his grandmother by mail. The child weighed 5 kg, and his "delivery" cost the parents 15 cents. Jesse and Matilda were careful and insured their son for 50 dollars. Most Americans who used this service did not insure their children.

In 1914, the Chief Postmaster of the United States announced that children could no longer be sent by mail. This statement was printed in the Washington Post and The New York Times, but no one took his words seriously. It was not until six years later, on June 13, 1920, that the Postal Service officially declared that sending children as parcels was prohibited. After that, parents had to take their children to their relatives personally.