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 child proof 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 OK.
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 chatrooms.......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 poke 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.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
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6 comments:
Technically I was born in the wrong decade for this to apply to me, but growing up the wilds of regional Australia meant that nearly all of that stuff was what I grew up with, and I couldn't agree more. I actually fear for the social welfare of todays kids. They'll be overweight, lazy, demanding and socially inept. Thats a frightening vision of the future in my mind.
Thanks for posting that Michael, Makes me want to start up work on my own go-cart again. One thing though: We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. How can you be sure?
Personally, I've never eaten dirt OR worms...and most definitely not together!!! ICK!
I'm sure there's all sorts of things growing in me that I don't even want to think about!
That was great ML!! I agree with most. When I was a kid, I used to eat Playdough all the time and I survived. (Very salty). They would go good with a side of mud pies (lol).
On the downside though, I remember that parents would not hesitate to hit their kids in public. I used to see this all the time at grocery stores. At least this seems to be a behavior that has changed for the better, I think.
yes... see we got bb guns, but we also had to *pick a switch* from the willow branches if we got out of line. You can't do the spanking with objecs (or spanking at all) now, which kinda takes the realism of consequences off. so i wouldn't give a kid a bb gun now....
Good post! But I did not eat mud and worm during my childhood either.
I really, truly try to instill these same old-fashioned habits in my own boys. Not the hitting with a switch, of course, but the "get off your arse and go play outside with your friends" type of thing.
Funny, just yesterday I had to straighten out The Swede when he told our younger son he was just as smart in school as our older son. It's just not true. I corrected him by telling our son that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. His brother is a better student and always will be. Do I worry about the younger one in school? Absolutely not. Is he a way better athlete than his older brother? Absolutely. Not everyone is equal! If kids are raised thinking that's the case, there will be a lot of disappointed adults in a few years.
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