To Those Born 1920-1979

[1niksder]

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.

[Countertrey]

[Warmother]

I still drink from the garden hose.

[flamethrower]

Man life was just so simpler before the liberals got their hooks into basic american lives.

[Fios]

Man life was just so simpler before the liberals got their hooks into basic american lives.

This is not a political thread and it isn't going to become one ... back to the topic at-hand, my formative years came during the '80s but much of the above holds true. We did have Nintendos but, and this will come as a shock to the fat kids of today, we played some during the evenings but when the weather was nice, we went outside. Most of the time, we were NOT playing video games.

[ChocolateMilk]

i was born in 89' and i did like all of those things when i was a kid... or a younger kid. but i get what you are trying to say and i agree with you 100%.. in my area, the schools arent allowed to play dodgeball any more because it targets the weak kids. and we arent allowed to play tag because it consists of too much touching and pushing. Its freakin ridiculous.

[ArizonaHOG]

And cell phones. Kids these days cannot survive for more than 2 minutes without text-msging someone. I can remember having to find a pay phone just to call a friend.

[KazooSkinsFan]

we went outside. Most of the time, we were NOT playing video games.

And our parents didn't worry about where we were, they just told us when to be home.

[skinz74]

I had the pleasure of meeting one of my inlaws this past week at a family reunion in West Virginia...please...no banjo/deliverance jokes. One of my wifes family members was an original Navy Seabee (for those who don't know, they're constructionmen.) During World War II, in the South Pacific, he, and many strong back/strong willed MEN built bases, island by island, basically by hand. This includes constructing an airfield, hangers, and harbor. There were no cranes or fancy gadgets...everything was muscled into place. I found myself both amazed and ashamed simultaneously. I was in the presence of a man who had selflessly accomplished great things without habitual back patting, and realized that my generation was mostly incapable of this type of intestinal fortitude. Gentlemen/Ladies...we are living in the declination of the Western Civiliaztion...until we learn from our past...we are doomed to repeat its mistakes.

$.02

[Skinsfan55]

I grew up in the 80's and early 90's and a lot of that holds true as well.

I wonder what happened... it can't all be because of video games, I'm thinking it has a lot to do with dual income families... I mean, my mom worked when I was a kid, but she worked as a school librarian, so she was home when I was.

When you can keep an eye on your kids, and get to know them better... you can trust them more.

[Justice Hog]

When I was 18, in 1981, we had this cool game called PONG. Kept us goin' for hours!

Not.

Playing outside was much more fun!

[Catzi Mars]

I came into the world in 1963, and I can see that much has changed.

This thread has made me think of what we could, and should, do for our kids now, that is, those of us who have children.