The fact that we survived childhood in the 1960s would be considered a miracle by most people. Children were exposed to secondhand smoke by their parents as they were allowed to run wild on the streets. Sugar was found in everything, and danger waited around every bend and turn. Most of the activities that were deemed “normal” for children in the 1960s are difficult to grasp in light of today’s hands-on approach to parenting.
20 Plus Things Kids In The 60s Did That Would Make Us Think Twice Today
Pregnant Women Smoked And Consumed Alcohol
While still carrying you inside her tummy, it’s possible that mothers all around the world were reducing your oxygen and creating fetal alcohol syndrome. Assuming you were able to make it out alive, you most likely ended yourself sitting on your mother’s lap or crawling underneath the table as she was enjoying an afternoon gulp and cigarette with her companion when she was expecting your younger brother. Although our moms did not want to harm us, no one could have anticipated the long-term effects of these events.
Pregnant Women Smoked And Consumed Alcohol
Seat Belts And Car Seats Were Substandard
The passenger seat would be occupied by little children who would not be restrained. This was the “safety method”: if your parents had to stop suddenly, they would toss an arm across from you. Occasionally, infants were transported in baby seats that were not fastened. In the back, next to Mom, or even on someone’s lap, they were kept safe. Larger newborns and toddlers were transported in inferior car seats, according to the report. A simple cross-lap motion was used for seat belts. Seat belts and suitable vehicle seat standards were not become mandatory until the 1970s, and airbags did not become mandatory until the 1980s, according to the National Safety Council.
Seat Belts And Car Seats Were Substandard
Smoking Was Promoted As A Healthy Practice
In stores, on flights, on tv, and even at the dinner table, cigarettes dangled from the lips of grown-ups everywhere. The environment was portrayed as being healthy, with the exception of being continuously exposed to secondhand smoking. Baby and parent images appeared in cigarette advertisements. Baby boys holding unlit smokes or pipes in charming images was something Mom and Dad felt was adorable. Cigarette smoking among teenagers was once thought to be a sign of adulthood. Buying smokes for their parents was a common errand for children, and they were never questioned about it.
Smoking Was Promoted As A Healthy Practice
Cribs Were Extremely Unsafe
Back in the 1960s, physicians recommended that mothers let their newborns to sleep on their stomachs, which we are aware today isn’t a good idea. Aside from that, cribs were not equipped with many of the safety features that are available now. One of the issues was the presence of potentially hazardous drop rails, panels that were so broad that an infant’s head might become trapped, and areas where small fingers may become entangled. It was unfortunate that it took the deaths of infants to compel more stringent rules in the industrial sector.
Cribs Were Extremely Unsafe
Trampolines Had No Nets
Because there were no safety nets, trampoline jumping might result in a number of injuries, such as sprains and broken bones, as well as landing on your crown if other adjacent youngsters jumped hard enough to knock you off the trampoline. If you were lucky, you didn’t suffer any injuries at all. There were also dangerous constructions in parks that children climbed over or played on that were not always built with safety in mind.
Trampolines Had No Nets
Houses Weren’t Childproofed
Parents would childproof their home by removing their child from his crib and placing him in a playpen. Alternatively, a bigger fenced area would be appropriate. But as soon as he got down on his hands and knees and explored around, everything became fair game. Mom let the kids play with the cookware while she was cooking, but she wasn’t too concerned about the chemicals in the sink where you were playing. There were no childproof medication bottle lids back then, and there were no specific locks for every cupboard, drawer, or door. Electrical outlets were available for use with a fork, and there were several tiny choking dangers to be found.
Houses Werent Childproofed
Kids Left Home For School And Went Back Alone
There was no carpooling available. Even kids in the first grade were sent out to school on their own when they had figured out how to get there on their own. You may walk with an older brother or sister, or some neighborhood kids who were walking the same path as you so that you weren’t completely alone, but your parents were not concerned about dangerous individuals lurking along the road. While driving home, you were permitted to take your time and stop for a snack at your leisure (after school, of course).
Kids Left Home For School And Went Back Alone
Kids Visited Their Friends’ Houses Without Company
For many parents nowadays, getting their children to a play date requires extensive planning, and it may even require hiring a detective to ensure that the place or house is safe for the children to attend. The 1960s, on the other hand, were the years when you simply yelled out to Mom, “I’m going to so-and- so’s,” and then walked or rode your bicycle to your mate’s place alone. It was not necessary to schedule a time to see your closest friends because they lived in close proximity. The fact that you showed up and hung out, and maybe remained for supper, was enough for us.
