Posted on 08/15/2014 9:54:14 AM PDT by Drew68
The way things are going, every kid is going to go to school wearing bubble wrap and a helmet. Back in the 1970s (and earlier), parents didnt stress about our health and safety as much as they do today. Its not that they cared less they just didnt worry compulsively about it.
Parents of 2014 need to be reminded of how less restricted, less supervised, less obsessively safety-conscious things were and it was just fine.
1. JARTS: IMPALING ARROWS OF DEATH
Can your mind comprehend a more deadly toy than a weighted spear that kids hurl through the air like a missile? No one ever obeyed the actual manufacturers rules, we just flung these damn things everywhere. We threw them. They stuck where they landed. If they happened to land in your skull, well, then you should have moved.
After roughly 6,700 emergency-room visits and the deaths of three children between 1978 and 1988, they finally outlawed Jarts on December 19, 1988. I suppose it needed to be banned, but a part of me is sad that kids today wont have the battle scars and Jart survival stories we had. Goodbye Jart you were an impaling arrow of death, but I loved you anyway.
2. LOST AND NOT FOUND: SEAT BELTS
Cars came with seat belts in the 1970s, but no one used them except maybe out of curiosity to see what it was like to wear one. Of course, youd have to fish them out of the deep crevice of the backseat cushion where they often came to rest, unwanted and ignored.
The only click heard in the 1970s automobile was your dads Bic lighting up a smoke with the windows rolled up. (cough!)
I should also mention that, not only were there no seat belts, child seats were nowhere to be found. Whether it was the front seat of your moms station wagon or her bicycle, chances are, you were entirely untethered.
3. SEMI-LETHAL PLAYGROUNDS OF HOT METAL
Remember when playgrounds were fun? Sure, there was a pretty good chance youd be scalded by a hot metal slide, or walk away with tetanus, but thats what memories are made of.
The ground wasnt coated with soft recycled rubber or sand as most are today they were asphalt. Remember being hurled from a spinning merry-go-round, then skidding across the gravel at full speed? Good times.
I remember my school playground had a metal ladder wall that I swear went up three stories it didnt connect to a slide or anything. It was literally a ladder to the sky. I remember fully believing the oxygen was thinner at the top. One false move and Id have been a flesh colored stain on the asphalt.
According to the New York Times we are making playgrounds so safe that they actually stunt our kids development. So, while blood was spilt and concussions were dealt on the playgrounds of the 1970s, we were at least in a developmentally rich environment and we had the bruises and scabs to prove it.
4. PRECIOUS LITTLE SUN PROTECTION
Back in the 70s, your goal was to get as brown as your skin would permit. Sun BLOCK or sun SCREEN was basically nonexistent. You wanted to AMPLIFY your rays, so women typically lathered on Crisco and baby oil to get that deep baked look.
For the kids, SPF numbers hovered around 2, 4 and 8. The idea that you would spray an SPF of 50 or even 30 wasnt even an option, except perhaps from medical ointments prescribed for albinos.
5. HELMETS: FOR THOSE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS ONLY
Whether you were riding a bike, roller skating, or skateboarding, one thing was for certain: you were not wearing a head protection. You would have been looked at as a sideshow freak by other kids, and parents would assume you had some kind of medical condition.
6. IGNORED AND UNATTENDED ON THE REGULAR
Hey, whos watching the kid in the stroller? YOU MUST HAVE YOUR EYES ON THE KID AT ALL TIMES OR ELSE HE WILL DIE!
My mother routinely left me alone in the car at a young age while she ran errands. Today, this will literally get you arrested. You see, once upon a time it was okay to leave your kids for long periods without supervision (remember the so-called latch-key kids of the 70s?), or let them free roam without constant surveillance. Today, parents wont let their kids go out to get the mail alone, and any fun with friends has to be scheduled, closely monitored play dates.
On summer break or weekends in the 1970s, parents kicked their kids out the front door and didnt let them back in until the sun went down. Go play, were their only words, and you were left to your own devices for hours upon hours. Neighborhoods looked like Lord of the Flies.
7. ROUTINELY ALLOWED TO GET SERIOUSLY HURT
This poor kid is about to get rammed in the nuts by a goat, and the nearby adult isnt the least bit concerned. In fact, he finds this all incredibly amusing! As hard as this is to believe, but when kids got hurt back then, adults didnt come running with first-aid kits. More than likely youd be left alone with your pain, with no alternative but to get over it.
In the 70s, parents watched their offspring fall from trees and fall off bikes with a smile.
