For those born before 1979

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 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 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 kno cked 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

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

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

B D 1947

Oh forsure!!!

That’s there nails it!!!

Why, I have know idea!! you discribed best…….That was me
thanks!!

I remember a 1972 AMC Matador Station wagon my dad bought brand new..it was like 3500 bucks. We were driving along somewhere and my dad had to pile on the brakes and my sister and I bounced off the back of the front seats. We thought it was fun and wanted him to do it agian! Dad was swearing at the guy who cut him off, Mom was yelling at us to get back in our seats and be quiet.

I also remember getting caught by a neighbor down the street playing ding dong ditch…he “escorted” me home by the scruff of the neck and told my dad what he caught me doing. Got a whippin with the belt, and guess what, no child abuse charges were even considered against my dad or ther neighbor guy.

With so many laws that aren’t needed no one has to think about and develope as much common sense anymore, imiagine doing things that were partially dangerous, that was fun. We learned from our mistakes what was safe and what wasen’t. I remember my old man saying once it sharpened the senses, Maybe thats why i like the colder temps and don’t mind camping in the winter just because i know its a little extra chore to see if i can keep myself warm, the challange? Im not bragging its just that those are the things i find intertainment in, i don’t ice fish but the ones who do understand fishing through the ice when its colder than heck. Thats probably why i will still stand on the bank fishing walleyes when its snowing and ice is freezing in the eyes let alone sliding my boat down a couple ramps on the ice just to get to open water in the middle of janurary and im 55, do i have those things instilled in me from when i was that kid, guess so. I read an article that in about 25 to 30 years that diabetes is going to get worse and peak because of all the kids today learning to stay inside instead of being outside where they can get rid of colds by thier immune system building and stay healthy. Im sure glad my kids were outside all the time, i don’t know how many miles my son and i walked hunting, guess thier going to be hardy too when they get to my age, i hope so, they’ve got the building blocks to do it.

BY 1946

Hammer, this post has captured all of my thoughts the past 15 years…as a teacher, I get to see the byproduct of what society has left us with…..like a buddy of mine said who is a chief of police: “those that you don’t get to, I do”

BD 1959
I remember getting my a$$ spanked in the store, for throwing a fit because I did’nt get what I wanted.
it only happend once
yet I surived and Ma did’nt go to jail

Alot of this makes sense but then again I think how really stupid we were. These things were fun until something actually went wrong.

I remember the time that my sister and I were both lying up in the back window my moms Impalla. It was a blast going down the road looking out the window and lying down at the same time. Until that big box truck decided to turn right from the inside lane onto a side street right infront of us and clip the front of the car.

Both my sister and I were thrown forward slammed into the back of the front seats and both knocked unconcious. Neither of us came to until the cops arrived and helped us. My mom busted 3 ribs on the sterring wheel and the cops said at the time if she would had her seat belt on that her ribs would have never made it to the steering wheel.

For those of us that have done these things in the past and nothing ever happend and we had fun great.

When things go wrong though then you think what the heck was I thinking.

I’m glad we have come out of the dark ages.

Yes indeed “the good ol’ days” when if you got hurt, well you were stupid for doing it. Now days I just laugh at the poor kids, we have taken all the growing pains out of growing up… skin you knee, nope knee pads! had to get better at hitting the baseball, nope got to play anyway or it wouldn’t be fair, break your wrist going off a bike jump you make from 12 chunks of 2×4 and a piece of plywood, Heavens no! They wouldn’t get one nail driven into a piece before they got yelled at. Having the fear of “DAD” getting called at work or having to come home early!! OH S#@T!!! NOT A CHANCE!!!!

Back in a time where times were harder but life was easier

well. lots of memmories there.. and I sure agree with a lot of it… though Im not too happy about the pregnant mother thing… my mom did take something that gave me a congenital heart problem that is slowly killing me and after all… life is slowly killing us.. the ol saying.. were not killing time.. its killing us…
but hey.. lots of people have it worse than me.. so Im not gonna whine about it…. I just think that its a good thing that mothers mroe careful these days…. dont solve every problem though…

Certainly there were a lot of things that could have been different- moms smokin, no seatbelts, etc- the just of it is that parents/adults pester their kids about “safety” to the point that they won’t/can’t go outside and learn for themselves. They are more than happy to sit in front of the tv or game boy/box/cube until they are numb. (and dumb). It is easier for their parents as well to electronically babysit them. I went to lunch with my 5 year old who is in kindergarten on Friday- a boy across the table from me (who looked as though his mom had not washed his face in days) proudly announced that all of the girls at the table were his “bitches”. You don’t learn that from being up to your waist in sludge catching frogs, jumping out of trees onto a pile of leaves, or (insert favorite dangerous kid activity here). I am seriously considering altering my families lifestyle significantly for the opportunity to teach my kids at home in an environment that is free from 5 year olds talking about “bitches”. It is my responsiblity-and right- to train my kids properly. I wish others would realize it is their’s also. Just my two cent rant, I will go back in my hole now.

Thanks from a 1947 guy; an old former post but I have been looking for it. Suffice it to say, but the kids playground in Cedarburg Wisconsin is now covered with skin proof padding. How silly.

BD 1956

I remember learning to play hockey without any face mask.

Imagine that today!!

bd: 1953
when i grew up you went to school and to pe and some went to more than class the school wasn’t low on money so, the classes werenot cut. gym class was expected. like most the gifted were able to letter in sports the rest of us well we adjusted. we called and were called each other names. and we survived. there was no though of cell phones to keep in touch with rents or each other. we went out side and played all over the neighbor hood. when it was time to come in ma yelled and we went cause we knew that pa would make us pay if we didn’t we didn’t worry about other races moving in it didn’t seem to matter it was somebody else to play with…. well i need to get down off this soap box.. thanks for the trip down memory lane