How did we survive?

[Chariclo]

Found this amusing - thought I would share...


To the survivors: According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's 60's and 70's probably shouldn't have survived.

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 paint.

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 form 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 we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones-unthinkable.

We would spend hours building our go carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to f?ind out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo64, X-boxes, no video games at all,
no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, cell phones, personal computers or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends! 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

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

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and 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!

[Kevin]

And then came computers, video games, and enhanced television!

[Tiki]

Wow, Melissa.....that is REALLY food for thought! Actually with all the stuff I got up to overseas through the years, I'm amazed I am still here too! :icon_eek:

[captlen]

amen to that list.

[cgrite]

SO true.......!

[Monica]

Maybe amen for you guys... but you don't have to complain about it to your grandkids... ugh!!! Okay, its nice if you say how things use to be, but when someones parents or grandparent goes OUT of their way to tell the kids today how it use to be like and that the kids today shouldn't be complaining and this in turn only makes the kid frusterated or inconfidant then the child becomes resentlful or have feelings of hatred...

A lot of todays kids have to be carefull of obesity (that little invention called junk food, as well as tv and games that they do all day long), boredom because we got bored of the games or tv that we were watching, and just about everything else sounds boring except for going to the park or the arcade with friends... it can also lead to more problems with parents saying how it use to be, peer pressure, and boredom that can lead to drugs and alcohol abuse... I don't really want to think of every little thing that kids face more and more so today now because of a lot of the 'greatest' inventions made not too long ago by the older generations that well, I'll have to say that I do enjoy some of them!

[Chariclo]

Hey Monica - I am only 34 - I don't have any grandkids! I do have children however, 14, 11, and 5- that I have raised in a technicologically advanced household. And they make me aware of what a wonderful childhood I had without all the dings and whistles that they are so familiar with.

And I do from time to time tell them all about the good old days - but not as a way to make them resentful. I think that generally kids today are used to being entertained as opposed to finding their own entertainment. I try to teach them that they are responsible for themselves - instead of relying on other people or things. I also try to instill some sort of gratitude for what they have - that others may not.

My kids actually have fun hearing me go on and on about life "way back in the eighties!" And they sure do laugh alot when they see pictures of me with big hair too!

[Monica]

LOL Melissa! I occasionally enjoy hearing about the 'good ole days' from other people though with my mothers side of the family it's usually always about being punished, having to work hard, hiding wooden spoons, etc. Between my mother and two aunts there is this thing going around that when talking about my grandmother, and talking inbetween eachother, they usually say "It's YOUR mother" or something other rather than "Mom called today" it's "You're mother called today". It's quite funny, and there are also rumours that my aunts moved across the country to get away from my grandmother! In truth though, some things can get too harsh, so family wise I believe my sister is actually enjoying it in New Zealand...

I do much prefer the 'good ole things' rather that things easily remembered because they caused an impact on that persons life, and it really wasn't that great either...