Today, playdates are an endless burden in modern-day parenting. The scheduling and the planning involved in getting our kids socialized can be a little bit of a headache. But also those decades ago, a kid would just simply tell their mom that they’re going to a friend. And that was that.
The kid would make their own way to the friend and likely stay there the whole day, sometimes even for dinner. No cellphones, no internet. Parents didn’t always know where their kids were.
Left at The Beach
You would think that at large public places like a beach, the safety concerns would be different. This is not the case. Whole families who would journey to the beach, wouldn't really keep an eye out on their kids. There were lifeguards for that. And the lifeguards were more like babysitters.
Of course, with the whole, 'kids run free' philosophy, kids were probably left to play on beaches long after the parents went home, depending on how far away they lived of course! Parents certainly weren't monsters.
No Safety Nets on Trampolines
Today this seems like a total hazard. Strangely back then, it didn't seem to faze parents that much. As you can imagine, they weren't short of injuries. If ever there was a trampoline in the neighborhood, all the kids would zoom over as fast as possible, only to come home limping and wailing from the all bruises.
As you can imagine, countless kids would suffer from broken arms, bumped heads and various sprains. Did it stop them? Not for a moment.
Not Letting Boys Cry
Little kids fall and get hurt. And sometimes they have to cry. Even little boys. Unfortunately, a few decades ago, little boys were always encouraged to be big strong men who never cry!
Thankfully that's changed and we now know little boys cry, and even big and strong men too.
People Hitchhiked Everywhere
For long distances, or cross country traveling, many young Americans simply stood on the side of the road with their thumbs out, waiting for a ride. This was particularly common for all those free-spirited hippies who were probably heading for California to live in peace.
Other young kids would also hitchhike to run away from their parents! Scary! Somehow, there wasn't much fear for creeps and weirdos out there. We wonder what happened.