To all the kids who survived the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's & 70's
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, cleaned the cat litterbox and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles or locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, elbow guards, knee guards or shin guards not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We would ride as group in the back of a friends pick-up truck on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
We drank water from the garden hose 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 cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda 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 street lights 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 brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned how to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, in fact there were no video games at all, there weren't 99 channels on TV nor was there cable, no video tapes, DVD's, CD's, ipods, surround sound, big screens or cellphones. There weren't any personal computers, no internet or chatrooms...We actually had friends and we went outside to find them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, had broke bones and teeth and there were no such thing as lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door, rang the bell or just walked in to talk to them!
The idea of a parent bailing us out of jail if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! If the school called home because of a disciplinary problem we weren't allowed to give our side of the story, we were simply punished period.
The pre through post Baby Boomer 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 if were born during those years YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! You survived all those daily threats and more!
You might want to share this with other people who have had the great luck to grow up as kids, before play dates, over protective safety crap, too many sedentary solitary indoor activities and all the lawyers and government regulations to save our lives for our own good.
And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and wonderful their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
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