Born in the 40s,50s and 60s

I was born in 1944 and recognise most of the things from my childhood in the OP posting. Especially the freedom to roam and play in the street.

Parents rarely interacted with the school and that led to some difficult experiences for me. I was accused of something I never did and condemned without evidence because the head teacher believed a prettier child. It caused a mini breakdown and I blame that for my failing the 11+. By the time I got to secondary school I learned to be wiser and became very manipulative and worldly wise. I was bright academically so the teachers saw me as a swot.

At home things were not so good. My father had a suspicion of study and saw no good in wanting to get on. That was having aspirations above your class and disrespecting your elders. When I was 16 and moved into a job where I had to open a bank account and had a cheque book he really resented it. Only "posh" people had bank accounts with check books and were paid by bank transfer. My parents never supported me in my career choices and qualifying in a profession was a tough slog of three years part time. They were not going to support me as a student.

In many ways my tough childhood taught me to stand on my own feet and to go out and "hustle" for what I wanted. The only person who really supported me was my grandmother. Not a touchy feely woman but more a mentor who listened and then gave me good advice - even if it wasnt what I wanted to hear.

I chose never to have children and its a choice I never regretted. My own childhood influenced my choice a great deal.

Such generalisations. Born 1947, couldn’t face my childhood in the inner city again. Two up two down, violent father, unhappy mother and three of us in one bed. Hole in wall so plaster fell into it.
Large classes with teachers only trying to keep control, educating us further down the list. Only bright spot was gangs of kids and the freedom mentioned (on bomb sites).
No holidays apart from a stay with Aunt in the country and my amazement that such beauty existed.
Discovered reading and eventually how much this world has to offer.
I’m glad some of you had happy childhoods. A bad one scars you for life.

I agree with the OP, and I had a difficult childhood after age 8. Had an alcoholic father who was rarely home and who could be quite violent. I had a mother who loved me and took the best care of me she could. I think she did a very good job. Children are massively spoiled now, imo. Healthcare is better. The unremitting sexualization of children in this age is shocking. Thankfully, I was protected from that. Despite the problems, I would classify my childhood as a mostly happy one.

I do think that children are missing out on some of the things that we experienced as children. The parents were so busy ferrying them everywhere at weekends that they didn't have much time left for the family group. One friend had two sons and had been advised to let them do different activities so that they weren't competitive. And the boys did a lot of activities.

Born in 1947, oldest child of 4.

Moved to Dorset when I was 5 or 6. Have few memories of the time before.

There was a "rec" at the bottom of our garden. My brother managed to break a leg whilst laying on the foot board of a roundabout. I think it was caught underneath.

Holidays were either days out - parents on Dad's motorbike and us 4 in a sidecar, often with the dog or we visited family in South Wales or near Hampton Court. I have fond memories of all these.

Mum worked some evenings.

Only alcohol in the house was a bottle of sherry for Christmas ( not for us children) Dad only went to the pub if Mum's Welsh cousins were staying with us.

We lived on a crescent so no through traffic. Played outside - skates, bikes, go carts.

Lived near a beach so lots of time spent there, with other children and their mums after school and in the holidays.

Had "pop" sometimes from the Corona van and ice cream from a man who cycled on a special bike with a fridge in front. Small paper wrapped blocks of vanilla or else a circular slice to go in a cornet.

My parents were quite strict concerning things like bed times. I remember being in bed on a summer's evening hearing other children playing out doors.

I went to Saturday morning pictures in Weymouth and also roller skating. I travelled on the bus on my own.

We were taken to the circus when it arrived in Dorchester.

My birthday treat was a knicker bocker glory in an ice cream parlour - all chrome and pastel colours - and a trip to the local Grammar school who performed Gilbert and Sullivan every year in a local theatre.

Judging by some of the comments I had a happy childhood. When I became a teenager, by this time we were living in Hounslow, things became more difficult with my parents still being quite strict and I didn't have the same freedoms as I had when a child. In later years I put it down to the fact that my parents were only 21 when I was born and they could remember what they got up to as teenagers. I don't know whether my thoughts were accurate.

