Were you born between 1930 and 1970?

[Cat]

You’re forgetting something. All those folks who grew up in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s grew up to make those changes in society that disturb you so much. Either they learned from the mistakes of the past and wanted to change them or their past experiences made them so selfish they wanted to change society so newer generations would not have as much fun as they had when they were kids. Which is it?

My thoughts exactly. Our wonderful, idyllic childhood and stellar upbringing apparently didn’t work.

Or maybe the asbestos and the red Kool Aid and those Incredible Edibles that we ate after making them in our Mattel Thingmakers (with real hot electrical devices that could actually give us burns!) affected our brains and made us turn our society into what it is now. I’ve often wondered if maybe something we did or ate or exposed ourselves to back then is the reason all our children are so fat now.

 

[whatevergirl]

It could also be from all that eating of Play-doh growing up…anyone ever eat play-doh?

 

[whatevergirl]

we also got exercise while changing between our 2-3 channels and adjusting the volume to suit our parents. We had to get off the chesterfield and walk to the tv. :d

lol!!

 

[Cat]

It could also be from all that eating of Play-doh growing up…anyone ever eat play-doh?

Of course, after first molding it into cookies and blue chicken legs and mini pizzas.

Play Doh smells so good–I wouldn’t mind a room air freshener that smells like Play Doh.

 

[CatholicFireman]

It could also be from all that eating of Play-doh growing up…anyone ever eat play-doh?

Um…yes…and …um…crayons.

 

[maryjk]

I also remember records. Remember record players???

I love this thread…brings back fond memories. *

Remember nothing, I have one in my living room. And I have records to go with it.

My son, born in 1995, thought my husband and I were crazy when we pulled out the records to go with the player when my parents purchased the player for us.

Now, he loves the “oldies.”

Remember fried bologna sandwiches on white bread? Maybe with a slice of yellow American? Yum.

 

[CatholicFireman]

Remember nothing, I have one in my living room. And I have records to go with it.

My son, born in 1995, thought my husband and I were crazy when we pulled out the records to go with the player when my parents purchased the player for us.

Now, he loves the “oldies.”

Remember fried bologna sandwiches on white bread? Maybe with a slice of yellow American? Yum.

Ditto on everthing! Except my daughter was born in 1991. The Beatles are #1 in her book (she’s now an authority on them…lol). She also likes most of what I listend to so I get to hear them aaaaall over again!:extrahappy:

 

[ack]

My thoughts exactly. Our wonderful, idyllic childhood and stellar upbringing apparently didn’t work.

Or maybe the asbestos and the red Kool Aid and those Incredible Edibles that we ate after making them in our Mattel Thingmakers (with real hot electrical devices that could actually give us burns!) affected our brains and made us turn our society into what it is now. I’ve often wondered if maybe something we did or ate or exposed ourselves to back then is the reason all our children are so fat now.

Very true…

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

Anyone remember the explosion in crime rates in the USA in the 1970s, and the crack epidemic that followed? The upstanding citizens responsible for this were certainly born between 1930 and 1970. I read an study that attributed the spike of violent crime in the US to the high levels of lead in the environment in the 50s and 60s, after automobile use rose but before leaded gasoline was phased out. After unleaded gasoline was introduced in the mid 70s, generations born afterwards were less violent than their peers born in the 50s and 60s – and crime decreased when they came of age in the 90s.

Seeing that violent crime rates dropped sharply after 1990, it looks like young men born after 1970 were far LESS violent than those born before. Maybe being born between 1930 and 1970 wasn’t so great after all?

 

[Cat]

I was born in 1957, so I think I got the best childhood in history.

I was born long after polio was conquered, so I didn’t have to worry about catching it. Also, antibiotics were in use, and there was little to no antibiotic resistance, a very real and potentially apocalyptic problem in medicine today.

I was born when most sensible, decent people were in favor of Civil Rights for all people, instead of trying to prove from the Bible that certain races were created to be the slaves of white people. When I was a teenager in the 1970s, it was perfectly OK for black and white kids to eat at a McDonalds together, at least up North. I don’t know about down South.

I was born at a time when the boys of my age were too young to go to Viet Nam. That war was ended in 1972, when my husband was only 14.

I was born at a time when most rock music was about peace and love instead of sex and violence.

I was born at a time when Vatican II made the Mass English and when the Catholic Church stopped telling Protestants that we were all going to hell.

I was born at a time when there was only one fast food restaurant, McDonalds, and when a Coke A Cola was only six ounces instead of 20 oz. In my high school class of 600 kids, there was only one fat girl, and by today’s standards, she would be considered “thin.”

I was born before malls were created, so I did all my shopping at department stores downtown that I could actually get to by riding the city bus instead of begging my parents to be dropped off. It made me feel more like a grown up.

I was born at a time when there were only three channels on television, and most of the time, nothing good was on. Also, there was a clear delineation between “prime time” (which was family TV) and grown up television programs, and adults would never have allowed us children to watch the grown up shows like Peyton Place.

I was born at a time when most moms worked at home raising families, so it was safe for us kids to roam the neighborhood from morning til dark because there was always a mom watching out for us.

