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To everyone born in the 1920's, 30's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's :)

This article has been submitted by a GrownUps member. GrownUps accepts no liability for its content and the views and information contained within are not necessarily those of the GrownUps website.

Had a good laugh at this! Hope you do too!!

To everyone born in the 1920's, 30's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were 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 or shoes, not to mention, the risks some of us took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a Ute on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Red Rooster.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Fruit Tingles and some fire crackers to blow up frogs and lizards with.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, 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. We built tree houses and cubby houses and played in creek beds with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no videogames at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape or DVD movies, no surround sound,no mobilephones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet 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.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross buns at Easter time.......no really!

We were given BB guns and sling shots for our 10th birthdays,

We drank milk laced with Strontium 90 from cows that had eaten grass covered in nuclear fallout from the atomic testing at Maralinga in 1956.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

Footy had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

Our teachers used to belt us with big sticks and leather straps and bully'salways ruled the playground at school.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

Our parents got married before they had children and didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade'.....

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 70 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!

And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS

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

 

Submitted 1st Nov 2008 by GrownUps Member: enomis

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by Sofi 11th November 2008 All absolutely true... I read this article with a smile on my face... Enjoyed very much... Cheers Sofi
by Bowie 11th November 2008 We were so lucky to grow up and have all these 'normal experiences' - a pity our children aren't so free and happy.
by MRHOBO 9th September 2010 I totally agree with it all. Have a read of my article "Remember When" All the best, MR HOBO.
by MARKY MARK 15th September 2010 YES They were the days. I thank you for the smile you have put on my face the sad thing is, children today will never experience those care free days that us over 50 will never forget. Be safe and thank you again Marky Mark
by Dene 27th September 2010 How well I remember those days. Good friends, Good times, Great Parents. Fond memories.
by BigT 29th September 2010 Oh how I remember them day, BUGGER they realy where the good old days, todays kids realy havent got a clue have they,
by Leezme 1st November 2010 I love the article , I also love progress , but at what cost , .... Ain't it a curse ... :-) , that when " P C (Political Correctness ) " was introduced and enforced " P ( Practicality ) C (Common Sense ) went out the window . Society maybe the shallower for it sadly .. By Leezme
by UNTAC 7th December 2010 So very true. I really miss those days
by trainmad 11th December 2010 Oh yes they where the days . sorry todays childern are all softies thanks to the nuts in parliament whom wont to save money
by cold mountain 15th December 2010 Oh for the old days????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????//
by Remarkables 26th December 2010 I agree with you totally and how we miss those days. Thank you for enlightening the younger generation.
by honda1 31st December 2010 absolutly agerr with this post.where did it all go wrong?
by topaz 21st January 2011 those days were certainly the best, iam glad i grew up in that area, nows is all drugs, booze violence, and we had respect for our elders, which is lacking today, that article put smile on my face
by majorminor 26th February 2011 Leezme & Honda - Until western society returns to teaching children in the home, such that they reach their teens equipped with Self Responsibility, an understanding of honesty and a Moral Compass, then no amount of laws enacted by politicians are going to improve things. Putting teens, with the vaguest understanding of physics, no appreciation of doing unto others, etc., into fast cars and then wondering why we see so much carnage on our roads, while at the same time pontificating about how bad these young ones are, will fix nothing. i agree there is far to much emphasis on PC (Pontification Crap) witness this Bicycle Helmet, School Sunhat carryon. Having done well over 10,000km on nth island roads without a helmet, i cannot fathom how wearing one those will substitute for learning and care, just as with sunhats; how will young ones learn to cover up once they have reached their limit, based on skin and conditions. My bet is that all on this forum spent their entire school life without a sun hat on.
by terry1 9th March 2011 I was injured in abombed cinema , my house was bombed & my father killed, & i was machinegunned by aplane on my way home frome school all of course during the last big war but I never received any counseling, I feel very hard done by terry shorter.
by celticlass 15th April 2011 How absolutley wonderful. I remember those days with many happy memories. Thanks.
