For Those Born 1930-1979

[critter crazy]

For Those Born 1930-1979

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 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 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!

If 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 so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

[chocolatepuppy]

Aw, the good old days.

[lizbud]

My Mom never smoked or drank when she was having us, but all the
rest fits my experience. Those were the days.

[Dorothy39]

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

Bravo!!!

[Reachoutrescue]

I was born in the late 70's so much of this does not apply to me, but the things that are out now are just crazy! I do miss the simple days that I remember!

[sirrahbed]

That was fun to read I think the thing I miss most is seeing kids outside playing. That was always such a part of my life, espcially on the military installations where I grew up. I always had a group of friends to play with and we had tons of games we would play out in the streets near our homes. The streets were always patrolled by SP's and the speeding limit was so slow that I don't think our parents ever had to worry about traffic. Kids would come right into the house looking to play and I would do the same. We knew the parents and of course had to call them Mr., Mrs., ma'm and sir I still love icy cold water from the garden hose

But I am very glad for such things as carseats and medical advances. Those good old days were not all good, but they sure have some great memories.

[DrKym]

Taken in the spirit it was meant, we are lucky! My older kids were too they all grew up in small towns and relative safety, we knew eveyone and their playing all day and gone till dusk was the norm(funny I never minded summers home with them they were never home LOL)

Things change, Adrian has a cell phone for emergencies and also in case something happens on his bike. Which I do make him wear a helmet the street here are busy, now the playing all day is done in MY yard so that I know they aren't getting nailed with empty needles, drug dealers, or sexual predators. My yard resembles a boys home in the summers and that is fine with me, as they still get to watch fireflies in the evening after the Kool aid is gone, the watermelons eaten the 500th popsicle devoured, and stains made that will challenge even Maytag.

Thanks Mags for the trips down memory lane, and the horror of realizing school is out in 5 weeks LMAO

[moosmom]

WOOHOO!!!! Them was the good ole days!! Where you could sit out on your front porch after dark without worrying about getting killed by a stray bullet. Being able to play in your own yard without the fear of being abducted by some whackjob pedophile.

Where have those days gone???

[Karen]

People are more in touch with the world now. Kids on my street still play outside, and after dark, too. But I know my neighbors, and my neighborhood, and it is the exception, not the rule. Fifty years ago, we would only have learned of the Virginia Tech massacre on the radio, or the newspaper, maybe ther might have been a mention on the network news, but there wouldn't have been the 24-hour coverage there is today. Were children abducted back then? Yes, but with no "Amber Alert" system, the whole country didn't hear about it. Were people killed needlesly back then? Yes, but again, no 24-hour, examine-every-angle coverage.

My mother neither smoked nor drank during her pregnancies, and yet two of my siblings lived less than a day. My friend Sandy lost her eye because of playing on a golf course where she wasn't supposed to be. A neighbor kid was killed when his Big Wheel was hit by a car - no, he didn't have any helmet on. An older kid was brain-damaged for life when he was riding his bike through traffic - no helmet - and got hit by a car. My friend's brother was killed when his mother's car hit a light pole on a slick street - no airbags back then. He was in a coma for two awful weeks before he died.

Want more examples of why the good old days weren't necessarily all that great?

Anyone can look at selected bit of any period of time and conclude it was great, or terrible.

[mike001]

There's something to reflect on. I guess life is so hectic and busy that we forget that there were also problems in those good old days. Different times, different problems. Some of those problems weren't as easy to fix as they are oday. Guess each era has it's own good and bad things.

[dukedogsmom]

I remember when I was about 11 or so, my friends and I would ride all over town on our bikes (and it's not a small town, either) We'd be gone all day to the big public pool or to the mall where we hung out at the game room. Those sure were fun days. Too bad it's not safe to do that now. Kids are missing out on a lot of adventures.

My mom used to iron everything! I have no idea how she found the time. She even ironed the sheets.

Remember catching lightning bugs and putting them in a jar? That's one of the things I remember from Tennessee. I don't think they're here in FL. I've seen them maybe once.

[sirrahbed]

My mom used to iron everything! I have no idea how she found the time. She even ironed the sheets.

mine too I remember when she taught me to iron and I was only allowed to do pillowcases and hankies. I did NOT carry on with what I learned Daughter Missy (sirrahsim) is probably going "iron? what is that??"

Remember catching lightning bugs and putting them in a jar? That's one of the things I remember from Tennessee. I don't think they're here in FL. I've seen them maybe once.

We have lightening bugs galore here in Ohio and it makes me stop and smile each season when they come out. I also have the game Sims2 Seasons and it provides fireflies and jars (yes, I am easily amused)

[Marigold2]

What a wonderful post. So many memories. Gosh I miss grape and lime Kool-aid.

[Sophist]

Maybe I just don't get it because I was born too late to make the mark, but WHY on EARTH is drinking/smoking during pregnancy lumped in with all the gooey-mushy-feel-good-nostalgia stuff?




Or do we just imagine things like fetal alcohol syndrome and such now?


There are other bits--- some of which Karen covered--- but I just don't understand why some of this is grounds for fond reminisence.

[Dorothy39]

People are more in touch with the world now. Kids on my street still play outside, and after dark, too. But I know my neighbors, and my neighborhood, and it is the exception, not the rule. Fifty years ago, we would only have learned of the Virginia Tech massacre on the radio, or the newspaper, maybe ther might have been a mention on the network news, but there wouldn't have been the 24-hour coverage there is today. Were children abducted back then? Yes, but with no "Amber Alert" system, the whole country didn't hear about it. Were people killed needlesly back then? Yes, but again, no 24-hour, examine-every-angle coverage.

My mother neither smoked nor drank during her pregnancies, and yet two of my siblings lived less than a day. My friend Sandy lost her eye because of playing on a golf course where she wasn't supposed to be. A neighbor kid was killed when his Big Wheel was hit by a car - no, he didn't have any helmet on. An older kid was brain-damaged for life when he was riding his bike through traffic - no helmet - and got hit by a car. My friend's brother was killed when his mother's car hit a light pole on a slick street - no airbags back then. He was in a coma for two awful weeks before he died.

Want more examples of why the good old days weren't necessarily all that great?

Anyone can look at selected bit of any period of time and conclude it was great, or terrible.

Well said, Karen~