First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and we didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

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 or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds , KFC, Subway or Nandos.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks 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 old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY, no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, 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.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...
We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on
MERIT

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bullys always ruled the playground at school.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL !

And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!

 

Yep, I tell my sons, (who have had their own adventures) "I don't know how I survived my childhood." Falls from trees, unsafe ice, coating hills with water in winter to go faster, (broken collarbone from two seperate sledding accidents along with a dent in the forehead when a tree didn't get out of the way), rafts that tipped in the middle of the "freshly melted pond", acorn fights (we left the little black points on), bottle rocket wars, m-80s, countless BlackJack firecrackers, fires in the woods, fires a little out of control, helping firemen fight fires deep in the woods, learning the pulley cart that went from 60' down to 4' needed a brake, mud up to the belt, running the boxcars at the Boston and Maine railroad yard, crawling in the pipes at Pennsylvania Culvert, spying on the older kids, getting beat by the older kids for spying, beating our younger brothers for spying on us, etc. Everyday was a new adventure. I learned that you should send your lighter friend out on the ice because if it was not safe for him it sure wouldn't be safe for me. This rule applied to tree limbs. I could go on for hours. Hunting legally here in Massachusetts at 15 years old with a old 16 gauge shotgun for pheasent, rabbit, grouse, and woodcock. It was a different time then. There was only one time I felt threatened by a stranger and it was in the woods as a 16 year old when I turned around to see a weird looking guy following me on the deer trail. I took it off safety. He left. Now, you can't let your son go into a restroom without worrying about a pervert accosting him. I've taught my sons that if anyone grabs you, gouge eyes, stomp on feet, bite, kick upwards, etc. There have been too many cases of predators in bathrooms and things are getting worse in Massachusetts. Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold...

 

Great posts, thanks for the reminders...

 

I came in the late end of those decades (79 to be exact) but i couldnt agree more.

Everything is so electronic these days I think most of the current youth would become zombies if we every lost power on a grand scale.

I remember back in the day when a 6 hour power outage was fun...

 

Yep, we ruined it, who was it that invented that damned Atari in that era?

Yes, I still have one in operation and my kids think it is the coolest thing. My daughters just got introduced to the Wii at a New Years party. They said,"Daddy, you've got to try this!" I said,"No, we aren't getting one." and then took the control.

My girls still like playing outside, we sit on 21 acres and they know about every square foot of it.

 

Yep. Brother, sister and I all survived that stuff.

Mom says they turned out ok.

 

When I tell people about hitting a tree headfirst on a sled they say, "That explains a lot."

 

We, and I say WE are turning this country into a bunch of sissy WIMPS.

Born 1949 and all that is true and then some, Thanks xfreebirdx for the memories.

 

Thanks FB

Thanks for the reminder.

 

Nice memories FB