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1) whisky and honey for cough
2) rattling around in the back of pick-up trucks, unrestrained
3) no water - ever - just powered milk, which I hated. don't know how I survived
4) walking to and from school (god forbid - kids would expire today - can't walk anywhere unsupervised)
5) turned loose from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. - no one had a clue where I was - "don't ask, don't tell" policy
6) accompanied my parents to bars many, many times - I would amuse myself playing the jukebox, begging for quarters for pin-ball and skee-ball games. they probably drove home past today's legal limits for alcohol
7) hit with a stick
8) allowed to smoke in house as a teen (and of course, car)
9) gambled as a child at Italian festivals (roulette, etc.)
10) basically ran wild
and thank god for ALL of that. I couldn't handle being a specimen constantly supervised in today's world.
I don't know if this one would land anybody in hot water, but I bet parents wouldn't do it today. We had a big house because there were a lot of kids, and the second floor was a raised dormer so there were two gutters running lengthwise along the back, the one on the almost-flat rooftop and then the one on the bottom for the couple of feet of roof between where the wall for the bedrooms ended and the rest of the roof.
My sister and I were sent up to clean the gutters, which meant we had to scoop all the leaves out and throw them down on the ground to pick up and put in the wheelbarrow later. To do the lower gutter, we had to carefully scoot inches at a time on our butts along the shingles in that three-foot or so space of roof and lean down and scoop out the leaves without falling. It was the same slant on the front of the house, but there was more roof. We never fell. It was icky, though. We had a heavily-wooded yard, and there were tons of wet slimy leaves.
My dad took me to the bar on Saturday afternoons sometimes. He also once took me with him while he drove around delivering moonshine.
My dad took my sister and me to the bar on Saturdays, too. We would each get a "Shirley Temple" (Coke with a maraschino cherry) while he had "a quick one" (beer). We loved sitting on the bar stools! I guess people would be horrified at the idea of bringing a child into a bar nowadays.
I was a free range kid. I had to be at home when the street lights came on. I had a bicycle which greatly expanded the radius I could travel from home. I became "the airport kid". I hung around an airport and washed planes, pushed them in and out of the hangar and got a flight with an owner from time to time. I never told my parents that I had gone flying. They would not have approved. I learned a lot about how an airplane works on old Taylorcrafts, Cubs and the Cadillac of the airport, a Stinson Voyager.
I was driving out of the barn and pulling a manure spreader that I had filled and the Blue Angels flew by in formation. That was it. I decided that I would rather fly Navy airplanes than drive that manure spreader. I had to find out how to do that. I went from a B/C student to an A/B student, went to college and became a Naval Aviator. Being a country kid actually helps. We knew how to adapt and improvise. They made me a test pilot. I was sent to a combat support squadron and flew SEALs around.
People think of the Navy as aircraft carriers and submarines. There is a branch that is virtually unknown by the public. It is special operations and combat support. We operated as small units, sometimes with one helicopter. You can get a lot done with one helicopter. They made a movie about us.
Not retired yet, but I am enjoying this thread.
Like others listed my parents allowed to:
Ride in the back window of a car or the back end of an open truck box; drink wine at holidays; babysit ourselves, and swim alone with no supervision (just a lake lot, no beach or pool.)
Pulled us on a toboggan, behind the truck, on country roads.
They also left my sister and I (12 & 14) alone to take care of our brothers (8 & 6) for 2-4 weeks at a time while they went to work in other states. My old grandfather, who lived 1/2 mile away could take us to town if we needed something.
When I was 10, I had a job for a county assistance program, mowing lawns with a walk behind mower, for elderly people. Funny thing, when I later got a job at a KFC, I couldn't run the chopper to make coleslaw until I was 18.
When I was 13, I was sent across the US to spend a few weeks with a family that I didn't know, but my parents had worked with one of the "boys" in the family. Thoughts of marrying me off? Didn't work, I came home.
When school was cancelled due to blizzard, mother wouldn't tell us, and locked us out of the house.
Thanks to everyone for your posts! It's been a trip down memory lane.
My daughter was born in 1985. I put a few drops of Jack Daniels on her gums when her teething was bad. I did not, however, let her walk to school, not ever, nor did I let her play out front unattended. There was a little girl in our neighborhood, aged 5, who was kidnapped from her brother's soccer game in broad daylight and found dead. This was in a upper-middleclass neighborhood (not wealthy) in Plano, outside of Dallas. It can happen anywhere, regardless of demographics. And it's far worse now than in the 90s when my daughter was a child.
As far as alcohol/tobacco consumption goes, I don't think socio-economic status or so-called "intelligence" made any difference then nor does it now. While I've never been a smoker (both parents were and I hated it), I loved alcohol. My parents let me have a drink now and then when I was a young teen, and in those days (70s), you could have alcohol in a restaurant if you were with your parents. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago with top-notch rated schools and much to the chagrin of the wealthier residents, we had our share of smokers and potheads. Most of my friends and I avoided that stuff but we started drinking beer regularly at 16. I never got carded so I was the go-to person to buy it. (I hate beer now and still don't get carded...)
When I turned 18, the drinking age in Wisconsin was 18. So we drove up to Lake Geneva (about 45 minutes) and drank, then turned around and drove home. No designated driver. We all consider ourselves lucky we never killed anyone. Definitely not among my prouder moments. Our parents knew we were doing it. If my daughter had done that, I'd have grounded her for the rest of her life.
Letting children ride in the back of pickup trucks.
That would never happen today.
You notice almost all new PU trucks are now 4 door with seating for 4 or more? I think that is because so many are family vehicles and you can't put the kids in the bed anymore (thank goodness).
In the summer play outside all day and under the street lights until the news came on.
Ride my bike anywhere all day with friends.
Be sent to my room without supper if I "sassed back", which I did from time to time.
Climb trees and hang upside down from the sturdiest branches and swing like Tarzan.
Jump off the garage roof with a towel pinned to each shoulder imitating Superman in his cape.
Ride my bike to and from school in 2nd to 4th grade.
Sleep on "the ledge" in the back of the car on long trips.
Wade in the creek in the neighborhood and catch tadpoles in a jar.
Ride horses with my stable friends out onto the Army reservation and be gone all day exploring.
Sleep out in the back yard with a string and a bell running into my friends house in case we got scared and her dad would come out.
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