What was it like, when you were a kid?

[OldGuy43]

Quote:
Wow, now I do feel old. Those weren't antiques when I was a kid, they were just old cars. My first car was a '51 Dodge Cambridge with Fluid Drive.

 

[BusyBlonde]

LOL - I forgot about tag in the dark - we called it bloody murder. We also played night frisbee with glow-in-the-dark frisbees. Saturday morning cartoons were Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Yogi Bear. Hee-Haw was something we watched every week. I grew up with Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Charlie Pride. We would go out a couple nights a week for 'rides' and explore the area, look for wildlife (deer, bear). Because there were so many of us, my parents always had a 9-passenger station wagon with a rear-facing back seat. We also had a number of smaller cars - one of the most memorable was a Chevy Vega, only built to hold 5, but we'd have 8 plus livestock at times. My dad driving, mom and youngest brother in the front bucket seat (before child seats were mandatory), three across the back seat, and two in the hatch area - sometimes with a calf, or a couple of piglets in a burlap sack.

My first car I remember my Dad having was a GTO - and it stood for Gas, Tires, and Oil - the most unreliable car ever, but OH - so much fun! I stood on the back seat, looking at the speedometer, telling my dad to go FASTER!!! He (and I) loved speed. And passing other cars.

22 years. <sigh> I still miss him every day.

 

[AprilB79]

I too played outside most of the day. Walked and rode my bike everywhere as a kid. I remember when our black and white tv broke and we got a color one. I also remember when we went to Sears and bought a microwave in 1984 (which my mom still has and it works better then any other I've had). We always left our doors unlocked and never felt threatened. I had the first Nintendo, but didn't play it excessively.

I still live in the town I grew up in and things have changed so much. We live 7 blocks from our kids school and I wouldn't dare let them walk. I work at the jail in town and I see/hear so much of what is going on. Oh to give my kids what I had!

 

[Caat]

when I was a kid it wasn't about what we didn't have, it was about what we had/have.
We had respect for our elders, we called our friends parents Mr and Mrs or Sir and M'am and same applied to the neighbors and our parents friends. We ALWAYS said please and Thank you. We had manners, common courtesy, values.

We played outside with our friends, we rarely called them, we got on our bikes and rang the doorbell to ask permission for our friends to come out to play. If our friends misbehaved, their parents told us and our parents told our friends if we misbehaved. We had no computer, xbox, play station. there was no spending countless hours in front of the tv if it was nice out. We came home for dinner when dad hollered at us from the back deck. We never got in trouble for coming home dirty (unless we were dressed to go somewhere).

There were things called consequences for our actions. If we misbehaved, were rude or disrespectful to adults if they didn't say something, you can bet my dad would tan our hides!

I'm thrilled I had the "strict" parents that I had, I know they love me and always looked out for my best intrest.

I'm glad I'm not a kid in today's world!

 

[BusyBlonde]

Oldguy43, don't feel old. My Dad's friends had Dodge Brothers cars from 1917 and 1919 (and about 30 others!) - I grew up thinking they were normal. My favorite car (dream car) is a 1937 Cord Convertible.

If we misbehaved and a neighbor caught us, they were allowed to whoop us - and when our parents found out, we got whooped again. There wasn't any defending bad behavior. If a teacher was unhappy with us, it was OUR problem. The teacher was right, and we were wrong. We didn't switch teachers because we didn't 'like' one. We were held accountable for our actions.

We lived in the country, and with so many kids, we had SOOOO many cars - ours, plus our Dad's. Nothing was ever locked - ever. Maybe they got a key to the house when we moved in, but it was never used. Keys were often left in the cars - you never knew which one might be needed by someone the next day. We had a clothes line we used spring through fall. Venison was a staple food. Our livestock was named, but we knew it was going to be dinner some day. And that was not a big deal. Still isn't.

 

[debilorrah]

When I was a child the street lights coming on was a sign to go home. Dinner was cooked not nuked. On 2/9/71 a large earthquake hit and we sat on a couch and ate pop tarts for two days. TV had 4 channels and you got off your butt to change the channel. Playing meant going outside and riding a bike or playing tether ball. Chores including harvesting the orange trees and avocado trees, as well as picking beans and tomatoes. It also meant kindergarten was about stories and graham crackers and milk. So much has changed.

 

[geepy]

I loved show and tell in kindergarten, when I was five or six my mom brought our sheep and lamb, I told the whole class how the lamb was born. Shoot, I learned the birds and bees from the farm animals.
If ya wanted lunch where I come from you just had to pick (while you was hoeing) it from the field.
We only watch wonderful world of disney on Saturday evening. (only got 3 channels.)
I sure miss them days.

 

[Desirai]

I'm still young, I was born in 88 and grew up in the 90s.

So as a kid we rode our bikes pretty much from dawn til dusk. Sometimes slept outside in sleeping bags in the yard.
Went fishing with worms we dug up out of the ground.
Watched the good cartoons like Scooby Doo and the Smurfs!
I didn't get my very first cell phone til I was 18.
Our family got our first computer when I was 10 but I wasn't allowed to use the internet til I was 12. I became addicted to neopets!!

As a teen I was kept on a short strict leash and didn't do much.

 

[Desirai]

Quote:
Same here! haha. One or 2 licks with a hickory switch will set any kid straight LOL

 

[geepy]

Thinking back I deserved every whooping I got. Wish my dad was still to here to remind me why.