I have always been grateful for my introduction to solitary beaches, some of them now have motorways built over them (S Wales) museums, ballet and stately homes (taken by my grandparents). These are all things that I enjoy to this day.

I think life was much simpler in the "olden days".
I preferred it, but then I was just a child.

EMMF

They didn't start recording that sort of data until the 80s so it is hard to say exactly what children died from but u certainly hear of less tragedy.

I much prefer the way things are now regardless and I was happy to see so many here agree...

I haven't used the word "smug" btw

Most definitely EMM yes

Agreed EMM.

VioletSky

Much prefer things the way they are now. Especially child and infant mortality rates and general life expectancy...

There are lots of ways to raise children to be confident, principled, happy risk takers while knowing they are safe and are going to make it past 40 with all their adult teeth

Little evidence that mortality rates were higher, medical science can now cure so many more illnesses thank goodness, but other mortality rates though accidents etc. are not higher.

Children seem to have lots of other problems inflicted on them by being allowed unfettered access to social media, the dangers of playing on a bomb-site were a lot lower.

Just because things are being said that don't fit one's personal agenda does not mean that the OP is 'smug'.

I can relate to all the things in the original post, life was simpler in many ways there were still restrictions from WW2. I remember queuing with my mother and her ration book. We did have more freedom as children of the 40s and 50s but counter balanced by strict rules on behaviour etc. Not everyone was fortunate in having a good quality of life then, there was poverty. A lot of families without a breadwinner due to war losses and men returning home unable to work due to injuries. Things are so different now, not necessarily much better but not really comparable.

....era before lawyers and government regulated lives.

I knew someone who would go on about the old days before 'elf & safety' 'ambulance-chaser lawyers' etc until she tripped over a hidden step in a small shop and broke her wrist - guess who she contacted, a no-win no-fee solicitor and was awarded about £30,000.

Well said, GG

It's yet another attempt to divide the generations.

I wouldn't dream of sharing this rose-tinted and sneery view of the past, though I was born in 1945. I particularly dislike the implication that mothers work only to "keep up with the Joneses" when actually it's usually to keep up with the mortgage. And what about women who have higher education and qualifications and want to pursue a career? Should we not have children? It's a real Daily Mail piece of writing.

Quote: '.......city kids playing on bomb sites and in disused factories in 50s.'

Chardy Yep we did that. We had a favourite bomb site because it had an underground 'cave', probably the cellar of the original building. It was our den. One day we went there and it was all gone. There was just a giant crater. An unexploded bomb somewhere below ground had gone off during the night. We all stood and stared thinking it could have happened while we were playing there, and then we shrugged our shoulders and went to another site to play! I was probably about 7 or 8 then.

Audi10 I think we had similar childhoods - the coal fires, baths once a week, fish & chips every Friday, shopping on Saturdays because Mum worked full time, climbing trees (I was better at it than many of the boys), scrumping apples and building camp fires, hitching a lift on the back of a milk float or rag-n-bone man's cart. Our neighbourhood 'Bobby' knew most the kids by name so you couldn't get away with much, and he wasn't averse to giving you a clip round the ear if you were cheeky, but we all respected his authority. My Mum never had a washing machine (kitchen was too small) so one day a week I was sent to the laundrette with the heavy washing in an old pram (clothes were hand washed), it was one task I loathed, it was boring.

I suppose I grew up fairly streetwise and aware of everyday dangers; able to cross roads safely from a very young age; travel on buses (and later the underground) without getting lost. From the age of 10 I'd get a Red Rover ticket in the school holidays and travel all over London occasionally with a friend but usually on my own. If I needed directions I'd just ask the nearest adult or a flat foot (beat policeman) - now they're something you don't see much these days!

When we talk to our children and grandchildren about our childhoods they're fascinated and sometimes amazed that we survived at all! The GC have asked why they couldn't have the freedom and fun that we had, though some of them do. All we can say is that their parents bring them up the best way they see fit for the times we live in.

