How Did We Survive Growing Up In The 50s And 60s?

First of all, many of us survived being born to and raised by mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and then exposed us to second-hand smoke on an ongoing basis.

There were all sorts of other things we dealt with that would be frowned upon today, but somehow we survived.

• We took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
• 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 airbags.
• Riding in the back of a pickup 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 died from this.
• We ate cupcakes, white bread, and real 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 because cell phones weren’t invented yet,  yet 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 Play Stations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no videotape 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 ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
• We were given BB guns for our 10th birthday and 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, walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door, rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
• Little League baseball had tryouts, and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t make the team had to learn to deal with disappointment or practice to get better. Imagine that!!
• The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
• And last but not least, we played on Jungle Gyms to our delight, and somehow, we were able to survive.