A Tale From Yesterday

Children are naturally curious. We were lucky in so many ways to utilize that part of our brain on any given day. We only had 3 channels on the tube at the time and TV time was restricted to special movies, watching Walt Disney and Saturday morning cartoons. The remainder of our time was spent biking, playing outdoor sports with the neighborhood kids, playing hide and go seek, tag, ice skating in the winter, sledding, using boxes to build forts, leaves to make leaf houses and mud pies served on a rock platter. 

I remember being awe-struck when I saw a butterfly or a grasshopper. Even as a child, butterflies seemed magical to me. I have fond memories of many camping trips and our hikes where we found salamanders along the way. We caught fireflies at night while our parents sat on the porch watching all the kids play. They drank coffee and chatted. We also read a lot of books and made up our own stories. Our imaginations were endless. My mom and Aunt would tell us to go out into my grandparent's woods, she gave us shovels and told us if we dug long enough we would be able to see China. Oh, I was so determined to see China and the people on the other side of the world. I would dig while imagining if they would be upside down by the time we dug far enough. I wondered if they would talk to us once we dug deep enough to find them. Good one mom- the joke was on us!  She had a way to keep us happily busy and it allowed her some free time with my grandparents. 

Sundays were family time. We would go to Church every Sunday, meet my grandparents there and go home to a roast cooking in the oven. My grandparents always had dinner with us on Sundays. After dinner (which was actually a late lunch) we would get in the car and go for a "Sunday drive." We never knew where we were going to end up which made our trips feel like a fun mystery tour in a child's eyes. 

It was very rare for us to go out to eat!  It wasn't until I was a young teen that I was introduced to McDonalds. Believe it or not, McDonalds was a treat and we would visit Mickey D's possibly once a year until I was old enough to drive. Pizza was also a big treat.  Today, I think many kids have no clue that it's always a treat to go out to dinner. Obviously, times have changed. Most moms stayed home when I was growing up as a child. Women decided they wanted to get out of the home and earn an income too. Women decided they were just as vital in the workplace as men. Many children no longer stay at home after school, neighborhoods became quieter and seem like ghost towns in contrast to my experiences as a child. 

We called our elders by 'Mr. or Mrs,' can you imagine that?! I remember the lecture we received every single time we were going to visit friends of our parents, "don't touch ANYTHING and don't speak unless you are spoken too." The second part of that may sound a bit harsh but it did teach us healthy boundaries. Let me state for the record, most adults loved engaging with us, so we did get a chance to speak after all. 

If we got in trouble at school, you better believe we got in trouble at home as well. Most of the time it was justified. What lesson did we learn from that- respect, morals, and values.  There were a few times the teacher was wrong but we had to suck it up. I learned later as an adult there were times my mom would go to the school and question the teacher about an issue- she never told us. I think she wanted to hear both sides if something seemed a bit odd so she could determine whether or not to discipline us. 

Pros I've taken from my era:

• Respect
• Conflict Resolution without a mediator
• Home cooked meals RULE
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Family comes first
• Creative thinking (refer to games above)
• The best things in life truly are free
• TV was definitely G-rated and appropriate for children (swearing on TV was not allowed)

Cons from my era

• Bullying was prevalent yet ignored to a large degree
• Talking about sex- IE: what's appropriate etc... was off limits for many
• We didn't have hospice or grief counseling, so talking about loss wasn't something most people did. It seems after a loss and the funeral was over- you had to just move on. 
• Pizza on rare occasions?? 
• Women did all the chores- including but not limited to changing diapers

Honestly, I can't think of many cons from my era. I'm sure many of you could add to my list.

When I reflect back it seems with each generation life becomes more difficult and busy. For many of you that did not grow up during my generation,  you might find yourself disagreeing with my simpleton life experiences. 

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

George Orwell

Do your kids play outside on a regular basis with the neighborhood children?

Do you know your neighbors well?

Do you allow your 2 or 3-year-old to take an Ipad to bed at naptime?

How often do you eat home cooked meals per week?

Do you make your children do routine chores- no excuses?

Do you ask your children what they want to eat for dinner and accommodate their requests?

If you are a stay at home parent, do you still request that your spouse who works does 50% of all chores, including but not limited to cooking, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, bathing the children, shopping for groceries, getting up with your child in the middle of the night even if you have to work in 2 hours... and on the list goes. 

The questions above are all curious questions, I would love to hear how you manage today and if you have any cons you might add to my list. Feel free to point out the Pros on my list too. 

Retro Image source: Google Images/https://wingedprismflying.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/a-typical-american-family/