Do you wanna know what it was like to be a kid in the 1930s thru 1970s?

Question

Those Born 1930-1979
READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH BY JAY LENO. IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE---VERY WELL STATED

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.



We played...tag your it, Indians & Cowboys. The Indians always lost the battle. Snow ball fights....who could hit a moving car with a snow ball and run like heck without being caught.


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 didn't rush to the emergency room for a scrap on the knee, or bashing our heads into something that got in the way.


We did not have Playstations, Nintendos,
X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, 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!


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

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

.

Answer 1

I have heard this many times and it always amazes me that the government seems to know more about how to raise a child than the parents who actually did it! As for taking God out of the Pledge of Allegience, you can take the word out, but you can never take God Himself out. That is the one thing the government CANNOT control! THANK GOD!!!

Answer 2

I was born in the early 80's, but was raised by my great-grandmother who was born 12 days after the 'Titanic' sank, (1912 for those of you who live under a rock lol). We lived in a very small town in Colorado,(Pop. 495). She origanally raised her children in the '30s and '40's. She took over my care at the age of 71, and I was 9 months old. That being said, I am on the cusp of generation x, and y. I have seen all of my friends in high school get married and have children, except me! I have seen many great things in this day in age. But, every day, with everything I see, I think of what morals and values were taught to me as a child. I grew up as an only child, I played alone with my dogs, and found great ways to entertain myself. I had sticks that were guns, I made mud pies, I LOVED playing tic tac toe with my great-grandma, I rode tractors, I had farm animals to take care of. I had a woman from a different time, come into my life, and show me what this world is really about. She told me about her brother going to Germany and being killed in WWII by Nazi's. That was a true attack on humanity. I heard stories about mules throwing off their riders into the stock tank. I heard about good humored, fun things. Not about "Blanket Alert's", not about the "terror level". There was, and still IS NOT such a thing.

She knew the value of a dollar. She baked bread at home, when it was much easier to just run to the store. My Great-Grandmother knew what it was like to value and cherish EVERYTHING in this world. Even if it is just the air in your lungs.

I say with a heavy heart that I am glad that she does not have to suffer the 'terror' in this world today. She passed away 7 years ago this June, God rest her soul.

I have never lived in the 30's, 50's, not even the 70's. But I know, that the world was once a happy place, where all we had to do, was be ourselves. I do hope that someday, we will all turn of the television, stop watching the news, and take a look at one another.

Answer 3

Ah, so true -- so very, very true. We did not fear -- there were no shootings in the schools, and yes, we could go anywhere and not be afraid.

Do you remember the times when the mothers on the street knew MORE about the school day than you did -- and BEFORE you got home from school? That each and every other MOM was like your mom -- and could punish you for doing 'bad' -- because everyone was considered a family. When knowing your neighbors meant that they DEFINITELY Knew you -- all about you, nurtured you, and they were referred to politely instead of being SWORN at by irresponsible teens!

Answer 4

This pretty much sums it up. I've thought about these things myself (b 1943). Remember the car seats that hooked over the front seat of the car? It was made out of canvas and had these holes that your legs hung through. Modern mothers would freak. We didn't have anyone shooting up our schools either, did we?

Answer 5

I am a kid from the 70s and bravo to you for posting this pleasant, insightful, delightful question/answer that you have!!

It is sad in a way that times change, but we all adjust and life goes on.

We will survive no matter what! :)

Answer 6

I grew up during much of this time, Leno is funny, but he does not have things in perspective. It's a different world, I bet he doesn't smoke, or let his kids out to play alone,

Answer 7

This is so true! When I was a kid, we made skateboards by tying a piece of wood onto roller skates, and never heard of a helmet. There is a lot to be said about kids running outside playing creatively and the simple life . . . . thanks for sharing this!

Answer 8

Whatever the source of the first part of the quote, thanks! It was quite a bit more entertaining than Leno's quote. And I didn't even grow up in the 30s - 70s.

Answer 9

God was not in the pledge of allegiance to begin with. God was put in in the 60s. I know because I was born in the 50s and we were taught "One Nation Indivisiable"...Not "One Nation Under God" YES some of us did survive mothers who smoked and drank while pregnant. Some of us were born prematurely and most of us have had some form of lung ailment most of our lives. Millions of us grew up with asthma and other respritory diseases because or mother's smoking during pregnancy affected the development of OUR lungs. Yeah they at all that fatty foods and had cholesterol levels over 300 and died from heart attacks in their early 50s...some in their 40s. And that lead base paint...led to many of us becoming what was termed as "feeble minded" or retarded because the lead affected our brain cells (gosh you don't suppose that's WHY they outlawed it do you?), our fathers would get drunk and beat the crap our of our mothers or us and nobody called the cops...if they were called they would simply admonishing our mothers for doing something her HUSBAND didn't like her doing. Like she DESERVED to have the crap beat out of her for doing it. If we had to go to the hospital after a brutal beating by our fathers and it was asked "How did your nose get broken" we could actually tell the truth and after the nose was set and the damage assed we were handed over to the very same parent that put us in hospital to being with and we were told, "well maybe next time you won't tell your sister to shut up." THAT is what we went through between the 30s and 1979, only those who didn't live through it fantasize about "the good old days". Those of us who lived them found very little good about them.

Answer 10

AMEN
you're absolutely right
not one of the things you mentioned is false.(i could mention many many more)
good times they were..... and are no more
thanks for the remembrances