> TO THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 30's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's...

hell603

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> First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while
they carried us.



> They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and didn't get tested for
diabetes.

> 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, not to mention, the risks we took
hitchhiking.



> As children, we would ride in cars with no 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, bread and butter and drank soda pop 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. 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 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no
cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat
booms..........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 made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although
we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did
the worms live in us forever.


> 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!


> This generation has 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!


> And YOU are one of t! hem! CONGRATULATIONS! Please pass this on to
others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the
government regulated our lives for our own good.


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

turtlecat

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Aww.. Now I feel like a sissie pants :/ Though.. my parents are surprisingly strict, and I ended up at least somewhat law abiding and parent respecting (somehow- against my will. ) I do appreciate this though, as it's ALL TRUE!! and it's true that this is something different from now, and the way MY generation is raising their kids :p
 

tulip2454

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Yep - another survivor here!
Funny though how this changes over time and another 10 years is added on to incude the next generation. The last one I saw was only up to 1960's.
 

gopher

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Yeah. And a lot of kids got ran over, killed in car accidents, abducted by freaks, drank poison, had polio. and such.

I like my safer world.
 

myrage

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I remember some of those things in the '80s But I also remember things changing in the '80s. Yeah, the world is safer for kids, but out of all the younger generations that I've worked with (about 25 and younger) I've found ONE VERY responsible, HARD Working girl, she's 17 and works harder then a lot of the adults we have working with us. I also found ONE very hardworking guy, he was 18, I think he's almost 21 now. He however wasn't quite as responsible as her. But don't forget that I live in a VERY small community. I'm sure that where I live also has a bearing on the kids. This is a safe place. People leave their cars running when they go in christmas shopping without locking their car doors. Some people leave their front doors wide open at night in the summer time. People give people rides in the winter time when they see them walking and don't know them. We've had a shooting at a school, but that was an adult, and he was gunna kill himself, and thought he'd shoot up our middle school first (6th and 7th grades, about 10 or so years ago, one kid ended up in the hospital, just the gunman died)

I like where I live. I just hate the closed minded people that live here with me.
 

leli

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Okay, so maybe I'm not on the list, but I was born in 1982, and other than the fact that I don't think my mother drank or smoked while pregnant, I did ALL that stuff....I actually used to try to fall out of trees....something about being a superhero or something. And I had no broken bones, plenty of skinned knees and bruises and, most importantly, an imagination. I'm not saying we should take away the bike helmets, just that I liked the era I grew up in.
 

pinkdaisy226

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Aw, I'm not included since I, too, was born in 1982... but maybe in a couple of years...
 

carolcat

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I too am a survivor, but the world that we grew up in was a gentler place than it is today. My parents didn't have to tell ME about child molesters or sex when I was five so that I would know what an "inappropriate" touch was....sigh....I feel sorry for people who are raising children now. I think we were the lucky ones.... :-(
 

dicknleah

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I too am a survivor. Mom drank and smoked, my twin and I ate a whole bottle of excedrin when we were 3, There was no cable tv,computers nor video games, and we played outside, all day, until the street lights came on. Did I mention that we played outside ALL day.
We have two teenagers that spend thier lives playing videos, watching tv and using computers. No wonder there is an obesity crisis among kids these days.
 

rapunzel47

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Originally Posted by carolcat

I too am a survivor, but the world that we grew up in was a gentler place than it is today. My parents didn't have to tell ME about child molesters or sex when I was five so that I would know what an "inappropriate" touch was....sigh....I feel sorry for people who are raising children now. I think we were the lucky ones.... :-(
Bingo!

Another survivor here, and every time I see this piece, I feel sad for the kids today. They have so much that we didn't, but at what cost?
 

fwan

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well hey i was born in 1986 and my mother smoke and drank when she was pregnant but not often... and i got to experience nearly all of those things
so im a survivor too
 

amy-dhh

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Another survivor here.

And let me add to the list. We actually PLAYED with our imaginations instead of toys that required batteries


I was born in 1970, so I remember playing outside all day, until I hear mom's voice in the distance calling my name as the street lights came on. Road a bike without a helmet. Climbed trees, broke bones, and became a stronger independent woman for it.

Alas... world is not as safe as it once was, while we've all become hyper-aware of the risks. Someday, maybe, we'll find the balance (as they are now releasing video games that make kids get off their butts! Like the dance mat... LOL)
 

flisssweetpea

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I'm a survivor too. And, can you believe it, a lawyer who hates the litigation culture
- so you tripped over a cracked paving slab - weren't you looking where you were going? That's not generally the answer that's wanted though
 

rockcat

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Quote:
Originally Posted by carolcat
I too am a survivor, but the world that we grew up in was a gentler place than it is today. My parents didn't have to tell ME about child molesters or sex when I was five so that I would know what an "inappropriate" touch was....sigh....I feel sorry for people who are raising children now. I think we were the lucky ones.... :-(


"Bingo!

Another survivor here, and every time I see this piece, I feel sad for the kids today. They have so much that we didn't, but at what cost?"


Double Bingo!
 

ilovecats

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...and you guys are still alive and kicking! I'm impressed.
You guys deserve a huge reward. I can't give it too you, but two thumbs up!
I'm a sissie pants as well. Sorry you guys had so much trouble, but now you know you truly rock!
 
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