First, you survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

But not necessarily as healthy as you might have been, perhaps mere survival may be regarded as not good enough.

Smoking during pregnancy is a major contributor to low birth weight which in turn is a major factor in infant mortality.

Then after that trauma, your baby cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. You had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets

And countless children either died or were made very ill as a result.

As children, you would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always great fun.

And we all know how many unecessary deaths and injuries there were as a result of that, including adults in the front seat killed by the loose child in the back.

This wasn't produced just because someone was a killjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE

The idea of a parent bailing you out if you broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

In your dreams, I've seen the waiting room of a juvenile court in the 50s, 'little Johnny can do no wrong' was just as prevalent then.

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids,

For a great many it was pure luck indeed that they survived to grow up, there are very good reasons why we have regulations.

Accidental deaths in the under 16 age group have almost halved just since 1999 although that does depend on social class to some extent.