congratulations
By ossie16d
@ossie16d (11821)
Australia
January 7, 2007 6:23pm CST
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70's
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured 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 children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always great fun.
We drank water from the garden hosepipe 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 cakes, white bread and real butter and drank pop with sugar in it, 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 hours 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 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet 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 played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out any eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Local teams 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!
This generation has 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!
And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
PS - The BIG type is because your eyes are shot at your age.
Can you remember these days and have you any great memories about growing up to add to these? Please DO NOT respond with only a couple of words or a yes/no.
14 people like this
59 responses
@caramello (4377)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
I love going down memory lane ossie and seem to do it a lot more nowadays! lol One memory I have and will probably NEVER forget was myself and my friends who lived across the road were meant to be going to the Geelong Gala we were average age of 10 and under (in those days quite safe) it was so hot we decided to go down to Eastern Beach and swam in the water in our "undies" (inserts red face) We had enough and decided to go home with our "undies" draped over a branch over our shoulder and walked along the streets this way! No shame! We thought this was so much fun, but try and do it today, not!
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Memory lane is a wonderful place to be caramello and I visit it often too. Not sure if that has anything to do with my age, but sometimes have to bring myself back to the present ..... just in case I forget what it is. LOL
Yes when I look at how children are today and how we spent our childhood there aren't many comparisons really, because we had the freedom. We still see it today in the country of course but still there are some restrictions on the children of today, regardless of where they live, that we never had.
Here is a photo of swimming at the beach in the 1960's and if you look hard enough I am certain that you will see yourself and friends there caramello. LOL
1 person likes this
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
accident
alcohol
back yard
born 1972
camping
carefree
chamber pot 1940s
children
children
cleaning
climbing trees
cubs
drink
drinking
drinking from hose
freedom
fresh bread
games
kite flying
kites
mickey mouse records
mtv 1980s
nz 1960s
philippines 70s
reading
river
roller skates
scars
shoes
soccer
soft drink
stream
sugar cane
swimming
technology
transistor radio
travel
tripe
vw camper
water
wine
worms
@caramello (4377)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Yes ossie I can see myself lol I am the one with the bathers that covered myself so well, not showing too much for me! But you are right, what I said in my little memory was mainly that we felt safe in what we did that day and it was quite a walk home mind you! BUT it was not so safe when we all got home ( and I was bought up by my grandmother) who did not see the funny side of it! But looking back she was my age when this happened and I think she acted better that I probably would today if it was my children who did this as times have changed so much, more fear!
2 people like this
@caramello (4377)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Now I look at it my response is probably not what you were after, sorry ossie went a bit off track! Oh no! lol
1 person likes this
@caribe (2465)
• United States
10 Jan 07
That brings back so many memories, Ossie. It is amazing that we survived at all, isn't it. I remember making mud pies and playing with big fat red worms. No, we had to learn to entertain ourselves back in those days before there wer all of the electronic gadgets which our generation later invented. Yes, life doesn't seem so different in Australia and the USA.
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
10 Jan 07
I believe life was much the same for children in the western countries during those years, although in the UK it was a little tougher because they were still rebuilding after the war. Yes, I think that our generation has a lot to answer for because of what we did to the younger generation, i.e. electronic games, playstations etc. Certainly some of the inventions are great but at the same time we took away from our children the freedom that we enjoyed at the same age.
However I think that our childhood was much more relaxed and imaginative than that of later generations.
Yes these were the same sort of worms that we played with as children, but our hands were never this clean. :)
@CatVegas (709)
• United States
8 Jan 07
OMG did you ever hit some good old fashion memories...I was born in 1952 and lived on a farm in Minnesota. The town at time was 150 people in it.
We worked in the fields, stepped on rusty nails you name it..Played outside all day...How did we ever get thru life back then. No internet, no computers not even any cell phones. My husband and I have asked many times now did we live back then...Thank you for the walk back to the good OLE DAYS....
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Memory lane is a wonderful place to be sometimes, and with all the hazards we managed to find, we still survived. LOL
It would be wonderful if we could allow children of later generation to experience the same, but sadly there are too many risks these days.