by raydx 31st May 2011 Great memories of great days
by ange024 6th June 2011 i just loved this story .reminded me of when i was a child. miss the good old days.
by grah025 18th June 2011 Thanks for the memories!!!
by dean008 21st June 2011 Ahhh the good old days!!!! Had soooo much fun back then.....thanks for that :)
by nibbln 27th June 2011
by Square Wheeler 30th June 2011 They were good days and I had a wonderful and fortunate childhood. but I also remember a friend who got Polio and died and another who was more than 12 months in hospital, recovered but now in his 70s has one leg shorter than the other and painful spine problems because of the polio, so there were some not-so-good things.
by Flash Gordon 6th July 2011 How true it is!!!
by jenn094 19th August 2011 Got to agree with everything, too much political correctness, namby pamby, soft soaping now, but in saying that, hasn't every generation thought the young of today has it easy! I wouldn't want to be a kid today for anything, loved my childhood even though we didn't have a lot of material things, always knew mum and dad would be there for us and they still are, I salute my mum and dad
by gone fishing 22nd August 2011 Totally agree and more so. Strange though, that these are the same generations that have created the current soft, PC environment.
by henr003 9th September 2011 I Totally agree, we could experiment with all sorts of things and ventures. Never had to look over your shoulder or have some PC crap saying you cant do that.
by skoob 17th September 2011 We had it so good,Was born in U.K. went to cinemas by ourselves at an early age my nana worked there so that was ok. Came to N.Z. in 1962 .Kids today got all the bells and whistle but not the freedom we had.Parents today work to pay bills and take kids to out of school activites,maybe the kids would rather have quality time with mum and dad.Who knows ask the kids maybe!!!!
by Tineke 27th October 2011 Was born in a wartorn Netherlands with no toys etc but made our own fun. Played baseball with a stick wittled on both ends , a bigger stick to hit it with, trees or jackets on the street as a base and away we went. Begged to use old blankets and made a hut with strings in the street and invited kids in and had a great time telling spooky tales and playing tiddlywinks. Moving to NZ in 1960 was the best thing my parents did, my brother and I arrived in a steamtrain from Wellington and saw Parnell Bath, the ocean and Rangitoto and that was that for me, paradise! Went to the movies by myself, got refused as I had to be 15 and I was 17, no I.D issued apart from my alien book which I was supposed to carry all the time. Hated St Benedict as the nuns were awful and hit children which was outlawed in the 1800 in Europe and most of time it was not our fault, did not understand english as there were no lessons to be had at that time and you learned in the playground. Also learned you could not get pregnant if you stood up and did it (did he think I did not receive sex education in the Netherlands) and was always wondering why we were so far behind the rest of the world until off course internet arrived, air travel got cheaper and we left the common market! New markets appeared, new people arrived bringing with them their different culture and food and have we changed! Mum used to be at home when we came home from school, no takeaways but now my daugher works as they can't afford the mortgage and two kids on one pay even though they live frugally. But do the kids suffer? My 6 year old grandson talks to me as though he is 30. I make them play outside with me kicking soccer balls, trampolining, feeding the ducks and a stray rabbit that likes our garden (fresh shoots coming up in the veg garden) and enjoying the sound of a tui calling to its mate! At night they are happy to have a bath and listen to a story and bed, tired but happy! Still kids these days even though the technology is so vast I am starting to lose touch, arghh!! Me, the techo nutter!!!
by deli002 30th October 2011 Absolutely correct, at the time, back in those days I thought our upbringing was hard, but now, looking back, it was great and unforgettable. How funny, I remember our family travelling with another family from Taumarunui to Kawhia, about 12 kids, 4 adults, on the back of this old truck just with a tarp over the top and the back open. Oh what fun, we were ten foot tall and bullet proof. Those were the days, no regrets
by gerald006 27th January We had parents who were normal. We grew up with their advice and their love.If we erred(like scrumping apples), the local bobby would deliver a swift kick up our behind. Rarely did we stray again.We listened to the radio and my heroes were Dick Barton Special Agent(6.45 nightly) and The Red Shadow. I'd use a dining chair for a boat or a plane, and had adventures that were out of this world. I'd be excited at Christmas to get a Tangerine at the bottom of my sock.And we had fun finding three-penny pieces in the Christmas pud.I grew up during the Second World War in a small scottish village, and just had heaps of fun.Thank you for reminding me.
by heat68260 31st January Absolutely so right - when did everything get so PC. Watching my own children raise their children, I wonder why they don't just wrap them up in cotton wool - kids don't enjoy themselves these days and don't know how to make their own fun.
by b70861 17th February that was my life written in black and white...i have a big smile on my face...make's me wish i was young again...thank you for the moment
by waik70963 20th February That was awesome to read lol...The old days aye.... Thank you
by hild72227 04:52pm 2nd May 2012 Very funny and so very true!
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