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Hey sisu....My kiddos are 26, 24 And almost 20....and I DID give out chores when the word "bored" was uttered by them. They learned very quickly, that bored was NOT an option,.....LOL I would say, "You're not bored are you?" and quick as a wink, kiddos would be running out the back door to play in their fort...or whatever....hehehehe To this day, if I say that....a look of OH! NO! comes over their faces! ROFL

*thinking I need to show these last two posts to my daughter and step daughter.*

One (mine) was raised to respect her elders... the other was raised to argue with everyone and that was ok. Now, mind you, I play devil's advocate on occasion kinda just to stir things up and get people thinking... but my step daughter takes the other side just to tick me off. If I hear "not necessarily" out of her mouth one more time I am going to SCREAM. She has to argue about EVERYTHING. And it's damned rude and disrespectful.

i stopped riding bicycles when it became mandatory to pay $30 for a peice of styrofoam to strap to my head. I was born in the 70s, but enjoyed the creation of Nintendo - which ironically, in those days, was a good excuse to hop the rusty fence in the back yard and go to a friend's house, then walk to the rental place to get the latest game, head back, and beat it in as little time as possible.

Back in those days, having the game didn't mean as much as having beaten the game.

born 1957. remember alot of the things you mentioned .I remember only 3 channels on tv 5,9,12, and when the fourth channel came on it was like heaven. when president kennedy was killed it was on tv for three days, on all 3 channels, so much for getting out of school. I was in first grade then.

you can't smack their wrist without being afraid they are going to scream "child abuse". rolleyes
Gawd, my mom could smack a mouth faster than the speed of light and make your head roll. Did I think it was child abuse? hell no. I mouthed off and disrespected her, I deserved it. Spanking? nope, I deserved that too. Although I am sure at the time I didn't think so.
Kids are getting worse these days (in MY opinion) because everything is givin to them. You have a book report to due? Why read the book when you can look it up on the net?
Want to call a friend? no need to wait for the other party to get off the line... just whip out your cell phone and call them.
Lawmakers have taken a parents right to reprimand their children as the offense deems and the result is a bunch of spoiled, fearless, sometimes bullying kids that don't have a clue how to get along with anyone except their buddies, pals, "homies". And those kids are just like they are.
My two older kids are very respectful. (I believe it is because they have been spanked before and my oldest is entering teen years and is going to be the death of me. eye rolling... sighs... moodiness. ACK!!)

I was born in 1959, and I remember all this and:
Jumping in the mud puddles after a summer rain, and how the air smelled so fresh after the rain.
Riding my bike with the banana seat EVERYWHERE, including the local park.
Roller skating in the street with skates that clamped on my sneakers and a skate key around my neck.
Going to the local pool on a hot summer day to swim, or going to the local outdoor ice rink in the winter to ice skate.
Going over to my best friend's house when I was ten and getting into so much trouble, to include yelling, spanking and grounding, with my dad because I forgot to tell him where I was and came home late. Nowdays, this is "child abuse," but I can assure you, I never forgot to tell them where I was ever again.
Feeding our friendly neighborhood squirrel that lived in the tree just outside our kitchen window by hand.
My parakeet Skipper used to ride around on my head or inside my shirt pocket, or on the rotating artificial Christmas tree on his little swing, round and round.
Walking to the local store almost every day to pick up groceries for my mom, and carrying two huge paper bags home for several blocks.
Being chased by the next-door neighbor's Saint Bernard dog that bit everyone else but left me alone and in one piece.
That all the neighborhood kids hung out on my front porch just to talk to my dad. He was a school bus driver and loved kids.

This is my first post in this guild, just accepted. Sorry 'bout the long post and the reminiscing, but I rather enjoyed the memories.

Yeah! I remember most of those things.... I was born in 1954 in the Congo.

We came down to South Africa in 1960 as refugees and carried on staying here.

But then there were also other things that I remember, that may have had it's sell by date in the usa at that time:-

wink riding a tram to the centre of Pretoria along mauve flowering jacaranda tree lined streets.... running about trying to catch a jacaranda flower to fall on your head (it meant good luck)

lol apartheid was NOT an issue in those days... we payed equally and together in the streets, at home and at school.

razz The penny whistles of the street musician... and shoe shiners earning a sixpence.

rolleyes Wearing gloves when we dressed up to go to town.

confused My dad wearing a hat and long jacket to be 'smart' (60's)

whee The smell of leather in the cars.

rofl Beating the boys at their marble games at school.... and walking off with my pockets laden with their marbles *laughing* I was also equally adept with the tops........ hehehe..... I soon became one of 'them'

whee Playing hopscotch on the pavements...... and long skipping ropes jumping in and out as we jumped to a rhyme.

wink Reading Enid Blyton books when it was cold and rainy, the Famous Five and Secret Seven.

xp We didnt get television until 1972, and had long debates at school about the pros and cons of television.

4laugh By 1965, we had moved out of the cities into the rural areas, and they still used the crank phones to call up the exchange.... and were then connected by the exchange. We didnt need an answering machine, we left messages with the exchange!

exclaim oh, and yo-yo's, lucky packets, cupie dolls.... sooo much different then now!

Yeah, smacks didnt kill.... it was discipline, and got those when we needed!

I was fortunate to be able to raise my kids with smacks when they needed it, but now, the parents may not do it........ and the kids are fast becoming brats!!

Life was much less complicated and so much safer then.... what happened to our world?