To all the "Kids" WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because .
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day.
And we were O.K.
We would spend hour! s building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound, CD's or Ipods, no cell phones!, no personal computers , no Internet or chat rooms.......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
You make me cry. I remember a fair deal of that from my childhood (which still doesn't feel like it's over :p ). Am I a few too years in falling out of trees?
This is so true. I remember we never locked our cars and even left the windows down. We didnt have A/C so often just the screen doors were the only thing between us and the outside. And this is all withing miles of Los Angeles. We always played out side because there were only 5 TV channels and it all sucked. We came home when we heard mom's really loud whislte. Do kids play cowboys and indians anymore? Are those little green army men still around? We used to set up battle field and use runner bands to take them down. I miss my Tonka trucks ;-(
Most of my childhood was early 80's but all the same points applied.
All I needed as a kid was a watch to make sure I was home when I was told to be.
My parents didn't worry what I was up to because kids in the main did as they were told, the most parents would expect from their kids 'being naughty' was Knock a Door Run!
Yes, the kids now a days are missing out. It was so much fun to go outside and run around. We'd play Hide N Seek, Riding Bikes, Picking Blueberrie; Rasberries.. etc. Then when the street lights came on you were in the house; unless parents were sitting outside on front porches.
Since I grew up in a military housing there were always tons of kids outside playing. Whether it was hide-and-seek, kickball, baseball (with a tennis ball since not everyone had a glove), army, smear the quee, er, can't call it that anymore, or dozens of other games. Sometimes the dad's came out and played as well! :eek:
Anyone remember a game called "Hotbox"? Played with 3 or more people using a baseball, 2 bases and 2 gloves? Dad was awesome at that one. He also never let us win at Horse or Pingpong, ****it!
All the kids in our neighbourhood still go playing outside - often unsupervised, and usually wildly. They ride their bikes around town as if they didn't live near a road that leads quite fast traffic through the village (despite 'supposed' 20mph limit), they climb on trees, they throw balls into our garden and then climb over the fence to get them back only to get scolded by my mum etc. :p
Really, I think the image one gets of children of today is a lot different from the reality of what is happening. :p
I think the image one gets of children of today is a lot different from the reality of what is happening. :p
I agree in some ways, especially after this happened to me.
One evening I was going out to my car and a group of kids (ages around 14-16) wandered past my house. As they did so I heard another kid run up to the group and announce they had found a purse containing cards and (stupidly of the owner) the pin numbers for them on paper.
I went back in my home and rang my local police station to let them know the situation because I (wrongly it turns out) assumed they would go and help themselves to this persons money.
I then went out, passing the group of kids on my way. They were heading into the same police station I had just called and it was impossible that they could have done anything other than walk straight there and hand it in.
Not long after the police rang me to say they had handed in the purse, complete with cards and paper, everything untouched.
I felt guilty for my immediate negative thoughts and now try and not be so assuming when I see groups of kids.
Pogo Sticks, Roller Skating, Jump Robe, Hop Scotch, yes Football in the church yard :).. etc. I remember not wanting to be in the house, couldn't wait to finish my homework and chores just to get outside.
My mom (who wasn't working back then) would lock us out of the house in the afternoon when we were out of school. But there were four of us boys and tended to get out of hand. If we started to fight in the house we were just told to "take it outside."
Also, being the youngest, my brothers would get in trouble if older boys picked on me. If the bully was the same age as me, I was expected to defend myself. I *never* got into trouble for being in a fight that I didn't start.
Now look at us all sitting here playing this darn game (and posting here) instead of being outside :-) What has become of us?
Now as aduults we are staying inside just like the kids are these days.
I do still ride my bike to the beach and get out as much as I can though. Its only the night time that seem to kill time playing L2.
Ohh, and during the day while working I post here while trying to talk on the work phone. :D
Yes, see as adults we have to work 40+ hours a week, take care of kids, houses etc (whatever we have in our lifes).
I'd be outside playing if I didn't have to work for a living.. hehe.
WTB Rich Man!!!
No kidding. I just sold my business that allowed me to take a nap on the beach almost everyday. Now I am consulting and at a desk for the better part of the day. Atleast I can work in my underwear. No, I am not in my underwear now :eek:
P.S. love your sig. Imagine what the world would be like if all of us did one random act of kindness atleast once every day.