Here is a photo of the school buses that I believe were used in one district in Minnesota in the 1950's. :)
@estherlou (5015)
• United States
8 Jan 07
Let's see...I remember 8-track tapes. I wore penny loafers and poodle skirts. My husband had bell-bottom pants and Nehru jackets. I had black cats-ye glasses. I remember making a skate board with a piece of wood and nailing pieces of our roller skates to the bottom. Our first family tv came when I was 16. President Kennedy was assassinated when I was in junior high school. I remember worrying my kids wouldn't learn how to tell time because of the new digital clocks. I've voted for 7 presidents. I remember hanging clothes to dry outside on the clothesline. I remember putting lemon juice in our hair and sitting in the sun to lighten it. I lived through Watergate. I remember the draft and the Vietnam war. I remember Dorothy Hamil and George Carlin and Billie Jean King. I remember 3 mile island. The valley girls talk came and went. The Berlin wall went down. The soviet union ceased to exist. Y2K. I got my first computer when I was 49. It's fun to look back...
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
This has definately been a trip down memory lane for you estherlou and you have reminded me of a few things that I forgot along the way. LOL
Just to add some more memories, here is a photo of some home made skateboards, although they do look a bit flasher than anything we had. :)
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
8 Jan 07
We survived with one black and white TV. Six-transistor radios. And single speed bikes. What fun we had! All the kids on the block played together. We were always outside finding something to do...play ball, build forts down by the creek, create our own olympics, have monopoly tournaments, build a tent and sleep outside, hide and go seek with 15 kids, 20 mile bike hikes, driving 15 miles to get an ice cream, playing marbles, sneaking the latest issue of playboy, playing in the woods, going 30 miles from home for vacation and thinking it was to the end of the world, playing with Lincoln Logs and Block City, playing football with the older kids, sputnik, bomb shelters, one car in the family, listening to the radio when the DJ's had real personalities, kids were in better shape than now, hardly any fast foods and always home cooked meals, getting punished for being late for dinner, the wood paddle on the behind, the great Tonka trucks, building models...wow, what memories. I have survived and don't like the trends in government that are happening. And our freedoms being taken away one by one...I don't want to go back to the 50's or 60's...just not live with all this socialism and having some special interest group telling me what to do. I got another 30 or 40 years to live..I hope!
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
To that fantastic list add making daisy chains, playing hopscotch on the footpath, rounders, and skipping ropes. Yes I think in many ways that we had a great childhood and certainly much more relaxed than children of today. Thanks so much for bringing back even more memories on childhood times. :)
To bring back the memory of listening to the radio, here is a photo of a 6-transistor radio from the 1950's. :)
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
It is probable that your parents still have things from your childhood, because parents do tend to keep all sorts of things. LOL
Here is a generic cover for Mickey Mouse records, but you can imagine it is orange, just as it was when you were enjoying your childhood.
@AskAlly (3625)
• Canada
8 Jan 07
Oh my gosh, you had my husband and myself in stitches.....we remember all of those things.
We ate carrots with dirt still on them, just wipe on your pants and eat. In summer it was home before dark or 10:00pm which ever came first. I got wheeled to the smoking room right after labour/delivery,sitting in the back of our old station wagon begging my dad to take the corners real hard so I could slide around in the back, probably was so freakin dehydrated so many times because the only water you got to drink was snuck from someone's outside tap or garden hose, going thru the garbages looking for something to build a fort with, "borrowing" cafeteria trays to go sledding with, no life jackets on in the boat, barely ever used sun screen it had to be baby oil for that perfect tan.
Gosh this was just one of the best posts I have ever had the pleasure of reading and responding too!! :) You gave my husband and I a great topic of conversation tonight! Thanks for a good laugh and all the carefree memories
2 people like this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
It is wonderful that bought back many memories for you and your husband, plus has given you a great topic of conversation. There is nothing like doing a good old nostalgia trip, is there?I too remember the baby oil but didn't use it because I had enough freckles without venturing out to get a tan, because I just knew all those freckles wouldn't join up to give me a tan.
Also "borrowed" a cafeteria tray so you can go sledding once again. :)
@rainbow (6761)
•
8 Jan 07
oh god that took me back - how excellent!
