My husband sent me this e-mail; although I was born in 1971, I could relate SO well to its contents. I realized just how different things are for my children now:
It made me wonder if the addition of so much technology is actually a benefit to our youth, or if its overuse is leading to social problems. How has our children's generation been affected by the societal changes of the last 25 years?
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To Those of Us Born
1940 - 1970 :
~~~~~~~~~
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1950s, '60s and '70s!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank
while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
After that trauma, we were
put to sleep on our tummies
in cribs covered
with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks cabinets,
and, when we rode our bikes,
we had baseball caps,
not helmets, on our heads.
As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, and no air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose
not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from only one bottle, and
no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and even bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight. ... WHY?
Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
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 actually OKAY.
We would spend hours building
our go-carts out of scraps..
and then ride them 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 Play Stations, Nintendos, Wii or X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable,
no video movies or DVDs,
no surround-sound or CDs,
no cell phones, no iPads,
no personal computers,
no Internet and no chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS
and we went outside to find them!
We fell out of trees, got cut,
broke bones and teeth,
and there were no lawsuits
from any of those accidents.We would get spankings with wooden spoons, fly swatters, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one called child services to report abuse.
We ate worms, and mud pies
made from real dirt, and
the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and -although we were told it WOULD happen- we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or maybe even 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. Our parents actually sided with the law!
Our generations have produced some of the best risk-takers,
problem solvers, and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas..
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
If YOU are one of those born
between 1950-1970, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids during this time.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?
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