It funny how people watch me when I get out of my car and pick some trash up on my way into a store and throw it away. :)
It funny how people watch me when I get out of my car and pick some trash up on my way into a store and throw it away. :)
My wife is a die-hard do-gooder that way as well. Fortunately, I don't let it rub off on me. :p
If she sees someone drop trash, she throws it away. I'm more likely to pick it up, hand it back to the person and say, "Excuse me, but you dropped this on the ground."
Yes, see as adults we have to work 40+ hours a week, take care of kids, houses etc (whatever we have in our lifes).
I'd be outside playing if I didn't have to work for a living.. hehe.
WTB Rich Man!!!
No kidding. I just sold my business that allowed me to take a nap on the beach almost everyday. Now I am consulting and at a desk for the better part of the day. Atleast I can work in my underwear. No, I am not in my underwear now :eek:
P.S. love your sig. Imagine what the world would be like if all of us did one random act of kindness atleast once every day.
It funny how people watch me when I get out of my car and pick some trash up on my way into a store and throw it away. :)
Imagaine a world where we are actually are nice to others.
Atleast I can work in my underwear. No, I am not in my underwear now :eek:
i spent most of my days picking berries in the fields, seeing how high into the oak trees i could build the next level of my fort, and riding my radio flyer down the hill near my house, trying to get enough speed at the bottom of the street to launch myself into the creek on the opposite side of the intersection.
I'm more likely to pick it up, hand it back to the person and say, "Excuse me, but you dropped this on the ground."
I am this way too. So many times I want to get out of my car at the intersection and throw someones cigarette butt back at them. But I have no trouble letting someone know they dropped something. Being 6"7' helps me get away with it too :D
Hop scotch was the best. But.. I recently found a hopscotch field drawn near my house. =) Although I'm not sure who it goes with, AFAIK all the girls in the neighbourhood are either moody, grouchy indoors types or 'too old for hopscotch'.
Then again, a few museum visits and going 'ooh' and 'aah' have convinced me that 22 is not too old to be as excited as a twelve year old. :P The longer I think about it, the more I think that stopping to enjoy something just because one is 'too old' for it seems silly. :D
I remember when I was a kid going out for the whole day with the older sisters of my then 'best friend' and they took us on picnics. It was great fun.
I also remember my dad would take myself and my friend on nature walks, telling us about all the trees, plants, birds and animals we saw. Sometimes in the evening he took me outside and told me all about the stars, planets and how to recognise the constellations.
I loved those times and I've asked him to do the same for my little boy as soon as he's old enough to understand :)
I barely cut it for this club, by a couple months :p
It was good care free times ^^ Fishing, climbing trees and what not.. then I discovered computers and games..
The world today sure has become "carebear".. many kids got no respect, I cringe by the thought of my kids turning out like that.. nobody can do anything about it, because then it's "child abuse".. children shouldn't be so over protected.
im just glad i had a computer for college (Apple IIC ftw!). i used to bring our familys manual typewriter along on trips so i could do my school papers. i loved it when we got assignments requiring ditto masters; those things were cool! :)
Nice post. It reminds of something I read recently. I've included a copy of it here. Haven't yet found the original source ... it's always listed as author unknown.
Drug Problem
The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?''
I replied: I had a drug problem when I was young:
I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals
I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.
I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.
I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.
I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word.
I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields.
I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.
And bikes. And playing football in your friend's yard.
And battle sleds :p
My all-time favorite: rubber band guns! We would spend hours crafting rubber band guns out of discarded lumber, nails, and clothes pins. And we would actually shoot each other with them and we didn't die!
And bikes. And playing football in your friend's yard.
And battle sleds :p
My all-time favorite: rubber band guns! We would spend hours crafting rubber band guns out of discarded lumber, nails, and clothes pins. And we would actually shoot each other with them and we didn't die!
Man, we did that, too. And made our own bows and arrows, and shot them at each other! Bottle rocket fights FTW!
i just barely missed that timezone but tbh im lucky to be alive
dont think my mother smoked when she was pregnant but alcohol and pot would have been highly likely (as well as chain smoking relatives before and after birth)
i still remember when a teacher could pull down your pants and spank you sometimes useing an inch thick ruler and not go to prison
back when i was in primary school the best school in the country had the practice of caneing children until their hands bled and then poring a salt and vinegar mix into the wound
at 6 years old i was walking to school across 2 busy highways
i still remember my father renovating the family house and putting in aspestos panels for the added fire protection
I'm just off by a year, but I recognise several of those points.