8. SECONDHAND SMOKE EVERYWHERE
From airplanes to your family car, it seemed the world of the 70s was shrouded in a haze of cigarette smoke. It wasnt just the fact that many more people smoked, it was the absolute 100% lack of concern for those that didnt, including children. Teachers smoked, doctors smoked, your parents smoked . and they didnt take it to a secluded smoking area, they did it right in your face.
Please dont interpret this as condoning it. Theres no question that engulfing your child in a thick carcinogenic cloud isnt a good idea. Im just stating facts this is the world we lived in. It was full of adults who didnt seem to have anxiety attacks over our safety, and we turned out just fine
. right?
I haven’t seen one in California since the last one I fell off of- about 1965.
The playgrounds now all have padding underneath for soft landings - not the sand or dirt we fell into. The elementary school near my home is ripping up the padding under their play equipment to put in even MORE padding.
Those kids won’t have scars like we did, which I proudly wear to this day.
A friend of mine commented on the box on the shelf that said “My First Chemistry Set” -
“you know, you never see them selling ‘My LAST Chemistry Set’”.
When I was about 12 we would take the bus into downtown and watch a baseball game. It was only about 1.50 to sit in the bleachers. We always had a crowd when we went. It's not like I was alone. Just no adults or cell phones to call an adult.
“Frisbee Golf”, but with skill saw blades & trees as goals.
Haha. Ever watch Napoleon Dynamite - the first scene where he drops the action figure out the bus window tied to a string?
We have a playground nearby that has the modern plastic equipment,
but they kept the old metal stuff as well...
Including that “griddle” of a metal slipper slide.
The playground nearest my house had dirt on the ground, and parents were tired of us coming home all muddy so the county put down blacktop!
It's a big seller in Gaza. ;)
Or bottle rocket and roman candle battles...:)
Mine was the old Gilbert with the metal cabinet. I was quite a trader and found all kind of old glassware and scales as well as purchasing other items.
One of the monthly highlights was going to the newsstand and buying copies of Scientific American and Mad Magazine.
Funny you should mention "punks" - I was trying to explain to my kids and DH what it was - we ALWAYS had "punks" --they burned so slowly that we used them to light the other fireworks.
We also had snakes which when lit would expand like a snake along the ground.
I fell from a ladder in the garage while feeding kittens. About age 10.
I hurt my wrist. My parents waited one week, before taking me to the doctor to learn I had fractured the wrist.
About 7 years later, I got into a fist fight, and broke my hand (boxer’s knuckle). My father’s attitude was “serves you right” and “you’re almost 18, think you know it all, I don’t want to pay your doctor bills.”
That’s right, people paid their own doctor bills.
Or paperclips shot by rubber bands?
YES, I remember wood burners - my bother had one - only he didn’t use it on wood, he used it to burn all kinds of things inside and out. I’m sure it would have burned right through my arm if I’d let him get close enough.
Thing must have been 1,000 degrees, no safety equipment, nothing.
But great fun.
Yeah, those shorts are fortunately a tad tight.
Of course, back then a broken wrist wasn't a five-figure emergency room bill.
There was none of this "not my kid" mentality either. Guilty until proven otherwise!
My mother spoke of those - she said there was one at her elementary school and she used to get splinters all the time.
The metal merry-go-rounds we played on heated up in the Central California summer to lethal degrees (daily temps of 110 are not uncommon there).
We played on it anyway, sometimes melting the bottoms of our shoes.
My wife was an primary doc's RN for most of her adult life.
After our kids first couple of minor head wounds/body scars, we stopped going to ERs. My wife was faster and as good as most ER docs/rns
We bought Bactine in big spray bottles and regular band aids and gauze in quantities to treat a Marine platoon.
For the more serious wounds we bought Silvadene in big jars and ADAPTIC Non-adhering Dressing - Gauze Sponges / Rolls ...
Title=ADAPTIC...Dressing
ADAPTIC Dressings are primary dressings made of knitted cellulose acetate fabric and impregnated with a specially formulated petrolatum emulsion.
The doctor, my wife worked for showed her how to use Butterfly bandages for head, cheek and other facial wounds instead of stitches. The butterflies minimized scaring and were less traumatic than stitches.
She was ahead of the game re ferreting out possible concussions and would do a quick run through and have the parents take their dinged child to the ER.
She became so good with the butterfly bandages, doctors and nurses would have her do her butterfly magic on their kids's domes, when they got whacked and cut in a sport.
We kept a couple of big dish towels in case a temp sling was needed.
Often when shopping or walking, a 40 something person will come up and show her a scar on their face or arms/hands. Usually, she remembers them and recognizes them when she sees her positive results decades later.
Now, she would get sued and little boo-boos would be treated for a few thousand $'s in the local ERs.
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