And while parenting back then was full of the same trials and tribulations, there are a few things our mums let us do that we would never let our own kids do!
1. Play out on the road
Stopping a game half way through to allow a car drive past was the norm in our day – now we barely let the kids cross the road without us.
2. Drinking water from the hose
Sometimes the only way to cool down on a hot day was to drink straight from the garden hose...
3. Swim in the local lake
Either oblivious to the dangers or they simply choose to ignore them, mums back in the day had no qualms about letting us go for a quick dip. Our little one’s have a slim-to-none chance of doing this.
4. Walk to school alone
Seeing ten-, 11- and 12-year-olds walking or cycling to school on their own on a dark winter morning was the norm in our day, now they must travel in packs or else Mum will be accompanying them.
5. Climbing trees
Ok, the kids still climb trees today, but somehow they seemed a lot bigger and more dangerous back then – maybe because we were smaller.
6. Jump on beds
Jumping on the bed until it broke was a favourite pastime for a lot of children back when we were small, now mums hover over them for fear they fall off!
7. Babysit at 12
Maybe not quite 12, but we were definitely allowed babysit from a much younger age – now we expect our sitters to arrive with a CV and a lot of experience.
8. Ride a bike without a helmet
Granted this was a really stupid and careless thing to do, so it’s probably good that we would never let our little ones do it now!
9. Not telling our mum where we were going
It was the norm back then to eat breakfast really quickly and then head out for the day, only going home when our stomachs called for it. Now our little one needs to check in with us every ten minutes just so we know they are safe!
10. Going to the shop on our own
Being sent to the shop to pick up milk by your mum was a daily occurrence back in the day – now we wouldn’t dream of letting our little ones walk down the road never mind to the shop.