We had a great game on my street when I was growing up, which we called "border". A few would be the border police and the rest would be smugglers. The smugglers would hide random items (leaves, sticks, plastic junk; anything) in cunning places on and in their bicycles and the police would try to find it - and if you got busted, you were out. I don't think the game had an ending really... We'd just go on till we got bored or thought of something else.
Of course, child mortality rates have fallen by half since 1980 as well ;)
I wish that my mother hadn't smoked through my pregnancy, I barely survived actually, and still have some health issues related to being born nine weeks early.
come on. I was born in 86 and have experienced most of these.
Shhh Child Grownups talking here.
I remember getting spanked by the principal when I was in the 4th grade. I laughed at him afterwards and said my mom did a better job of it. She did too that afternoon when I got home. Learned a lesson.....prinicipals are rats!
When I was growing up if my parents had gotten me what is available today I would never carry it. Hell half the fun was them not knowing where you were or what you were doing.....because if they did well see the earlier story.
And I so had a drug problem growing up. Come to think of it since I am married I still have a drug problem, I just dont get physically beaten for acting out. Of course the lack of marital relations tends to have the same effect on my behaviour. Go figure.
To the the Children of the 70's and earlier era's!!!!!!!
I remember getting spanked by the principal when I was in the 4th grade.
I got a swat, with a nasty wooden paddle, from the Vice Principle in the 9th grade (that would've been between '78 and'79).
My friend and I both were given the choice of taking a disciplinary notice home and having our parents sign it or getting a swat. My question was, "You're only going to hit me once, right?" He said, "Yes." I bent over and grabbed my ankles, got my swat and went back to math class. Good times...
Guess it depends on the situation, she did it because she didn't want us messing the house when she went off somewhere. So basically no one was at home, dad at work, with the house locked.
You polluted the air, water, and land, to which solving the problem was throwing a little dirt over it and leave it for the generations to follow.
The distance between lower and upper class expanded.
You created monopoly laws which were never enforced.
You survived a world war, yet lost the ability to discern what was worth fighting for along with the will to fight for it.
You created the nuclear arms race, exposed the world to higher levels of radiation than the sun could have bombarded us with over the next 1000 years.
You burnt fossil fuels at 25 cents a gallon in inefficient vehichles with little or no concern for improvement for over 45 years.
But don't get off your rocker old man, I just need to monitor how much fertilizer you dumped on your lawn that is going to run into the storm water system. Don't worry, the next generation will handle all your falling short.
You polluted the air, water, and land, to which solving the problem was throwing a little dirt over it and leave it for the generations to follow.
The distance between lower and upper class expanded.
You created monopoly laws which were never enforced.
You survived a world war, yet lost the ability to discern what was worth fighting for along with the will to fight for it.
You created the nuclear arms race, exposed the world to higher levels of radiation than the sun could have bombarded us with over the next 1000 years.
You burnt fossil fuels at 25 cents a gallon in inefficient vehichles with little or no concern for improvement for over 45 years.
But don't get off your rocker old man, I just need to monitor how much fertilizer you dumped on your lawn that is going to run into the storm water system. Don't worry, the next generation will handle all your falling short.
Patiently awaiting a response to this. We Missed you Luke! :p
I killed the thread. It was made "tongue in cheek." I'm an engineer, I know better than to believe in global warning ruining the world and all that crap anways.
You polluted the air, water, and land, to which solving the problem was throwing a little dirt over it and leave it for the generations to follow.
The distance between lower and upper class expanded.
You created monopoly laws which were never enforced.
You survived a world war, yet lost the ability to discern what was worth fighting for along with the will to fight for it.
You created the nuclear arms race, exposed the world to higher levels of radiation than the sun could have bombarded us with over the next 1000 years.
You burnt fossil fuels at 25 cents a gallon in inefficient vehichles with little or no concern for improvement for over 45 years.
But don't get off your rocker old man, I just need to monitor how much fertilizer you dumped on your lawn that is going to run into the storm water system. Don't worry, the next generation will handle all your falling short.
They take my money, and then congress repeals tax relief for my industry. Every time somebody brings up social security...I get one step closer to joining the postal service.
I really like the tax free zones. Just wish I could visit one for the last day of one month and the first day of another. All it takes to get tax free for two months!!!!
I'm only 18, but I remember most of those points. I grew up in a small farm town in the southern part of Indiana (still there now.) The nearest "major" city was 40 minutes away when I was a kid (birth-about 12) now it's only like 25 minutes. I miss my childhood, and I really, honestly wish I could have done it over again. I'd be a better person today if my parents had been more forceful in my punishment.