Gypsey dresses and ra-ra skirts with darning cos I climbed trees, the clubhouse made from a chest freezer with a door on the wasteland. going unaccompanied by adults to the playing field, paddling pool, beach. Everyone knowing you and holidaymakers being polite and friendly.
sledging down the pullover on old cardboard boxes and loosing huge a,ounts of skin. Having secondhand bikes that didn't cycle off if you threw them on the floor while playing.
Rock poolsbwith more creaures, we hardly see a shrimp or an anemone since they improved our beach.
Dawn worm picks and cockle or sampha finding forages.
Dads with flowery shirts and black or brown cords like Shaggy out of Scooby Doo. mums bwith flowers in their hair or scarfs tied gypsey style. The tent blowing into the brambles.
Kites made from carrier bags and knitting wool.
My all time favourite - VW campers - still desperate for my own.
I could go on all night, wrestling on tv sunday sfternoons
batman, dr who, dukes of hazzard, playschool, jakanory, you and me, star wars, CB radios
it was cool and fun, I want togo back and be a young grown up in that time.
so many memories, thank-you for making me smile
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Such wonderful memories here rainbow and of course they are something that nobody can take away from you. It also sounds as though you had a great time with your parents, and camping is just so wonderful. We still go camping even today but for us it means we save on caravan park or motel fees which allows us to travel further and/or for longer. LOL
I do remember those flowers shirts and cords too, and now cringe when I think back to them. :)
But to help you a little, here is a photo of a VW camper till you can afford to get your own new one.
@pookie92 (1714)
• United States
8 Jan 07
HA HA HA, this is SOOOOOOOOOOOO true! I roller skated with metal skates on a cement sidewalk with NO HELMET, I fell out of a moving car once, I climbed to the top of the tree then slid down the branches, one by one, 'til I got to the ground. I AM STILL ALIVE!!! I do believe in car seats for babies, though I never rode in one. I think maybe we are paranoid?? NO, I know what it is!! People who sue and pull stupid stunts make us all pay for their ways. Now there are laws for everything............ good and bad, I suppose.
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Yes I think that baby car seat are a good thing but mostly because now cars go much faster than they did when we were young, and this of course means there is a greater chance of serious injury if in an accident. I think these generations had a great childhood despite the fact that we didn't have everything.
Thanks for sharing your memories with us pookie and here are a pair of metal roller skates in case you decide to give it a go once again, just for old times sake. :)
@caramello (4377)
• Australia
24 Jan 07
Actually ossie apart from wishing for world peace bring back the good old days as they are something I think nowadays are to be proud of as you look at what is going on in this day and age and wonder where it is all going!
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
24 Jan 07
I think that it is up to the individual to bring about the changes because if we all do our little bit then others might follow along. For example I used to spend time playing cards and boardgames with our son and now find myself doing the same thing for friends who have young children. I also encourage them to do all sorts of things that they otherwise wouldn't do. For example this Saturday a couple of the kids will be with us, so we will be outside. Only people allowed on computers during the day are the adults, not the children. But in this instance I will be outside with them.
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
8 Jan 07
I was born in 44. we lived in the country We never thought of seat belts. I actually fell out of a moving car twice. i stood up and leaned on the door handle. and ir flew open luckly mom wasn't going very fast. and I was bundled up in a snow suit. Next time fell out of the back of a rumble seat when mom started up ater opening a gate. I never did like to listen. I remember male rafts to float on a big pond that was about knee deep from wood we found around the neighborhood. Those were the days of making do for fun and intertainment.
2 people like this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Certainly we have some wonderful memories, and I am sure that children from later years will be the same but not with quite the same amount of freedom that we seemed to enjoy. Also having a little laugh to myself, because I suspect that many of the younger generation would have no idea what you are talking about with a "rumble seat".
