It’s amazing I’m still here.
Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s was — in many ways — far different than today.
Back then, the world was a very different place: more adventurous, more innocent.
And more dangerous.
In those years, there was no such thing as a bicycle helmet — at least in my little Midwestern town. Kids rode around with nothing to protect their delicate little skulls from a serious crash.
Even taking a ride with our parents was dangerous, as seat belts weren't required in NEW cars until 1968. For most families, it wasn't until the 1970s or early 1980s that car seat belts were a thing.
And we kids were almost always OUTSIDE of our houses when we weren’t sleeping or in school. We had TV (usually small and black-and-white), but there were very few program choices for kids until the 1970s and the arrival of Sesame Street in November 1969.
Besides, if the weather was decent, why would we want to be stuck inside when we could be flying up and down the streets dodging cars on our bikes, going swimming unescorted by a parent at the local pool or lake, or just hanging out somewhere doing something with our friends until dark/suppertime?
We didn’t have smartphones or computers or video games or any of the kinds of digital diversions that now occupy kids and keep them safe inside their house.
Safe, yes, but at what cost to their adventurous side?
I remember having one of the first skateboards, and it was a pathetic piece of crap -- though I didn’t know it at the time. Yeah, just a short, skinny wooden board mounted on a set of noisy metal wheels seemingly plucked from some really lousy discarded roller skates.
Skateboards are always risky, but these were just accidents waiting to happen. And again, no helmet.
Even playgrounds were more dangerous in those days, with the always-popular merry-go-rounds that we’d push as fast as we could and watch our weaker, smaller friends be thrown off into the dirt or gravel.
And the toys? BB guns, unregulated chemistry sets and Lawn Jarts -- remember them? Those sharp giant darts you tossed up in the air and occasionally came down on some unlucky kid’s head.
Thank God the Jarts were banned in 1988 after several deaths, but you can still buy your kid a BB gun -- thanks to the gun lobby.
And still put your eye out, kid.
And we didn’t have the now-ubiquitous smartphone in our pockets (more likely stuck to our hands) that many of today’s kids carry to stay in constant touch with their friends and PARENTS.
No, often we would leave the house on a Saturday morning and be gone till lunch. Then, off again in the afternoon to do who knows what -- from the parent’s perspective -- until supper.
And yes, we called it SUPPER -- not DINNER -- which was reserved for special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
After all, Jesus had a LAST SUPPER, not a LAST DINNER, right?
I realize that -- growing up in small town Iowa in the 1950s and 60s -- I had a pretty insulated and SAFE existence. Nobody locked their cars or their doors because the kinds of horrific kidnappings and home invasions commonly seen on TV today just didn’t happen very often then.
Or get the super dramatic coverage of today’s breathless media.
Here’s the thing: Over the years, kids have traded -- in effect -- their independence, natural curiosity and imagination for a safer, parent-hovering, fully scheduled, digitally-dominated upbringing.
So are things better/safer now for kids than the Wild West-type childhood I had?
Probably. But I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.
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