According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80's, probably shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.

We had no childproof lids or locks 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 pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors!

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in
it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one soft drink with four friends , from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode 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 would leave home in the morning and play all day , as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound,
personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends! We went outside and found them.

We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out any eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home 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.

Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and
were held back to repeat the same grade.
Horrors!

Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.

The idea of parents bailing us out if we got in trouble in school or
broke a law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the school or the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers, and inventors, ever.

We had freedom, failure, success, and
responsibility --- and we learned how to deal with it.
And you're one of them!
Congratulations.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could drag our kids back to the "good old days"?

Man does all that sound familure. How nice it was

Remember when - If you were at a friends house and did something to deserve a spanking, you got one there, and then, when you got home, you got ANOTHER SPANKING!!
The reason I had very few paddlings at school was, Mom's rule, "if you get one at school you get another one when you get home", that fear was all it took for me.

You're mom was easy! The rule I had to live by was that if you got it at school, you got it times 2 when you got home!

Rant warning: I hate to say it, but a lot of that stuff went out the window when Moms started going back to work. They're just too tired to be Moms when they come home, so they either fill the kids' schedules with things to do with other people, like soccer, dance, piano lessons, or they let them veg in front of the videos. Also, many parents try to be their kid's best friend, when they really need parents! And finally, we don't take responsibility for our own actions. It is much easier to sue somebody.

Doesn't it amaze you that TV has to have celebrities do 15 second clips to tell parents some of the most obvious parenting skills? "Want to know if your kid is on drugs? Ask." "Tell them about the dangers of smoking. They'll listen." Parents nowadays should have to read a manual and pass a test before getting pregnant. OK rant over.

And no, I do not have any kids. I would have raised them like my Mom and Dad did, and would probably be in jail for disiplining my child.

Another thing to add to the list - we used to eat the cookie dough before it was even cooked, and lick the beaters dripping with cake batter while Mom was baking cookies and cake. And none of us died from salmonella poisoning.

Quote:

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According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80's, probably shouldn't have survived.

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RANT: More of us didn't back then, that why they changed these things. Many more children per thousand died back then than do now.

Two of my 4 siblings had near fatal bouts with cancer--one at 33 and the other at 37--I have no doubt these early onsets of breast cancer and Leukemia were due to something they were exposed to as children. I just don't think it is a coincidence.

Ahhh, the days of playing outside barefoot and all - Kick the Can, Hide and Seek, riding bikes for hours - We had a blast! I even remember walking down the street to a friend's house, at the tender age of 5, by myself - no way for most kids to do that these days!

We even used to play with (gasp) toy guns, playing Army, and Cops and Robbers, and Cowboys and Indians. Truly amazing that more of my friends didn't grow up to be psychopathic criminals!

Ok, my turn to rant.
There is a definite difference in "kids today". I still live at home (remember, I'm the baby of BOL), and my half-sister is now 6. There is a huge difference in how my parents raised me to how they are raising her. When I talked-back to my parents, I was in for it. When my sister does it, they ignore it. And homework? I did all that myself! If you ask me, "kids today" are "coddled" WAY TOO MUCH.
Ok, enough ranting.

Ya know, nobody walks anywhere anymore. Half the fun of going to Astoria Pool when I was a kid was walking there. It would take us about a half-hour and we would be chatting up a storm all the way. Stop for ices on the way home. My kids look at me cross-eyed if I suggest walking more than two blocks! When my son was looking at high schools, my mother suggested that he apply to my old school and live with her during the week because the buss ride would be shorter...I reminded her that I walked (at her insistance) she actually said "its way to far for him to walk" Really? did they move the building?

On disciplining children today:
Just don't do it in public!

But really, the parents must set parameters for them and stick to them; they are only children.

Nanwa, I disagree with you about what you see as parenting today. Yes, I work 40-50 hours a week, and during the school year, we just have enough time to do homework, eat dinner, watch 1/2 hour of TV (usually Seinfeld reruns) and then read together until 8:30. And my son is a wonderfully charming, polite and funny little boy. He is not overwhelmed with activities (except baseball in the spring and swimming when school is out) and I think that's a big problem with children these days. Don't get me wrong, either, there are days when he has horns and a tail (just like his Mom).

Oops, I forgot to mention, my son says I have the "hand from nowhere". That's the one that whacks him on the back of his head when he's fresh!

My son used to tell me that mother's have 8 arms and eyes in the back of their heads. It's true you know.

Eight arms and multiple sets of eyes...are you saying that Mom is really (gasp!) Spider-woman?

Sounds like an episode of the old Dick Van Dyke show. Hilarious.

My daughter is definately in a lot of activities. She has dance, scouts, soccer, gymnastics, piano and religious organizational meetings in the school year and softball and swim team in the summer. It is her choice and she always finds time to get her homework done, do her chores and spend valuable time with her family. I had thought about limiting her activities but chose not to until she is older because, unfortunately, if she doesn't learn it while she is young, she will have no chance to be involved when she is older. For instance, if she wants to be a cheerleader in high school, she will need gymnastics and dance training in order to have a chance at making the squad. In time, she will decide which activities are more important to her and cut back on the others.

Ellen,
My daughter loves to walk to school, the library, etc. She will walk or ride her bike with no questions asked. The only problem I have is that she hates being picked up in the auto, even when it is storming out.

I agree with Maria. I have three children and I pray that I won't do anything wrong raising them. I get compliments a lot about how nice, polite and hard working my kids are. They can be devils, also, but usually only at home. I remember being that way myself. Generally, raising kids in a loving home, with discipline, will yield good results. Notice I said "generally". I have a brother who, along with his wife, did everything the books said to do. The oldest boy can't relate to adults and the youngest only does things for himself. I guess I'd rather have my kids than his.

Maria, you are the kind of parent I wish they could all be! How many people actually READ with their kids these days? That is soooo great!

My nieces were brought up that most four letter words were bad, including work and read. I also have many friends who are teachers and school administrators, and they say the problem is that many parents expect the teachers to do the parenting, except for disipline. Then it is "The teacher doesn't like my child."

It is such a shame to hear that the kids who need the most help are the ones whose parents never show up for parent/teacher conferences.

How about this one:
"Mom, I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored. There's nothing to do."
"Well, you could help me weed the garden. How about that?"
"Uhhhhh...I think I'll go see what Joey is doing. Bye!"