Thanks for sharing your memories with us deebomb and here is a photo of a rumble seat in a car to bring back some more memories I hope. :)
@kakuemmom (859)
• Canada
8 Jan 07
What a great topic i loved the post and yes i am a 60's kid and i remember playing outside all day and not having to check in every couple of hours i walked to school (barefooted uphill both ways lol) istead of getting a ride or taking the bus. I was able to go to a friends house for the night without the friends parents needing a police check lol. But i did have a video game well sort of we had pong whoooooooo hooooooooooo. I try telling my kids about playing outside all day and very little tv we had no cable till i was and early teen 3 stations and it was black and white until my older sister bought a color tv for my parents i was 11 or 12. But when i tell my kids about what it was like when i get the rolling eyes and yeah ok mom thank god i wasn't born then. My daughter calls me a stella not sure what that means lol but ok i am a stella
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Police check - now what was that? Never heard of it when we were growing up at all and the only time a police officer came to the house was if someone had been killed. The mere presence of a police car out the front of a house was enough to bring all the neighbours to the front fence. LOL
We were lucky with our son, as we lived out in the country, so he did have a lot of freedom that his peers didn't. That is unless they came out to our place for a day or week or whatever.
Just to add to the nostalgia trip, here is a photo of an old black and white television set. :)
@kakuemmom (859)
• Canada
8 Jan 07
Hey i didn't see you in my living room when i was a kid who said you could take a picture of my tv lol looks just like mine did all those years ago. The screen its self was so small but the casing around it soooooooooo big lol
@Bunny2 (2102)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Hi Ossie,
This brings back so many memories. So much of it is true and pertains to me. I was probably more protected than some because my parents were Italian, so I wasn't allowed a bike, or allowed to go ut by myself for ages. BUT I was allowed to walk to and from school in primary school. If my brother was sick, I walked alone. And once he went to high school (I was in grade 5) I always walked alone.
Other memories were waiting anxiously for birthdays and Christmas because they were the ONLY times we got gifts. Occasionally we might get new underwear and socks when needed but new clothes were for birthday - new toys for Chrittmas. And that was new *toy* for Christmas (though friends did give us something too) We didn't get hundreds of dollars (pounds?) worth of presents like kids do nowadays - even allowing for inflation, it wouldn't compare to some I've seen. My kids didn't get so much either and they turned out OK. One wonders what the world will be like in 30 years...
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Yes and walking alone without an adult definately meant that we were "BIG" and no longer a little kid. LOL
Getting clothes as part of a present was the norm and we didn't expect anything else either Bunny. Also it was not unusual to get something like colouring pencils or a new pen for Christmas and it had nothing to do with the fact that we needed them for school either.
Thanks for sharing your memories with us Bunny and here is a photo of girls' good shoes from the 1950's. :)
1 person likes this
@feralwoman (2199)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
I love this! It brings back so many memories, both good and bad and makes me feel very old! :( How true it all is and it's amazing how we survived. Now this is going to make me feel really old:
In the 60's when I was growing up there were no:
Colour TV's
Video recorders or DVD's
Music came on round vinyl things called records
Mobile phones
Digital cameras
Lots of racism
More freedom
Less perverts
More community spirit
Great discussion Ossie!
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Things have certainly changed over the years. If only we had kept all those things we had back then, we could sell them off and retire in much comfort. Aah, the wisdom we get as we age. :)
There are just so many things that people take for granted now, and that also includes the older generation as well. I am pleased that this has bought back some good memories for you feralwoman.
This is a typical camera and film pack from the 1960's, when mostly it was black and white photos because colour was so expensive. LOL
@inked4life (4224)
• United States
8 Jan 07
Wow, great post. I was born in 1967 and raised in Scotland. My childhood was great and I have a ton of happy memories. I look at all the toys and gadgets that my kids have, and when I tell them that I had nothing like that and pretty much had to make do with a soccer ball, they just look at me as if I am crazy...LOL.
As much as I love all the new technology, it was a simpler and safer time when I was a kid
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
One of the big things I think is that we were safer being left to play and make our own entertainment when we were children. Of course parents had less money then plus there was less pressure to buy the things that children have today.
Tell me, did you wear shoes when playing soccer or were you like the rest who went everywhere with bare feet? Here is a photo of soccer being played in the 1970's.
@inked4life (4224)
• United States
8 Jan 07
I always had shoes, though not always in the best of shape...often had toes sticking out or the soles in various stages of falling off....made a very loud slapping noise while running
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
8 Jan 07
My mother didn't smoke but my father did. When I was about to be born, my mother was sent a list of things required for the confinement. It included things like "3 linen table napkins" and also "1 small bottle of brandy". Since it was close to Christmas (and war time) my mother assumed that it was for the Christmas pudding. When she asked about it, the nurse said, "Oh no! It's for the baby, in case of problems at birth!" Apparently, it was considered necessary in my case, so I can say truthfully that the first thing to ever pass my lips was strong drink! I must assume that it was merely a wetting on the midwife's finger but my mother said she never went home with that bottle! Hmmm!
