Living here in Bali I see foreign kids and Balinese kids amusing themselves with PlayStations, cellphones and the other accessories that modern childhood has to offer. It was different in my day ( as my grandad might say).
HERES TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930′s 40′s, 50′s, 60′s and 70′s !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while
they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and did not 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, 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 pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
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, bread and 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 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, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, 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 made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live in us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friends house and knocked on the door or
rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League 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!
PRINT 
{ 4 comments }
How very true!. I can relate to about 95% of what you’ve written.
There were also all kinds of quooks, weirdos, ornery people in the neighborhood where I grew up whom you accepted, sometimes made fun of, but took it in as part of life. Differences were tolerated. There was a blending IN SPIRIT, not always in fact.
They weren’t the good ol’ days, though, because a lot was covered, hidden and secretive.
But you’re right, Nick. Kids were kids, expected to be on their own for their pleasure activities. What a valuable learning experience.
It’s differenct today – not better or worse.
There are some photos on the net of the village school I attended in Yorkshire. One of them is my class in 1940 when I was 6. There were 38 of us, just a few a little bit rounded, but none seriously overweight. Another photo, taken in 1968. 26 kids, probably about 10 years old, including one of my elder sister’s girls. All slim and trim. In at least one respect there’s something seriously wrong with today’s sedentary lifestyles. And it’s happening in Bali too.
I can certainly relate to Mary’s comments about strange people in the neighbourhood. Every village had its “characters”, mostly harmless eccentrics. Like the Balinese kids, we learned how to look after ourselves and how to look out for one another. Despite the deprivations of growing up during the war and in the difficult post-war period, I honestly believe we had a better time as kids than many of the young people have today.
Touche! I also as a kid was always outdoors enjoying everything life had to offer from being tied to the clothesline by my next door neighbour to being the guinea pig on the Go-Cart and pushed down the hill to see if the brakes worked (The culprit now a Police officer who works with my husband funnily enough!) Although I was always of solid build and still am through no lack of exercise or bad eating. Just lucky I guess. At least your child will grow up on the beautiful island of Bali. Lucky thing!!!!
Di
Comments on this entry are closed.