Friday, June 26, 2009

It rings true

I am a product of the 70's and my little sister is 10 years younger than I and we had completely different childhood experiences. She never played outside. This is so true...it was forwarded to my by my grandfather. I thought you might enjoy it too!

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-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck 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, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
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 them 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 and X-boxes. There were no video games, 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 and no 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?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Your post makes a very good point! Kids DO need to go out and get good old fashioned exercise and social stimulation.

But...um...no, I really don't feel like running through the house with scissors, LOL! ;)

You crack me up.

Hey, thanks for the sweet comment on my blog today. To answer your question...I do get BILLS everyday in the mail, LOL!

Tat-a-Renda said...

Agree with every word of it! I am one of them and I enjoyed every minute of the time growing up. We sure are a tough breed.

*♥* Heather *♥* said...

sooo true, so true... HA HA love the running with scissors comment LOL

sewmuchfun4 said...

Hi!
I have been a lurker of yours for a while. I enjoy seeing your projects and the lovely thread you dye.

This post made me smile. My husband and I are ALWAYS telling the kids how great the 70s were. People had more time for each other then.

I agree with previous commentors though. Even in the 70s I was not allowed to run with scissors. My parents must have been very progressive. :)
Ann

Valerie said...

sherry, i was born a tat year or two earlier than you were but hey, life's good after all the tough stuff we went through. we know what's good for us and we are fighters and survivors. yay to us all!

thanks for sharing this msg. cheers!

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Ah, the good old days!

Zarina said...

I am a 70s baby too. When I compared my knees with a guy two decades younger, I was proud of all the scars that has build up. those were the good old days uh.

Unknown said...

Hi Sherry, Love your post. It is so true. If you send a child outdoors to play now they have no imagination as to how to play. They feel they should be entertained. Thankfully I raised my 2 so that they could entertain themselves and think of things to do because this stay at home Dad refused to be an entertainment director. I think parents are now taught that fresh air is harmful to there child and yes I to like to rant on about this subject.

Trayna said...

I'm in a quandary - I agree wholeheartedly with your post (I'm a 60's/70's child) BUT part of me hesitates as I am now the mother of an 8 yr old......I would LOVE to be able to just send him out to play as I did but I can't......very unfortunately times have changed for the worse and certainly with the traffic we have, the lack of respect for other people and their property, and the odd very strange person around it is no longer the world I grew up in. He probably would be okay (as I was) but I personally am not willing to risk potentially his life on a maybe! It is SO sad and a very sad reflection on "progress"!!!

Ridgewoman said...

Well Gee...ummm I HAD youngsters in the 70's...but I WAS a youngster in the 50's..those cool flouncy, slips under circle skirts, peter pan collars. I played outside and fell from trees, K-rais (you know, those beside the road? guard rails) and was hit with a baseball bat (sat a bit too close for a catcher) and shot with a BB gun *by a matchstick. Had numerous burned toes from tossed cigarettes (nasty things) and nails that came up through the arch of my foot. OH, a bit by a Welsh pony that my cousin owned! I ate green onions that still had dirt on them, and raw hamburger on toast in the 40's.
Surely you've heard that treat. Of course today's 'store bought' beef couldn't be eaten that way ~ but back in the day ~ I made sure my daughters ate a little dirt, and watched cloud formations while on their backs in the grass. They also had "mud pie" days! and remember, "mystery trips."
Thanks for taking me down memory road! Hugs Bev