What are some of the things you did as a child that would never be allowed today?

Question

Tonight we were talking with friends about the differences in being a child today, than 20 - 30 or more years ago.

I was allowed to come home from school alone at 9 yrs. old. We were always outside and our parents were almost never with us. We were always playing near a creek and pond. We didn't have computers or video games to entertain us, yet we were always busy and rarely in trouble (we were far from perfect, but were never in serious trouble).

What did you do that you wouldn't let your own children do?

Answer 1

I got this e-mail the other day and SOME of it is funny, some is sad that it was like that lol!

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 computer! s, 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!

Answer 2

I dont know how old your son is but good luck with that -- By the time he is a full blown teenager you are going to see dyed hair and baggy pants as not worth fighting over, and as for the no sex rule? ROFL It will depend entirely on your son. I think every parent in the world has tried that and most with no success. What you need to do is keep communication open, dont be harshly judgemental if he breaks YOUR rules and let him know he can talk to you about anything, and I mean anything and you wont faint, scream or go nuts on him. You will just nod and say "I see" "how do you feel about that then --" and hope to gently influence his choices so he makes wiser ones the next time My rules were: 1. no parties or sleep overs on school nights 2. no hanging around the mall 3. no swearing or using racist language 4. no using my stuff without asking 5. be considerate of neighbours and polite 6. no skipping school (yah right) 7. no drinking or drugs 8. no tatoos, no pierced tongue or nipples and my daughter came home with a gecko tatoo on her stomach and a pierced tongue 9. dont do anything that endangers anyones health or life 10. always always phone home if you are late, or if you need a ride 11. DONT ever get in a car with someone who has been drinking 12. always leave a phone number where you will be when you go out. 13. i get to meet ALL your friends and dates 14. no TV before evening and not until homework is done unless it is pouring rain or -45 C and you cant be outside

Answer 3

I was often left alone from a very young age - well before the age of 6. That wasn't OK back then, and it certainly wouldn't be allowed now.
My sister, brother, and I used to go skating on a pond near our house all the time. That's a BIG no - no now; even a seemingly well frozen pond can have weak spots. In fact, my brother and I had the ice crack all around us when he was 5 and I was 7 - thank God we were taught in school how to get off the ice if that happened, or else I wouldn't be here today.
We used to eat raw cookie dough - yuck! I don't want to risk my son getting food poisoning now. OK, OK - he did have some on Christmas Eve, but only because he stole the bowl and looked so darn guilty and cute when I caught him =)
Unfortunately, we live in a different world these days. It's no longer safe to let kids to play in the woods unsupervised for hours on end. We need to keep a closer eye on them than in generations past, or else risk them disappearing forever. But hey, it's a small price to pay for my child's safety.

*EDIT* Hubby just reminded me of another one. When he was a baby (WAAAAAY back in the early 70's), car seats weren't required. When he was a year old, he just rode with a regular seat belt. I remember my MIL saying that if they were driving and he was getting wild, they would sit him on the floor of the car. Yikes!

Answer 4

I did pretty much the same things you said....played outside without adult supervision, walked to and from school at a young age and even took public transportation with my older sister to go ice skating downtown when I was about 11. I would NEVER let my kids do any of those things now. Times have changed far too much and even kids running to the corner store for their parents is almost unheard of now. In Toronto where I live just a few years ago a 10 year old girl was walking one block home from her friends house and was kidnapped, raped and murdered. It is a sad reality in this day and age. You just cannot be too careful.

Answer 5

Yeah i remember having no video games and definitely no computer. With the only TV in the house being a 12 or 13 inch black and white with bunny ears and foil. I was definitely allowed to walk all over the place by the age of 8 or 9.

Answer 6

When I was 9 years old, I used to hang out down in the park by the river, walk downtown to do my paper route, go to the movies, do some shopping... That's when the bad man convinced my little sister & I to get into his truck.

My kids won't get to do that. Not until I've made sure that they have sense enough to stay & be safe in those kinds of situations. They're getting there, by the way - bad man tried to get my 6yo to go into his truck when she was riding her bike on the sidewalk in front of our house last fall. Her brother ran inside & told dad - she said 'No'. But, still, even that was wake-up call enough to start up the safety talks again & keep a closer eye on them outside (and, obsessively, inside for a few weeks).

Just because we had all kinds of freedom 'back in the old days' doesn't mean we were actually safer then. Things just didn't get talked about as much - there wasn't the internet bringing us news stories all day long from all over the country & all over the world. And, just because many of us survived our freedom & the danger that was there doesn't mean we can't and shouldn't be more careful and learn from the past and from the information that is currently available to us. Surviving our ignorance in the past doesn't allow us to continue to be ignorant in the present.

Answer 7

I think because times have changed we cant do alot of the things we did as children. For instance, im not going to let my son walk the streets alone or try to walk home from school without a large group. The world has become a dangerous place. Kids are becoming "mental" as well. They are learning things to early and getting into way to much trouble. I wouldnt let him hang out with his friends for long periods of time like I did. People have become weird.

Answer 8

I was allowed to go to freinds houses blocks away after school and not come home until dark (hours later) without my parents knowing where I was. I was allowed to walk a mile to the park to go sledding and ice skating by myself even after dark. I walked home alone from school at a young age, everything I would not let my kids do now because it's just not safe anymore.

Answer 9

I stayed home and watched my little bro and sis when I was 10 every day after school until about 2 or 3 in the morning when my parents were working. I definately wouldn't let my kids do that.

Answer 10

Everything you mentioned, plus I distinctly remember riding in the back of my grandparents' station wagon, with all the bags, strollers, etc., lying down with my brother, no seat belts or anything. Can you imagine! And we loved it!

The truth is, though, although maybe we don't need to be quite as vigilant as we are, we weren't as safe as we might like to think we were -- it was just as dangerous for little kids to play alone near water 20 years ago as it is now -- the dangers were just less widely reported and understood.

Answer 11

I did all of the things you mentioned in your question, as well as wander around the stores alone while my mom would shop! There is NO WAY my kids can do any of the things you mentioned now. It is just such a different world now. I never knew I would be this protective of my own children. I don't feel like they are missing out because we do lots of things, but the difference is they are never alone!