I remember the taste of that lead-based paint very well. The top bar of the cot was an excellent place to cut one's teeth (at least, I suppose I did. I know my little brother did!) As for riding in a car, we didn't have one but various uncles and aunts did and I had my first driving lesson at the age of 5 sitting on my uncle's knee and steering while he worked the pedals! He did choose a quietish country road for this.
When visiting friends who lived maybe a mile away we would often just walk or cycle there on the offchance and, if the front door was open, would just walk in. If nobody was about, they were bound to be somewhere in the garden.
We didn't even have a radio until I was about 8. We listened to records on a home-made contraption that my father was always tinkering with, which had a clockwork motor and an enormous cone made out of stiff paper which was connected to the needle with a complicated linkage made of cocktail sticks and wire (as I recall).
Bread came from the baker's a mile away and, since it was generally fresh and still warm, often arrived home with a mousie hole picked in it by hungry fingers. My mother was never cross! Fish (when we had it) arrived on the back of a horse drawn wagon in boxes of ice. It was filleted by the fishmonger there and then on the back of the cart. It was reasonably fresh since it would have been landed the previous evening at Whitby or Yarmouth and would have come by train overnight. Meat came on the butcher's bicycle from the next village (the same butcher is still there, over 50 years later). I still have a blood-stained bill somewhere, showing that beef was 1/9 a pound (that's £0.09 in 'new money' - between 18 and 30 cents for you Americans, depending on whether you use today's exchange rate or not!)
If one crossed paths with the law (which I never did, I think) the policeman would normally either escort one home or give one a red ear and a very good lecturing. One learned a healthy respect for the local bobby, and indeed any uniformed official, but one trusted them to be friendly and helpful if one was in need.
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
So many truly wonderful memories here. One that I particularly like is about the policeman escorting the "traunt" home with a red ear for their misdemeanour because a friend of ours says that the police gave you one red ear and then your father evened it up when he got home and found out what you had done. This same man is now in the police force and has been since he was 18. LOL
Aah that fresh bread with the mouse holes. I still find that today but only now it is our son when I make some bread, and he is 31. Anyway here is a loaf of fresh bread, mousie holes included, and ready for you to enjoy. :)
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Glad to hear of anotherone who was not a neat writer when they were in school. Mine was positively awful because I was always in a rush to do something else. Do you remember using a pen and nib with the inkwell?
This is a student desk from around that era deebomb but I am sure that ours weren't this fancy. :)
@wildguy2 (1349)
• Canada
8 Jan 07
My lord Ossie you really know how to bring back some very fond memories, I had such a great child hood and reading what you posted out me right back to those days. I Grew up in the early 70's and 80's, with 2 older brothers and a lot of older friends, so you know how rough I was used, we never had anything other than our imagination to play with and I tell you kids today don't know the adventures we would go on, cowboys and Indians, great pirate hunts for buried treasure, we built so many tree houses and forts my father couldn't keep us in lumber. Spending all day outside was the norm, we would be up at 7:00 or earlier on weekends, eat our breakfast and that was the last our parents would see us until the night fell, heck many a night they would have to go gather us. There was no such thing as getting off easy either, if we got in trouble a grounding or taking away something would have been a god send, it was the belt or switch that found our bottoms, but I never regret that one little bit as it made me who I am today, a very respectful person, who holds a door and shakes a strangers hand, never to judge anyone, and always smile and speak when spoken to, never with a sharp tongue, and to stand up for what we believe is right, and always, always help those less fortunate. To this day there are so many people that cannot believe the knowledge I have, my step kids cannot understand how I know so much about mechanics and carpentry, electronics and so on, but I just tell them we never had video games VCR's DVD players 2 channels on the TV, and a lot of time and curiosity, if we broke something we learned how to fix it, when our father did mechanic repairs we helped whether we wanted to or not, house repairs were a chore not a option, wood had to be split and brought in daily, I have a hard time today to get the kids to clean there rooms. We built our own forts, cabins and tree houses, our father would give us only the lumber the rest was up to us and our knowledge, today kids can hardly build a puzzle, there is no interest in it for them. I used to love the long bike rides through the woods myself and my friends would have, we would get up early in the morning, mom would make us a lunch and off we would go, all day just discovering new trails through the woods, or making our own. I really miss those times so much.......Thank you Ossie for letting me remember what I now cherish and that which no one can take...my childhood...