 

[livnlern]

*Another memory I have …is that of having to sit at the dinner table when I was around 6 or 7…and remain there until I finished everything on my plate. I cannot imagine making my kids eat something green that they didn’t like. There was one night, I won. I sat there until 10pm, refusing to eat whatever it was …and my dad finally took the plate, gave me a nasty look, and scraped the plate in the garbage. I showed him.

Seriously though, my family was obsessed with eating everything on your plate… That’s another thing of yesteryear…parents nowadays, don’t really get obsessed about these types of things, anymore. *:

I was always the last one to leave the table! My mom wasn’t a bad cook, but she always made the mushiest, most over-cooked vegetables possible…brussel sprouts, cabbage, asparagus,etc. Yuck!
To this day, when I eat a meal I tend to leave a little bit of whatever we’re having. I say that I’m full, but it’s probably a little rebellious part of me that still doesn’t want to eat everything on my plate!

 

[dulcissima]

I think the one that made me smile the most was the

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

I so remember that. We would leave the house and go, go, go. We would ride our bikes miles away and play in abandoned construction sites. We just had to be home before dark and somehow my mom wouldn’t be worried.

Although, often enough, my friends would come to the door and I would tell them I couldn’t play because I was reading. I just can not picture one of my kids saying such a thing.

 

[The_Reginator]

I also remember records. Remember record players???

I still have my Dual turntable connected to my Marantz receiver. All I need is a new stylus and I can hear my vast vinyl collection again!!

 

[whatevergirl]

I still have my Dual turntable connected to my Marantz receiver. All I need is a new stylus and I can hear my vast vinyl collection again!!

Aw, that’s terrific!

 

[Norseman82]

Yep, I was born in 1955. My fourth grade teacher used to throw chalkboard erasers at misbehavers.

I recall a teacher throwing chalk at classmates who were inattentive or sleeping in class. That teacher is now pastor of my parish.

 

[trish_scotland]

For part of that time, one could also mention God in a public school. And one could
even PRAY! Tells you something, doesn’t it?

Yes it does i when i went to school our religion was a huge part of it and the reverent would visit us at assembly on a regular basis and we the school would visit him at the church on christmas and easter. And guess what we all loved it.

 

[trish_scotland]

This, unfortunately, was also true.

I had a classmate who was always grabbed by the ear by one particular teacher nearly every day from 7th to 12th grade (I went to a small school). She would literally PULL him up from his seat and out into the hallway, because he was a little slow. From what I recall, he was a nice kid, but he just did not “catch on” very well (I am sure he had a learning disability, looking back). As he got bigger, she took to smacking him with the long pointy stick she used to point out areas on maps or higher on the board.

There were also certain areas of the playground and certain equipment I and my friends could never play on, because the bullies hung out there. Heaven forbid if we tried to use it…the teachers just told US to stay away from that area. The bullies never got disciplined or told to let us use it.

This is whay that statment had to be mentioned as we had bad times and good that is important to tell as we know it wasent all good. I cringed when my dad told me he was late for school and it had been snowing he had no gloves or scarf so his hands were freezing he got the belt and it stung extra hard on his hands because of this. I dont know how teachers did that? To hit a child is terrible.

 

[trish_scotland]

Yep, I was born in 1955. My fourth grade teacher used to throw chalkboard erasers at misbehavers. And drag kids outside and slam them against the wall. They deserved it though. I don’t remember ever thinking the teacher was wrong!

Well i can tell you she was wrong there is no justce in abuse and to assault a child is just that is it not. Your teacher may have been right that the kids were misbehaving but there are other ways to diciplin a child without beating them. But maybe thats another thread. I feel very strongly about no hitting policy!!!

 

[trish_scotland]

You’re forgetting something. All those folks who grew up in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s grew up to make those changes in society that disturb you so much. Either they learned from the mistakes of the past and wanted to change them or their past experiences made them so selfish they wanted to change society so newer generations would not have as much fun as they had when they were kids. Which is it?

I personaly think that what happened here is we went too far and beleive it or not we will continue to do so as we live in a sociaty obsessed with changing everything. Weather this is a bad thing or not who am i to say. Yes people from that generation made these changes and that is because at that time they wanted improvment we all do. But what happens then is you look back. YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TILL IT IS GONE.So wether you think that those were the good times or not is up to you.

 

[trish_scotland]

We also got exercise while changing between our 2-3 channels and adjusting the volume to suit our parents. WE HAD TO GET OFF THE CHESTERFIELD AND WALK TO THE TV.

HAHA I remember that we had a tv which you had to turn a turn nob to change the channel and we always got “bairn turn over please” ten times a night lol

 

[CHRISTINE77]

I think the one that made me smile the most was the

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

I so remember that. We would leave the house and go, go, go. We would ride our bikes miles away and play in abandoned construction sites. We just had to be home before dark and somehow my mom wouldn’t be worried.

Although, often enough, my friends would come to the door and I would tell them I couldn’t play because I was reading. I just can not picture one of my kids saying such a thing.

I used to tell my friend that exactly. My sister and I would ride our bikes to the library and fill up the basket with books. Then I’d lie on the lawn chair in the backyard and read and read.

But it was fun to play too. We made Barbie doll houses out of shoe boxes, and played “house” and “school” in each other’s garages. Or skate (remember skate keys?) on the sidewalk around the cul-de-sac, around and around. Or go play in the hills or the orchards or the creek. Those were the days, especially summer. We would play outside from dawn to nightfall!