Those Born 1920-1979

[Church Militant]

Those Born 1920-1979
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 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 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!

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?!

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?'

For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go ahead and ignore this.

For the rest of us...

Pass it on!

[rstegeman]

Great post! Really makes you think of what it used to be like. Not sure what happened along the way that made the generations from the baby boomers on to molly-coddle their kids and shirk any personal responsibilities. We are definitely doing a great disservice to our future generations by not allowing for mistakes and failure.

Stop giving ribbons to every child just for participation. They eventually learn that there is no meaning, no accomplishment behind it. It's just an empty gesture. I remember EARNING my first trophy and what a feeling it was. When I didn't get one, I just worked harder and was a better player for it. My feelings weren't hurt and I wasn't scarred if I didn't get a trophy/ribbon. Ahh, the good ole days.

[BlessedRosary3]

Wow, this is an AWESOME post! I'm a '74 baby. Amazing when you look at the differences now, isn't it.

[Church Militant]

Yeah, it does make ya think...

[AnneMary]

Greetings from 1979s one , exactly on the border of the period ..
Some of the affirmations are true like

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

some not ...but I agree that's a great topic !

[BlessedRosary3]

Makes me proud to be born when I was.

[Lucania]

Great post! I was born in 1955, I can relate to every one of those EXCEPT the one about sharing my drink! My dear Mother, God rest her soul, put the fear in us about drinking after someone or vice versa. There could have been an exception, like if my friend was actually dying & in need of a drink. Then my dear Mother would probably say, well, alright, just this time, but let him have the rest of it!

[Joe 5859]

Interesting food for thought.

I barely made the cut off (1978), so I think some of it applies to me and some doesn't. For example, by the time I was in Junior High, we had a Nintendo (and then Super Nintendo). I didn't get a BB gun for any birthday, nor did I have to tryout for Little League. And by my fifth and final year of Little League, I did get a trophy just for participating.

In any case, I think the general sentiment of the post/article/e-mail forward is right on. We've moved to a culture which coddles our children. Parents give their kids cell phones because they are too afraid to be unable to contact them at any given moment. I think much of this leads to a generation of people (especially the men) who refuse to grow up. "Failure to launch" is an all too real scenario for many.

And yet, ironically, in other ways we force our kids to grow up too fast by increasingly explicit and graphic sexual situations in TV, film, and music.

So kids are losing their innocence much younger, yet remaining childish much longer. Very strange.

[chewchoo]

Originally Posted by Joe 5859

So kids are losing their innocence much younger, yet remaining childish much longer. Very strange.

and very profound!

[Jennifer G.]

I was an early '77 baby, and I still vaguely remember some of the 70s! (red checkered curtains, and blue plaid bedroom wallpaper!!! )

Quite a few of those are so true, and I have about a half dozen scars on my head to prove some of those points about cuts and bruises!

Those Born 1920-1979
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.

Nope, mine didn't, but she did paint while 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.

But, I remember the lead water fountains at school. We all drank out of it and turned out ok.

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.

I remember when they invented childproof lids!

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.

Or in the back of a suburban. I don't even remember carseats...

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

I think this was a summertime tradition!

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!

Playing hide and seek, then trying the "tag" the person who keeps running to a new hiding spot when you find them will do the trick.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

Pretty much.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

Nope, my mom wouldn't even let me past the neighbor's houses or across the street, and it wasn't even a busy street...

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.

More of a boy thing I guess. We didn't really have go-carts. While we lived on a hill, way down at the bottom was a neighborhood pool...

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 Nintendo, but would play it for maybe an hour, or at night during a sleepover. Oddly enough, all of the girls in the neighborhood and I would play it probably more than the guys did.

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.

Had my mom known that back then, we'd be rich. Almost got my finger cut off on a playpen, ran through the house as fast as I could and fell down the back steps and chipped a tooth in the process, cut my head numerous times...

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.

Guy thing, I guess... my neighbor's kid had a BB gun.

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!

Only in highschool... My mom probably thought I wouldn't hear a car and get run over...

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!

I played Rubberball (like softball, but using a rubber ball - for kids under 8), and softball. There weren't any tryouts for those, though.

[John Walsh]

Born 1956. I remember ABC network debut on TV. Limited schedule & off earlier than other two, CBS & NBC. Only had black & white & we all marveled at what Disney's Wonderfull World & others would look like in color. Finally had color TV in house around 1980. Inlaws bought it for us for Christmas & we then traded B&W to brother-in-law for his stereo. Our first apartment rent was $100.00/month.

Mom was really surprised I remembered her smoking when I mentioned it in her 70's. I even described the room & dining room buffet where she kept her Pall Mall. She quit when I was 3!

Then there were the radios & TV's that needed to be warmed up.

[Katie1723]

Originally Posted by John Walsh

Then there were the radios & TV's that needed to be warmed up.

I was born in '53. I remember a TV we had that you had to feed quarters to. Somehow my parents managed to not have too many of them. And also at Christmas we had a silver tree with a color wheel. And how about milk in glass bottles delivered to your door. And the "bread man" that came around ? Ohh....and my personal favorite: the old guy who went around yelling"rags....paper......rags" once a week or so in an old beat up truck.

Kathy