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
It is interesting how much we all had in common in our childhoods, despite the fact that many of us lived in different countries. Our son grew up in a similar era to what you did (born 1975) but had the same sort of fun that we did when we were children. We lived on a farm and didn't have much money, so he had to amuse himself and like you there is just so much that he can turn his hand to because of it.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful memories with us wildguy and it is good to know that you cherish them. As an added reminder here is a photo of children playing cowboys and indians in your era. :)
1 person likes this
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
8 Jan 07
Oh this is so true. I was born in the late 60's and it was great back then as a kid. We had freedom to do things, to take risks, we weren't being raised in plastic bubbles. Today we are afraid to allow kids to be kids. Don't get me wrong I like having my cable TV and not having to try and tune in a channel so that I can watch a swow with still tons of snow all over it. I like my internet and a lot of the new technology but I think we need to take a step back in some areas. Let people, especially kids, enjoy life and quit trying to protect them from everything.
They need those lessons to learn, like we did. So they didn't make the team, next time they tried harder and probably practice all year to do so. So we ate rare meat as a kids, our bodies got used to it so when we are exposed later it doesn't bother us. We ate raw cookie dough as well, that was a big treat. No one worried about samonella poisoning. Most of us didn't even know what the was. We had fun and learned so much because of it. I think today's children have been robbed of that far too often.
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Part of the problem today is that there are many weirdos out there and parents are afraid to let their children go many places unaccompanied, and I can fully understand that. I think that we learnt how to use our imagination more than children today do, who generally have more structured "entertainment or activities" than we ever did.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, and for the nostalgia trip here is some raw cookie/biscuit dough for you to enjoy. :)
@lauriefnp (5109)
• United States
8 Jan 07
Thanks for the wonderful post! I really enjoyed it. I was born in 1960, so I remember these "good old days" well. I have been amazed over the years watching my niece and nephew grow up at how dependent they are on "things" and people to entertain them. My niece could not believe that there was no DVD player at my Mom's house, as if that was an absolute necessity! They were involved in every activity and team available; when I was a kid, we each got to pick one thing, such as baseball, dance, or ice skating. Parents did not spend a fortune on activities for their kids, and they didn't spend every evening running them all over the place. By the way, we didn't have car seats when I was a kid, either- and I lived through it. If we were bored, we were told to go read a book. And we didn't even have a microwave in the house until I was a teenager!
1 person likes this
@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
What a small world we actually live in, because I just checked your profile lauriefnp and see that you have Buffalo NY state as where you live. I actually have some rellies who live there, or at least my husband does. LOL
You got a microwave long before we did then, because I was married and had a child long before that happened in my home. Yes, we soon learnt not to say we were bored unless we actually wanted to read a book, because that was the standard response when we were children.
Thanks for sharing your childhood memories with us and here is a book from that era to read when you are bored. :)
@kathy77 (7486)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Hi Ossie, Well you are right what you are saying here and yes we survived all of this, you put a lot of thought to this and you are so wonderful for reminding us of all those great times we really enjoyed, and also we never sued anybody for what happened when we were young. We obey the law in those days, yes the governments have done a lot of damage to the way we live our lives today. I could not respond to this with a yes/no response as what you have written here was very informative and true. God bless you Ossie for such a discussion.
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@ossie16d (11821)
• Australia
8 Jan 07
Thanks for reading and responding to this Kathy, and yes we did have a good childhood. A nostalgia trip is something we all need to take from time to time, even if only to remind us what we didn't appreciate when we were children.
Not being sure just where you grew up, I have included a photo of some children playing marbles in Parkes (NSW) during the 1950's because I am sure that you probably did something of the sort.