I was born in the 50’s and had a good childhood, we didn’t waste money we always had enough to eat, our takeaways were fish & chips every fri night! Yes we had freedom but had boundaries too! Used to climb trees & make mud pies, never had to lock our doors, neighbour used to come round regularly to borrow sugar etc, we raised our children in the 70.s & 80’s. There certainly wasn’t waste in our house. We had hand me downs, bath once week which sounds quite disgusting now, coal fires, my first home had toilet outside back door no bathroom, had to go to parents for bath, we knew no different so at the time I’d say we were happy, used a hotpoint hoovermatic twin tub to wash our clothes and had copper with tongs loved the smell of fairy snow wafting round the house, lived in a time where drs used to come out telling you to feed a cold starve a fever, there was good and not so good times

Looking down the list I can say that my own children (youngest is 30) enjoyed freedom, failure, success and responsibility and learned to deal with it all. They just didn’t have the trauma that I went through as a child before I got to the same outcome.

I was born in 1950. I was a sensitive girl and mum tried to protect me. Brother 5 years older bullied me all the time. Lovely brother 15 years older went in army. I was always looking for a friend. Dad died when I was 9, mum was always ill. I had quite a sad life as a child.

Brilliant, Maudie.
So so true, all of it. I was born in 1945, so can relate.

Personally I didn't have the freedom bring discussed here, perhaps other urban kids didn't? I remember TB, polio, calipers, iron lungs; friends I made later talked about city kids playing on bomb sites and in disused factories in 50s.
Working class women have always worked, whether they were properly remunerated might be a different matter. Obviously there was no Equal Pay Act, nor equality elsewhere for non-whites or gays. Not a lot of effective contraception, so some huge families by modern standards. I had friends living in pre-fabs as late as the mid-60s (some were fine, others were damp, but then I remember renting a couple of very damp houses in 70s). In fact it was the era of the straight, white, middle-class male, like all the previous eras.

Bits of it were idyllic but a hell of a lot was awful. Wouldn't wish it on my children. Day to day I think they are safer and less open to bullying and sexual exploitation as they talk to us as we never felt we could speak to our parents. In my cohort, I was the only one to go to uni, albeit a few years late, we girls all left school at 15! Many of us were married by 20. Our parents really thought we'd all be fried in a nuclear war, worrying times and now we fear our kids may not survive climate disintegration. Doubt there ever was a single era of good times but at least, until recently, life expectancy has been increasing and there's painless dentistry.

The food issue is very important. We have so many obese children due to processed food and McDonald's etc etc.

When I was a child none of us were overweight.

But I'm not sure how we will be able to change that.

I was born in London in 1943. I remember many of the things mentioned by Maudi. We had no sweets - plus lots of other food stuffs- all rationed but we never thought about what we didn’t have - I was probably lucky but we only enjoyed what we did have. My parents grew vegetables and fruit- they kept a few hens and my father kept bees. We did make strange wheeled vehicles which we raced down the road, we walked to school- about 2 miles, we played in the road, we met all sorts of friends and played in each others houses and gardens. We made up games and we had freedom to roam. My own children had a similar freedom - they roamed
about with friends - unlike me, they had sweets - fast food was available but we very rarely went to MacDonalds or similar- bit pricey with all of them -and there was the usual whinge about other friends having more soda stream flavours than we did - too bad.?? Maybe we were all just lucky - but I’m not smug about it - neither, I think, was Maudi- it was just like that - perhaps we should all stop posting?

Looks like one of those twee folksy sayings from FB.

I am not one given to living in the past but agree somethings have changed for no good reason and beyond recognition. But so long as I remain in reasonable health and surround myself with those I know care about me I wont fret about the future, it can change in a heartbeat. But I will invest in the best future I can for me and mine whatever that takes. My grandchildrens lives are very different to mine at their age as was mine to my grandparents. I think they call it progress. But as long as I have breath in my body I will work hard at helping them be the best that they can be with values that reflect how wonderful they now are. Healthy lifestyles too and be valued members of this everchanging world.