Kids Visited Their Friends Houses Without Company
Kids Chewed Sugary Gums
For many children growing up in the 1960s, sugary gum and sweets were an everyday treat. A huge deal was also made of blowing bubbles that were so large that they broke over your nose. Every now and again, the youngsters would compete in bubble blowing. It was just a matter of time before the bubble burst and you were back to square one. If you packed enough gum for other kids, it was not only acceptable but encouraged to smuggle it into school. You made lifelong friends this way. After then, there were cavities.
Kids Chewed Sugary Gums
They Consumed High-Sugar Cereal
Kids’ days typically started with cereal. A variety of wheat, corn, and oat varieties were available. Some cereals, such as Trix and Cap’n Crunch, were pre-sweetened with sugar before being served. For some foods, such as unsweetened corn flakes, a generous amount of spooned sugar was required to make them enjoyable. In fact, you could easily spoon in four teaspoons of sugar before your mother told you that you might get a stomachache from it.
They Consumed High Sugar Cereal
Nuns Were Allowed To Smack Kids
You were probably exposed to a variety of disciplining tactics if you attended to Catholic school. If you shouted out loud, were boisterous, or didn’t complete your homework, you would have a ruler smashed on your knuckles. Dragging you out of your room by ear was another favorite of the nuns. Although now, these punishments would almost certainly end in an enraged mother rushing to the principal of the school, back then, they were just another day at the office for everyone.
Nuns Were Allowed To Smack Kids
Kids Hung Out In Candy Stores
You could go to neighborhood candy stores and get all of the goodies that your mother wouldn’t let you eat at home for pennies a piece. In little paper bags, you could transport it to your destination. Additionally, you could stop in and grab malted and egg cream soda, ice cream soda, or soda laden with sugar, and then hang out at the counter and consume the soda as grownups chill at the bar to do it all. People didn’t care where you went after school provided that it didn’t ruin your appetite, which was common when kids went in groups after school.
Kids Hung Out In Candy Stores
They Were Allowed To Ride Bikes Without Safety Accessories
The only way to go around without the assistance of a parent was to rely on an older sibling or to ride your bicycle. As a child, learning to ride a bike with your father was an important life milestone. You fell because your parents anticipated you to, so they forced you get back on the bike and quit complaining about your skinned knees and elbows. To get out and ride with other kids, you had to learn how to do it on your own first. Everyone, including our motorcycle-riding big brothers, had no idea that wearing a helmet was a legal requirement, but it is today.
They Were Allowed To Ride Bikes Without Safety Accessories
They Could Hitchhike
In the 1960s, hitchhiking was a common form of transportation, and people were less concerned with the types of terrifying occurrences that have subsequently prompted many people give hitching the thumbs down. Young people, hippies, and transients took long-distance rides on their bicycles to get to their destination. In addition to using their thumbs to secure free rides, children also utilized their fingers. There were times when it was for school, and times when it was for escaping from home. To get to a location where your parents refused to bring you or did not want you to go was another common reason. To have some fun and meet new people, kids also took rides.
They Could Hitchhike
Kids Could Play Outside All Day Without Adult Company
It seems that moms were eager to leave their children at home in the daytime so that they could hurry to work or mingle with other adults. When dinner was done, they let you out of the house and told you to return when street lamps went on. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld: “We were like wolves.” A group of children scoured the area for something to do. Long periods of time went by without adults being able to track out the location of their children.
Kids Could Play Outside All Day Without Adult Company
Kids Could Spend Time At The Beach Without Watchers
Teenagers had fun on the beach in beach flicks of the ’60s. The entire family would take a trip to the beach. Children were born to be in the water. As soon as your parents started setting up the beach umbrella and chairs, you’d want to go to the sea. Then they let you go, telling you to “remain where I can watch you.” Lifeguards were like nannies to the children, in a strange way.
Kids Could Spend Time At The Beach Without Watchers
Sunscreen Wasn’t Invented Yet
In the 1960s, when tanning was at its peak, there was no UVA/UVB sun protection available. If you remember, your mother was more concerned with speeding up the process of tanning your skin than she was with protecting it from the sun when she applied sunblock to you. Using baby oil that included iodine, children in their twenties were able to shield themselves from sunburn while also using a reflector to avoid being fried in the sunlight.
