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

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 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 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 were never 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 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 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 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 fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth,and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We made up games with sticks and tennis ***** and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

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.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a 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.

And you're one of them!
Congratulations. Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors?

A must read for people over 25 yrs of age.

"It's good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."

 

That is excellent and the absolute truth.

Can you imagen what this country may be like in another 20 - 30 years? Scary...

 

you forgot to mention that we took responsibility when we screwed up. It wasnt our parents fault for not loving us enough or our teachers or society or whatever. We didnt play the blame game.

You screwed up and take your punishment for it.

 

Now look where you are Fatty McBigasserson.

Just because you grew up "in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's" doesn't mean we(my generation) havn't done most, if not all of those things.

 

Joe...

We old farts had enough sense to not wear our Speedos in public.

 

There are exceptions. There always are. The percentages are starting to tip into the low side for those exceptions though.


BTW: 6'2" 210 w/ 33 inch waist does not a Fatty McBigasserson make. At 37, that's not too bad at all.

 

No that's not too bad at all for a 37yr old. Just the majority of adults are, well, obease. This is also true for children. A month ago I heard on the raido that a child was taken from his parents, why? He was 2yrs old, and weighed 150lbs, I'm 17 and weigh 150lbs.

But yes, there are exceptions so everything.

 

although i dont know if this is a state or city regulation, but i was told that there are schools in new jersey that will not play dodge ball do to the possibility of injury, and that not all schools will allow the kids to play tag cause they dont want kids to be emotionally crumbled do to the fact that they are labeled as 'it'.

my son just entered kindergarten, and i guess i will find out soon enough, but if this crap is true i will not be looking forward to a society of individuals that dont know how to 'play' well with others.

although i have not done it, i would like to put one of those 'helmet laws suck' stickers on his bicycle helmet. i do think the laws have their place for motorcycles, but as a kid, i think you need to experience life and go through times that are both good and bad to help you become a stronger person.

i cant see how living a sheltered life will make for a better future when you get out into the real world.

i wonder if these kinds of rules can eventually lead to the demise of common sense.

 

Haven't they already?????????

 

yes.

 

Excellent article Odin, I think I've seen it before but always enjoy reading it.
One thing they forgot to put on that list:

** When we were kids and screwed up, dad would give us a beating to remember.**
Today, your kid can sue you if you raise your voice at him.
Ok, so it's a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean.
The pendulum has swung to far in the opposite direction.

I'm 37 also, and from what I remember, growing up as a teenager, we had much more respect for adults than kids do today.
Some teens today are pretty good and well behaved, but overall I think there is more of a "I know it all" attitude, even from when I was a teen.

Even that "Speedo Joe" kid that hangs around this board, he can have a smart mouth and sassy attitude, but from everything I've seen, he's a good kid.
(don't let your head swell up punk!)

Habibi

 

Haha, yeah that speedo joe kid thinks he's the shiznit. J/K!

 

Well there is one thing us "older" people can do (I'm 38) we can raise OUR kids with some of the same values!

I have an 8 year old boy and a 4 year old girl and they are both held accountable for their actions just as I was. We also encourage them to stay outside as much as possible. And this year we are letting the 8 yr old WALK to the school bus stop!

Now I will say that it is a different world out there and a lot of what applied in the past doesn't apply now. If we were to stick to all the old ways smoking 3 packs a day and drinking a 5th of cheap wiskey would still be the "cool" way to live. When we were kids thousands of kids were injured and/or killed in bicycle accidents and we just didn't hear about it so now the kids have to wear helmets. And just so you know I have been riding motorcycles (street) since 1979 which is well before we had helmet laws!

later-

 

On that note, everynoe in california should have cancer.