Many parents will say that childhood used to be more carefree and relaxed. Yet most parents today would never allow their children to do the things their parents allowed them to do in the ’80s.
It’s not that parents were careless or irresponsible in the ’80s. But today, parents have better access to information and the latest research than their parents did.
While it often seems that childhood was carefree back then, most parents today wonder how they survived their childhood.
I’m exaggerating a little, but that’s the idea. It would be unthinkable these days to let children play outside until midnight, or to leave them home alone when they’re not even 12.
So, what were you allowed to do as a child that you don’t allow your children to do?
1. Stay home alone
Decades ago, it was quite common for parents to leave their children home alone until they got home from work. Many children would come home from school, do the housework and even cook dinner for themselves, or at least start preparing it.
Today, most parents won’t even allow young children to be alone in the bathroom, let alone 6-year-olds to be alone at home.
2. You were cycling without a helmet
It’s not that helmets didn’t exist, but the “cool kids” never wore them. In fact, even parents didn’t really care if a child ended up with a scratch or bruise.
Kids who wore helmets on their heads or any kind of knee pads and the like were definitely in the minority.
Now, toddlers on bikes MUST wear a helmet when riding up to the age of 16 – and you can even be fined if you don’t!
What’s more, parents are well aware of the horrific stories of brain injuries because they are “bombarded” with this information on a daily basis.
3. You’ve never sat in a car seat
Yes, car seats existed back then, but most parents didn’t use them. And they certainly weren’t as modern, and almost spacey, as today’s models.
Today’s parents are so afraid of all the possible and impossible scenarios that car seats are simply compulsory equipment in every car, and road safety law prescribes the obligation to use a child car seat in a car so that the child participates in traffic more safely.
4. Playing anywhere and with anything
Today, not only do parents not leave their children to play alone, but they also monitor where children play and what they play with.
Swings and specially protected toys made of special materials. Ordinary play in the park has become science fiction. Parents in the 80s didn’t see their children for a few hours while they played carefree in the neighborhood.
5. Your parents didn’t really care what you ate.
In the ’80s, it was important that everything was convenient, and that was the whole art around food. Today’s parents study ingredients that their parents wouldn’t even look at.
In addition, it’s important to know what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. Is my child eating enough of this?
Is he allowed to eat that? Everything has to be healthy and balanced. Parents in the ’80s didn’t give a damn about that.
6. If you were the eldest, you looked after your brothers and sisters
It used to be that parents let their older children look after their younger siblings. Today, it’s not that parents won’t leave 8-year-olds alone with 3-year-olds.
But their children can only be looked after by adults and vetted people, and sometimes even the adults aren’t qualified enough.
7. You were watching dubious films on TV
In the 80s, children watched absolutely everything on TV, so it was often the case that elementary school children were already familiar with all the most popular romantic or horror films, and often had nightmares about them.
Today, there are parental controls. Parents monitor what their children watch and how much time they spend in front of the screen.
In fact, many parents don’t even want babies in the same room while inappropriate content is playing in the background, let alone older children.
And I’m not even talking about the interrogations that the nannies today’s parents choose have to go through. Or the involvement of grandparents in education.
Let me remind you. In the 80s, parents weren’t negligent. There were simply far fewer crimes against children. And parents weren’t aware of all the dangers.
In fact, all this existed, but it was less talked about. And, above all, the Internet didn’t exist! Today, we’re more aware of our environment.
And we closely follow all the studies carried out on children and different types of education.