how old are you

[hightara]

just found this video from my home town....... conkers are now banned in our schools.... do you remember putting them in the airying cupboard/hotpress to dry out.

bit before my time 1954

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=726833380741256&set=vb.270098499748082&type=2&theater

[bitsnknots]

Could there be anyone else like us?  It's good to remember what times were like when we were younger.  Those were the days.  Where I lived, if one of the neighbours told you off, we were frightened to go home because we knew our parents would go mad.

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@bitsnknots wrote:

Could there be anyone else like us?  It's good to remember what times were like when we were younger.  Those were the days.  Where I lived, if one of the neighbours told you off, we were frightened to go home because we knew our parents would go mad.

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Even worse, if caught misbehaving by the local bobby on the beat you would get a good clip round the ear and sent home to tell your Mum and Dad they will be round in a bit to see them.

To true though, we were happy, don't know about all you, but my parents spent time with us, all playing in the garden and doing all kinds of stuff with us. Now they haven't the time..... too busy. My best times were in the winter with my Dad sledging down huge local hills in deep snow, and making the biggest ski slope ever out of mounds of huge rolled snow balls.

[soppysofty]

Well, I am 54 and remember those days well - soapbox go-carts, conkers, tree climbing, ditch swinging, making dens in the woods, I could go on for ever.  Brings a lump to the throat.

I do not think we can blame the kids of today as it is us, the parents/grandparents who gave in to the marketing hype and 'spoiled them' with the latest gadgetry etc.

As they say, kindness can kill, and we have done that by giving in to our offspring too easily and stuffing the pockets of Microsoft et al.

Is it too late? Can we turn the clock back?  Can we tell health and safety to take a running jump and give our kids the childhood they deserve not the one the corporates think they need?

What do you say?

[bhgardeners]

Elf and safety.  Sheesh.

One of our favourite places was also inhabited(occasionally) by MOD guards and dogs.  Did this stop us - NO.  When the neighbour let his geese out though we ran! LOL.  What parents didn't know didn't hurt them and we were always home on time for tea.

[ed_blackadder_1]

we had to go through a field full of bullocks to get to our den our parents knew but never said a word. They never worried about what I got up to until I was about 19 and discovered boys.!!

[ginap.123]

Our favourite thing was to build a den on the dump by the canal or to cycle up to Osterley Park with a drink & jam sandwich. Sit down have that & cycle home again. I'm 57 & think that we must have had more fun than they do now. Although kids & their parents do expect everything laid on and subsidised for them now where we made our own free entertainment.

[023mjc]

When my grand daughter was three I took her puddle jumping. We both came home soaked and filthy and I got a good telling off. But it was worth it because she had fun.

[bhgardeners]

Ah puddle jumping.  About a year ago the Council filled in the large potholes outside our shops - Sproglet was devastated.  However the delivery lorries have created some nice new ones which do not (yet) involve flooding your wellies on the way in.

We are into leaf stamping, jumping and kicking lessons at the moment - when will I ever grow up.  Not to mention paper aeroplane flying - now that one upset daughter as Sproglet "borrowed" her Mum's notebook, ripped half the pages out and started trying to make aeroplanes all over the lounge LOL.

[saasher2012]

Daisy chains, making catapults,dressing up, playing Cowboys & indians, going for picnics, collecting bird feathers , mud pies.
Catching sticklebacks with a little net & getting really excited if you found one with ten spines, collecting fallen lambs tails in the Field
The list is endless, none involved expensive toys or money, you very rarely saw an overweight child, sex was not even thought of let alone talked about boys & girls mixing together in a gang without getting into too much trouble !.

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@saasher2012 wrote:
Daisy chains, making catapults,dressing up, playing Cowboys & indians, going for picnics, collecting bird feathers , mud pies.
Catching sticklebacks with a little net & getting really excited if you found one with ten spines, collecting fallen lambs tails in the Field
The list is endless, none involved expensive toys or money, you very rarely saw an overweight child, sex was not even thought of let alone talked about boys & girls mixing together in a gang without getting into too much trouble !.

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mmm, don't forget scrumping ........

[saasher2012]

Hate to be a party pooper, we didn't need to we had our own Orchard!😇

[bitsnknots]

Also, when I was young, if I was told to be back by a certain time, I had to be back by that time even when I discovered boys.  My parents went to bed one night whilst I was out.  I tried to get back in with my keys and my dad had locked me out.  Needless to say he got the rounds of the kitchen from both me and my mum.  It was my mum that had to get up to let me in.

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@saasher2012 wrote:
Hate to be a party pooper, we didn't need to we had our own Orchard!😇

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lol,

we did too when I was tiny, but when we moved I was scrumping about the age of eleven. Got caught up someones tree

[chickengrandma-2008]

Trees? grass? streams? fields? scrumping? .............you don't know how lucky you were.  I didn't know what any of those were when I was young.  We played on the pavement with ...stones and half a brick!!  Sometimes you were lucky and found some chewing gum you could scrape up with an old lolly stick.  some bits didn't have too much grit in them. 

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@chickengrandma-2008 wrote:

Trees? grass? streams? fields? scrumping? .............you don't know how lucky you were.  I didn't know what any of those were when I was young.  We played on the pavement with ...stones and half a brick!!  Sometimes you were lucky and found some chewing gum you could scrape up with an old lolly stick.  some bits didn't have too much grit in them. 

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You are so right, chickengrandma....

I did have a very privileged up bringing, I never wanted for anything, lived in big houses, plenty to eat and lovely clothes and some toys. I am very grateful to my Mum and Dad for what I did have.

[lambsy_uk]

I'm in my 40s and my kids were playing Conkers last night at Scouts, and they've played hop scotch many times including with me and they've climbed several trees.

BTW a lot that you hear about Conkers being banned etc. is urban myth!!!

[lambsy_uk]

See link, it's a load of rubbish!!!

http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/mythbusters/4951/conkers.html

[bhgardeners]

One of our local nursery schools had a conker tree - must wander over and see if it is still there.  It was felt that children needed to see conkers(and tree and changing seasons). It will probably have grown somewhat in 20 years.