Posted on 03/15/2025 12:11:33 PM PDT by DallasBiff
Coming home to an empty house, managing homework without reminders, and making your own snacks wasn’t just part of the routine—it was the training ground for life. Boomer latchkey kids didn’t have helicopter parents hovering over every decision, which meant they developed character traits that today’s hyper-scheduled kids might never experience. Independence wasn’t a choice; it was the default setting.
While some might call it “neglect,” those solo afternoons shaped resilient, resourceful adults with a unique blend of grit, adaptability, and unshakable confidence.
(Excerpt) Read more at retirely.co ...
“””” since WAR BABIES often get mistakenly clumped in with SILENTS, and early Boomers “”””
What does that even mean? What is the “WAR BABIES” if they aren’t part of the Silents, or the boomers?
You are the ONLY person I’ve ever read who ever used those dates.
They are interesting…but not even close to the generally accepted dates.
OTOH...this is a great thread and quite like the ones on weekends, when FR was new. :-)
NO, until 1966.
You asked where I got the numbers I answered it.
Well maybe it was the name, but during the depression, many mothers took jobs to help with finances, because going on the Dole was SHAMEFUL.
“”””War Babies begin in 1942 and go until late 1946; they are THE smallest generation ever and sometimes gets lumped in with the SILENT generation, which would be wrong to do; though they do share some of their attributes and circumstances.
Boomers begins in late 1946, or very early 1947 and go until 1967! Gen X begins in 1967. Gen X begins in 1967!””””
Wild stuff, where are you getting all this nutty stuff, I especially like the new 4 year “generation”-—”they are THE smallest generation ever”
The very people, who screamed "DON'T TRUST ANYONE OVER 30!", were all very deeply into their 30s and a few were in their 40s! RED DIAPER BABIES, all, expect two that I can think of off hand.
The Great Depression is famous because there were no jobs.
But then BOOMER start tends to vary by a year or so, as well.
Giving generations names is actually a VERY new thing and there are no names at all for pre SILENT.
Right, the generation born before 1946.
Your information is just so wrong, where is all this crazy stuff coming from?
“That was a later group to which the article is referring.”
To me, the title is confusing. Is it the Boomers themselves who are the latch-key kids, or are the Boomers the parents of the latch-key kids?
We trudged through yards of shag carpet to change channels.
As children, they straddle/share some things with the Silents ( being radio program listeners, but too young to see the great stuff on early T.V. ) and some things with early Boomers, such as HUGE classrooms, some early children's T.V. shows, etc.
But they weren't raised, from birth, with the Spock method, as many Boomers were and most NEVER fell for the Hippy crap.
Before Silent was the Most Naive and the ones before them (WWI) were the Lost.
There are now SO many different charts and articles with varying dates, that's why it has showed up here, now.
“my skirts were much shorter. The prosperous time is why they are called jonesers.”
I’ve heard a theory that the length of skirts is some indication of the health of the economy. Short skirts = healthy economy. Longer skirts = the opposite. Probably not true, but I remember hearing it.
Well, no snapping turtles. Only iguanas, tarantulas and pythons. And we played Marines instead of Army, living on the GITMO naval base. But most afternoons, I took off on my horse through the hills of GITMO for hours all on my own.
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