To all kids who survived the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s

[BEV! 0]

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 Kool-aid 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 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 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, 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 worm's 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!

 

 

 

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

 

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

 

 

BEV!

[phil43 0]

Thanks for the trip down "memory lane", BEV!

 

Those were the days...no drive-by shootings, and no HFC (high-fructose corn syrup)...

 

Phil

[MichaelC 160]

Bev, you brought a smile to my face with that post. Whoever wrote that must have lived in my neighborhood, on my street. I look at my ten year old daughter now, and I marvel at how her childhood differs from mine. And not in a way I envy, that's for sure. For crying out loud, if I want her to play at the park I need to sign a waiver of release before she is permitted on the playground!

I think I'm going to watch some Leave It To Beaver reruns. . .

[-Tony- 0]

For crying out loud, if I want her to play at the park I need to sign a waiver of release before she is permitted on the playground!

 

This is after you text her to see if she wants to go

 

 

But, Bev we must remember there was no HTML

 

and the dictionary was your spell check ..... I always hated that, looking up words you didn't know how to spell, it made no sense to me but it worked

[BEV! 0]

But, Bev we must remember there was no HTML

and the dictionary was your spell check ..... I always hated that, looking up words you didn't know how to spell, it made no sense to me but it worked

 

 

 

 

BEV!

[Jonathan RexfordFL 8]

Bev,

 

Thanks for the post. I like others that are reading this are thinking My GOD what are we doing to our children.

[West Coast Girl 1]

Bev,

 

Thanks for the post. I like others that are reading this are thinking My GOD what are we doing to our children.

 

I concur Rexford.

 

Therefore, when I raised my daughter in the same neighbourhood that I grew up in and my mother grew up in I let my daughter do things that I did as a kid (live without a care in the World ... for heaven's sakes they are kids just like we were)! Got lots of dirty looks and a few snide remarks from the "new" neighbours). Well the hell with them I said (literally) as nothing really changed excpet THEIR perceptions as my neighbourhood was one of the SAFEST in the City .... heck many of those neighbours which span many generations still live in that neighbourhood! Something has to be said about that, doesn't it???

 

Well, gotta say, NOTT'N bad happened to her ... as I knew it wouldn't!

 

I think parents are a little TOO PROTECTIVE for any kids liking today, really!

 

Live and let live is my motto! You can't keep a catipillar cocooned. You need to let it spread its wings and FLY!

 

So because of my conscious decision, she turned out to be a very wise & beautiful butterfly!

[Glenn (MI) 0]

What a great blast-from-the-past memory. Like Michael mentioned, it sounds like you were describing my neighborhood. Guys and girls all playing softball till dark, choosing teams and playing basketball in someones driveway the next night, and the only siren we ever heard was the fire station warning siren at noontime on Fridays.

 

Those were definately the good 'ole days to me.

 

Thanks for the flashback Bev!

[MichaelC 160]

The more I think about this, the sadder I become.

Glenn, I remember all too well playing softball in the street; basketball under the streetlight; playing Ringolevio.

Walking to Carvel's for ice cream, or waiting for the ice cream truck to roll by. Or if ice cream wasn't on the menu, a walk to the corner candy store or deli with .25 in my pocket and buying a soda and a Drake's Coffee Cake.

Riding on our bikes down to the docks, (about 5 miles), to do some fishing and screwing around. Leaving at 7:00AM and biking back home late in the afternoon.

Rounding up a dozen local hooligans for an us-against-them game of tackle football at the park. Some scrapes and bruises afterwards, but a hell of a lot of fun and exercise.

Do any kids play football anymore? I mean besides Madden.

Sigh. . .

[BEV! 0]

How time changes.

I remember my school days, we had something called P.E class which was exactly what it's name meant. We would exercise for a whole hour every day, run around the track several times, do aerobics, play soccer, volleyball and all kinds of sports daily!

Oh, and our cafeterias were the bomb.. they would cook our breakfast AND lunch right before our eyes depending on what we wanted. Schools actually had real people cooking fresh foods back then.

 

When I tell my son about my school experience comparing his and mine, he almost passes out when he hears about the exercises and the cafeteria.

He can't believe it because hi's schools days for lunch is a frozen patty or frozen slice of pizza or one peace of something frozen . They don't even have a salad bar?

Oh and for P.E, his teacher has them watch TV for a whole hour

 

 

BEV!

[-Tony- 0]

What about in grade school the cafeteria was the gym too.

 

Ringolevio

 

So you new there would be questions we called it capture the flag and added the flag of course.

[MichaelC 160]

What about in grade school the cafeteria was the gym too.

 

Ringolevio

 

So you new there would be questions we called it capture the flag and added the flag of course.

You're cooler than I thought, Tony!