# Were you born in the 1940's, 50's, 60's or 70's



## 96633 (Nov 3, 2005)

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. 

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get tested for diabetes. 

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

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 van - loose - was always great fun. 

We drank water from the garden hosepipe 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 cakes, white bread and real butter and drank 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 as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. 

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and 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 played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. 

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

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them! 

Local teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! 

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

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, 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 are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! 

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good, and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were. 

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!


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## hannah29 (Feb 13, 2006)

gosh how true is all that.....makes todays world look very sad....although i still allow my kids to do quite a bit on that list and with the added joy of motorhoming my kids get lots of outdoor time and excercise i'm very pleased to say
it certainly bought back some memories and has put a smile on my face so thanks for that
hannah


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

Posts like this remind me of Dandelion and Burdock, a song by John Shuttleworth (Graham Fellows). To be sung with tongue firmly in cheek.

DANDELION AND BURDOCK

Looking back to a better time
When life was good and there was little crime
Children played on their pogo sticks
And on Saturday went to the local flicks
And we all drank big bottles of pop
Especially Dandelion and Burdock
What I’d give for a tiny slurp
Though it stung your nose and it made you burp

We were always polite to bobbies
On remembrance day we all wore poppies
And we all had useful hobbies
(Well, I did anyway)

At the Crich Tram museum
I was with a friend called Ian
We were there from nine til chucking out time
There was so much there worth seeing

At the Crich Tram museum
Disaster befell poor Ian
A vicious jasper made him drop
His Dandelion and Burdock
Ooh! That jasper made him drop
His Dandelion and Burdock
(explains that a jasper is a wasp)

Ian’s bottle had developed a crack
So he couldn’t get his deposit back
Tuppence may not seem a lot 
But it would buy you a big fat lollipop
Black Jacks were ten a penny
Remember now I’m talking old money
Not that we ever had any
But we were happy (Well, I was)

Cycling with my peers
The wind whistling past my ears
As we reached Mam Tor I was grateful for
My Sturmey-Archer gears


Repeat
At the Crich Tram Museum
I was with a friend called Ian
We were there from nine to chucking out time
There was so much there worth seeing

At the Crich Tram museum
Disaster befell poor Ian
A vicious jasper made him drop
His Dandelion and Burdock
Ooh! That jasper made him drop
His Dandelion and Burdock

Ooh, but how I’d love a drop
Of Dandelion and Burdock


Chris


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## Rislar (Aug 16, 2008)

Nice, i've got a different version of that, but still great


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## CatherineandSteve (Dec 20, 2005)

Hi Brian,

So true :lol: for reference i was born 1970.

Regards Steve


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## EdinburghCamper (Sep 13, 2008)

80's


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## Rislar (Aug 16, 2008)

CatherineandSteve said:


> Hi Brian,
> 
> So true :lol: for reference i was born 1970.
> 
> Regards Steve


So was i and my names Steve, SPOOKY :lol:


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

I would like to agree totally with the original post, much of which is very true (I am a 1950's product), but then

there was a high number of TB cases in our locality (SE London)

polio was rife amongst children

smallpox was a worldwide killer

many people died from consumption (now called TB and lung cancer and a variety of other diseases)

the mortality rate amongst drivers was high,

we had regular smogs with visibility down to 10' (3m for kids from the 80's onwards)

the pound in your pocket was worth a lot, we could buy sweets at 8 a penny and a farthing was enough for a few backjacks or fruit salads but we didn't often have a farthing to spare,

there were a massive number of bombsites around the town,

public facilities were limited to say the least, the nearest swimming pool was 5 miles away and we had to cycle,

buses were very crowded and dirty,

trains were even more crowded and even more dirty,

child abuse was behind closed doors and never discussed, although it still happened,

birth control consisted of only two methods, saying "NO" or condoms (rubbers/Johnies/French letters etc) 

single mothers left home quickly and quietly,

houses often had three generations in as many rooms,

prefabs existed in very large numbers,

cars were only owned by the rich,

motorbikes were common, although helmets were not,

life expectancy was about 40 -45 years,

infant mortality was high,

families were large because not all survived, or could be prevented,

shops had limited stock of restricted items,

supermarkets were new developments (Remember when Tescos first opened, or Sainsbury's took over from David Greig with butter that was local, fresh and patted into shape?)

no-one went overseas for holidays, if you were lucky you went by train to a caravan for one week to the South coast,

and so on, in short each decade has advantages and disadvantages, it is easy to look back with rose tinted glasses, they will be doing the same on the 90's and 00's in 50 years time! The Good Old Days, only exist in memory, never in reality sadly.


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## AndrewandShirley (Oct 13, 2007)

Strange but I was born in the late 50's experienced everything good that was said in the original post.

But as times changed sadly it appears I resorted to everything bad in the original post especially where my children were concerned.

Oh happy days


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Era*

Mid Sixties I am led to believe.

Trev.


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## PIEDODGER (Aug 22, 2008)

.
. 1967, What happened the year I was born ? Sesame Street is first broadcast. :roll:


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Born when?*

 1940, did all those things of the original post and more besides. Some of them terrible I fear. gang wars using brylcreem bottles turned into hand grenades with a penny banger, Mischief night (Halloween) with nasty tricks on defenceless pensioners. Lord above, in todays society we would have had ASBOS by the dozen! Plus ca change.
saluti,
eddied


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## Gonewiththewind (Nov 17, 2007)

1944 Just as the War was drawing to an end.
So many great memories.

Tig in the dark was one of our games. No street lights and one torch between group for the tigger.

River bathing with nought but a smile.

Scrumping for your lunch.

and then been chased by the farmer.

Hop Picking to aid the family costs before going back to school.