Sunscreen Wasnt Invented Yet
Streets Were Filled With Kids Playing
There weren’t as many parks and green areas in big cities before as there are now. It was common in the 1960s for youngsters to play a wide variety of street games, such as Marco Polo, Ringolevio, and Hide-and-Seek. In addition to playing hopscotch on the asphalt, they also played marbles and targeted them into the little holes in manhole covers. When automobiles arrived, everyone got out of the way and the activities began as soon as they drove away.
Streets Were Filled With Kids Playing
They Drank Directly From Unsafe Garden Hoses
If you’ve had a cafeteria in the 1960s, you weren’t likely to see bottled water. Children relied on hoses to remain hydrated when playing outside, whether it was yours or a neighbor’s. Hoses were not subject to the same regulations that applied to household drinking water, but no one suspected that they may be a source of lead poisoning. Using brass nozzles, which may have leached lead, was a risk. Many people drank from communal water fountains at the time. However, this practice was later found to be more harmful to health.
They Drank Directly From Unsafe Garden Hoses
Fire Hydrants Were Used To Cool Them Off
When it was very hot, officials would open hydrants and reduce the water pressure, or they would switch on a sprinkling feature to allow children to cool down in the shade. Despite the fact that it didn’t stop a cunning elder brother from attempting to unlock it with all of his might nonetheless. Furthermore, the force of the explosion was so intense that even tiny toddlers might be easily pushed down by the force of the explosion.
Fire Hydrants Were Used To Cool Them Off
They Performed Blood Compact
In the ’60s, children made little cuts on their fingers and pressed them together as a pledge of devotion and friendship, or to maintain a secret about something dreadful that they had done together, which was frequent practice. In addition, it was considered to be an ideal method to continue the blood oath tradition and to make lifetime companions. All of them were fully oblivious that they were putting other people at risk of contracting viruses and illnesses.
They Performed Blood Compact
They Could Sleep At The Car’s Back Window During Road Trips
Cell phones and other mobile electronics of any type to keep children occupied on long road rides were non-existent in the ’60s. It was tedious to sit through. Reading a book was an option if your eyes were able to handle it, or you could sing. Favorite song of all time was a song called “A Hundred Bottles of Beer.” Children would often doze off in the car’s rear window during the ride since the space above the seats provided ample room for their growing bodies.
They Could Sleep At The Cars Back Window During Road Trips
They Came Home To No One
A new generation of “latchkey” children grew up in the 1960s as a result of the increase in the number of women who began working outside the home during that decade. When I was growing up in the 1950s, there was something called “helicopter parenting.” It’s likely that your parents were not in a hurry to return home, unless you had an older sister who could care after you, so you were left to your own activities when you arrived home.
They Came Home To No One
They Were Spanked And Hit
When you got into a fight with your parents, they would physically discipline you. I’m not sure if it was more severe, like being strapped to Dad’s knee and given a proper spanking. It was not uncommon for her to be dragged about the home and beaten with a belt. As a result of their own upbringing, their children are likely to follow in their parents’ footsteps. “Just wait till your father gets home,” was a familiar threat in many families. After a long time, people began to realize that corporal discipline was an abusive practice. In the years that followed, many damaged baby boomers sought help from therapists.
They Were Spanked And Hit
Antiseptics Contained Mercurochrome
This dark pink, over-the-counter antiseptic was applied to all cuts and scrapes on a daily basis and was quite effective. It stinks, it stings, and it is an ingredient to a complete disaster! For a long time, it was found in nearly every medical cabinet, until the Food and Drug Administration began investigating the dangers of mercury-containing drugs and discovered how they might affect the brains of adults, newborns, and children still in the womb, among other things.
Antiseptics Contained Mercurochrome
Toyes Were Unsafe
Even if Candy Land and Monopoly were not destructive, the ’60s were littered with unsafe toy products. Swing Wing was a hula hoop linked to a headgear that required whiplash-inducing head motions to perform. And then there was a dart called “Jarts” with a lethal hook attached that might fly away and land on other children. Additionally, there were several BB guns and cap guns, which exploded and sounded like they were firing at random.
Toyes Were Unsafe
They Chased Trucks That Release Poisonous Gases
The joy of youngsters who considered it entertaining to run after the vehicle that sprayed chemicals to eliminate mosquitoes or other harmful chemicals was the only notice that pesticide spray was approaching. In addition to the tempting aroma of the fog it produced, it was also aesthetically pleasing. Sprinting and following the trucks was enjoyable. And did we mention that hopping on top of moving automobiles and racing alongside with them was a game children enjoyed back then?
They Chased Trucks That Release Poisonous Gases