If you were born after 1970, move on, the following has pretty much nothing to do with you!
In retrospect it appears hard to believe that we children of the 50s or 60s even survived !
We rode in cars without seat-belts or airbags.
Our cribs and toys were covered in varnishes full of lead and cadmium.
We could open pill bottles or pharmacy tinctures without difficulty, just like the can of bleach hidden underneath the kitchen sink.
Doors and cabinets were a constant threat to our little fingers, and we never wore helmets while cycling or skiing.
We drank water from taps or even a garden hose, not sterile, sealed bottles.
There was only one kind of yogurt—not that "left-twisted bacteria stirred to death" stuff—it probably wasn't even pasteurized!
We built cars out of soapboxes and discovered during the first ride that we'd forgotten the brakes.
After a few accidents, we got over that.
We left the house in the morning to play.
We stayed out all day and didn't have to be home until the streetlights came on.
Nobody knew where we were, as we didn't have a cell phone with us!
We climbed trees, fell down, cut ourselves, broke bones and teeth, and no one got sued over this; what a novelty!
They were just accidents. No one was to blame—except ourselves.
We fought and sometimes bruised each other quite bad—as Indians, cowboys, policemen and robbers.
We had to live with that because the adults weren't particularly interested to get involved in our disputes.
We ate cookies, bread with thick butter, a ton of Nutella, drank a lot of soda, and still didn't grew fat.
We shared drinking from a bottle with our friends, but no one died as a result and the little bit of herpes didn't bother us much.
We didn't have video games, 64 TV channels, movies on demand, surround sound, our own TVs, computers or internet chat rooms.
We had friends!!! We just went out and met them on the streets.
Or we just marched to their house and rang the bell.
Sometimes we didn't even need to ring the bell and just walked in.
Without an appointment and without our parents knowing.
No one dropped us off or picked us up...
How was that possible?
We made up games with wooden sticks and tennis balls, but didn't poke each other's eyes out.
In the summer, we tied our beach towels around our necks and flew through the outdoor pool as Superman/Superwoman.
We ate worms; and they didn't live in our stomachs forever...
When we played football at the park, only those who were good were allowed to participate.
Those who weren't good had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed exams and repeated grades.
Back then, such didn't lead to emotional parent-teacher meetings or changes of the performance evaluations.
And our actions had consequences.
That was clear, and no one could hide.
If one of us broke the law, our parents wouldn't just bail us out of trouble...
On the contrary: they actually shared the opinion of the police or the teachers! --> What a thing!
Our generation produced a wealth of innovative problem-solvers and inventors with a willingness to take risks.
We had freedom, failure, success, and responsibility.
And we knew how to handle all of that...