Oh for the good old days


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## chrisblack (Sep 10, 2007)

please guys, go easy... I turned 40 this year... this discussion is making me feel old.. the 80's I grew up in with bad music and dodgy haircuts can't really be nearly half a century ago surely?

I seem to remember loads of the things from the first post in my youth... I got in trouble a lot, pushed the boundaries, but feel I turned out a well rounded individual, created by the experiences I had.

chris


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

I smile when youngsters of just 40 chew over the "old times". It's a bit like the "city!!" of Page in the USA with it's "historic downtown" when it was only established in 1964.

Tragically the post does not apply to me as I was born in the 1930's.

It's very hard for the youngsters to understand what life was like.

When my granddaughter was 7 she had to write two short stories entitled"What the world was like when my parents were 7" and "What the world was like when my grandparents were 7".

I was 7 in 1945 so I wrote here an essay on what I remembered - no TV, telephones, computers, DVDs, ipods, fridges, supermarkets - bread and milk delivered by horse and cart. Sweets, food, clothing etc on ration (2oz sweets per week), schools with outside toilets and almost no heating. No cars so you went everywhere by bus, train, bike or on foot - mostly the latter.

She read this through and thought about it for several hours and then she asked her mother. "If there were no computers and telephones how did nanna and granddad get onto the internet."

As is shown above some of us always remember the good time whilst others always remember the bad times.

I am always amused at how so many of us blame Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative governments for everything that is wrong in the world today. Now I am not here to defend her in any way but if you look at the many unbelievable disasters that befell the preceding labour governments you will understand why I am puzzled that she gets all the blame.


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## Gonewiththewind (Nov 17, 2007)

When SMACK was felt around your ears,
SNORT was a sound from the farm yard,
GRASS was the lawn,
WEED grew and was banished to the compost and GAY was just been happy.
Ho how times have changed.


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

Penquin said:


> I would like to agree totally with the original post, much of which is very true (I am a 1950's product), but then
> 
> there was a high number of TB cases in our locality (SE London)
> 
> ...


Yes, and TB has come back with a vengeance,

Our nearest pool is 15 miles away, and its a bus ride ( 2 actually) to get there.

45 year mortality is actually, genetically what the body is designed for.

Houses with 3 generations in them gave an infiftely better environment for bringing up children, the values, principles and orals of the 2 older generations was learned by the children, child care was done by Grandmothers, and not a strange person who is " qualified by examination" rather than by someone with experience and genuine love for the child.

Smallpox was a killer, by now HIV/AIDS infect about 60% of every resident on the African Continent.

Driver mortality rates were high, but, on the other hand theres werent 4 car per household with moronic untalented people driving them badly a they can rely absolutley on the ABS, Airbags, Active chassis control, side impact bars etc.

There was also, in the 50's ( my generation) a feeling of responibilty, not rights. If you fell over at work, it was 'cos you were careless not "involved in a not my fault for being really stupid and I'll claim" incident.

Above all, my memories, ( prolly wrong, but ) a sense of innocence in the 50's and 60's. Which we dont have now, Kids were kids, and allowed to be so, not Young adults etc.

Generally, Until I was 16, I was allowed to be stupid, adventurous, irresponsible and to make mistakes.........and from this I learned about life, then, of coure, that all stopped.


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## 96633 (Nov 3, 2005)

I agree with oldun, probably beause I am also a product of the 30's

Brian


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

In spite of what I said earlier I agree totally with BandAid's sentiments, I grew up in NW Kent, 12 miles from Central London and it was fun from my memory. We could go out and play, could go for bike rides without fear of umpteen cars, had no problems with drugs or alcohol, had respect for parents, teachers and the police.

If we were spoken to by a policeman, boy were we worried that he would tell our Dad, if he did we knew all about it (but were never smacked). The tongue is a mighty powerful weapon!

It is fun to look back on what we remember - I suspect today's kids will in 40 - 50 years, with similar positive thoughts about today! I would NOT like to be a child at school now - I genuinely believe they work much harder than we used to and that's because that is what is expected of them! How many of us took 11 or 12 O levels (GCSE's) or 4 A levels. In the 1960's I took 7 O levels and 3 A levels - the norm from my memory.

Are the children brighter today? No, they are the same as we were, only they have access to much more information than we could have dreamed of, and they are expected to use it. But they can't do some simple things that were drummed into us at school - simple mental arithmetic such as multiplying numbers, identify the capital cities of the main countries. But they can type - much better than some of us can (me included).

This is a good thread, full of interest to all of us of less tender years. Long may it run.


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

I am a product of the 40s and feel sorry for the kids of today, they don't get out and have fun like we did.

Mind you it would have been nice to have had central heating in my day, it would have stopped the condensation freezing on the bedroom walls in the old MAP bunglow, brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Loddy


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## oldenstar (Nov 9, 2006)

This is a great thread for us oldies (1940 vintage here), and I remember the street party in our road in 1945. Everyone in the street (as in most other streets) got together, put out tables in a long line, and had a good time, especially us kids.

Silly as it may seem even the criminals had a sort of code in those days. Woe betide anyone who attacked an old lady for instance-they would have been re-arranged a little and left on the steps of the Police Station.
They might even have been punished by the Law (Unthinkable-shame, shame)

We went everywhere by bus, bike, shank's pony, or for long distances by steam train-and we were a damn sight healthier for it too. Well, less fat anyway.

As for the pea-soupers-I have driven down the Bristol Road in Birmingham with my mate hanging out of the passenger door guiding me along the kerb. Also in my own street I once managed to end up actually driving into someones garden. I don't think people around after smokeless zones can have any idea how thick those fogs (smogs) really were.

I'm stopping NOW.

Paul


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