Why 70s Kids Are The Strongest Generation

[@KarenMorganComedy]

Hey y'all! Thanks so very much for all of your great comments!! 🥰🥰🥰 I do all of my own social media while I travel for shows, so please forgive me if I can't like or reply to all of them. But I would love to thank each of you individually if I could. We are strong people & we were so lucky to grow up when we did. If you don't already, please subscribe to my channel as it helps more of us see my videos to remember how lucky we were. Y'all rock!

[@gp7910]

Thanks Karen ! What's funny is you're from the southern U.S and I grew up in Edmonton,a Canadian city of 1.5 million halfway to the Arctic. My girlfriend grew up in a small town. But all our experiences were exactly the same 😂.

[@iankearns774]

@@gp7910 I grew up in Melbourne, Australia and my upbringing was identical to both of yours. I feel for the kids today who dont get the freedoms we got when we were young.

[@gp7910]

​@@iankearns774 Thats funny Ian! Btw have to visit Melbourne one day!

[@KarenMorganComedy]

That's cool to know! Yes, we were lucky to grow up when we did. @@iankearns774

[@KarenMorganComedy]

I love that we all have these shared experiences! What a fun childhood! @@gp7910

[@atomictime9410]

Cops punishment for minors was "we are calling your parents" AND IT WORKED!

[@kipp1231]

They just shoved us in the van and gave us a good kicking then sent us on our way. That worked as well!

[@alastairandrew224]

No it didn't because my parents didn't give a shit. So really there was no punishment🤣

[@USBP464]

Hell, in Chicago during the 80's you'd get an attitude adjustment by CPD....and then they'd call your parents, and that was infinitely worse!

[@Dalko26]

There were no "diaper dicks" (cops or resource officers) in schools back then then. In elementary school the principal had a paddle and he used it. In high school you were actually scared of the school security guy, most teachers and especially the assistant principal. If you got suspended your old man tuned you up on top of it. That is gone, but now we have DEI, CRT, SEL, and kids don't know what sex they are. So much for the education system.

[@BBQMike7108]

It worked because dad would remove his belt and you knew to not do that ever again.

[@wdwerker]

Go outside and play, don’t come back until the streetlights come on !

[@moralfortitude...2217]

Now can't even tell if the street lights are: ON 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️

[@paulrummery6905]

"Where are yez going?" Down the creek.. " Yez home for lunch?" Nuh, we'll take a banana with us.. "Righto, be home before dark, no playing with matches, no throwing stones and watch out for snakes.." Righto dad.. (negotiations with a strict Australian father, circa 1976)

[@tinaanderson7283]

Depending on your neighborhood you could sometimes stay out longer.

[@heatherqualy9143]

Nope. We were told, “Be back in time to get ready for (or even make) dinner. Do NOT be late!” Even though we were outside. Without watches. But don’t dare run inside to check the time. Yeah, that was a fun Squid Game.

[@courtney-rw8ch]

@@heatherqualy9143 be home for dinner or you miss dinner….

[@raneabrown4662]

Can we get a shout out to the metal merry go round that went 30mph and threw kids everywhere 😂

[@ryanhilliard1620]

And we all loved it!😂

[@rickwilson2643]

Those rocked…except the instant one was flung off backward onto the concrete! Lmao

[@johnmichaelarnaud]

It was a waiting weapon of revenge.

[@claytonwebb1999]

I loved that thing! And the 15 foot slide!

[@samanthab1923]

Don’t forget the splinters from the wooden bench seats

[@Diiimonds4Evr]

'73. No set playdates. Just 'Go outside and play' and there'd already be 10 kids outside on the block playing

[@Floatnride]

Yep that was in oz as well. 73 as well. Mum would call us home for dinner with wait a cow bell! Could hear that thing from any of my mates places, od it was like a "call to dinner" for a little town.

[@Ottynetyou]

@@Diiimonds4Evr you don’t see that much anymore. In my neighborhood I rarely see kids outside playing. I know they are around cause I see them going to school.

[@Diiimonds4Evr]

@otwer22 lol there was a big hole in an empty lot two blocks away from my house dsrlyearly 80's. About 15 of us would go to that big hole and play Cowboys & Indians for hours in the summer lol.

[@cathiemarvellous]

As a parent I wish the streets were the way they were when I was a lass.

[@dmacktm]

The stainless steel slides that were 30 feet long and 2000 degrees 😂😂😂

[@nichole.m]

OMG yes! And merry go rounds!

[@vickigonya9432]

😂😂😂😂😂❤❤yep!!!! Sliding on wax paper to make them faster

[@Richard-or2km]

And with those Adidas short shorts back then, it was quite easy to roast your little acorns on those slides if you weren't careful if you were a guy that is.

[@HaphazardHomestead]

There's one still there in the town park of Chetopa, Kansas. Along with the long wooden teeter-totters and an industrial metal merry-go-round.

[@JoBrew]

And no soft rubber ground protection in playgrounds, when you fell it was usually onto concrete or gravel!

[@anthonyconigliaro9521]

I was raised by parents who believed in benevolent neglect. "Oh good, you are still alive. Have dinner."

[@pmc2999]

​@Penny-mk7fvwell to be honest in my neighborhood we did have the "go home the street light are on" rule.

[@Trinket2022]

My mother called it benign neglect!!!

[@teriamborn5247]

...and if things went badly the parents would just crank out another one ...

[@pricklypear7516]

"Have dinner". . . (and everybody actually sitting down for it) made all the difference. Now it's "Nuke a burrito and go back to your Play Station while I check my social media accounts."

[@jimcurt99]

"Don't like what I made for dinner? too bad-eat it and do the dishes- it's your turn!"

[@Whurbere]

“Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about!”

[@Kellendras1]

Oh yeahhh......I remember that one.

[@BerryBerry1465]

You wanna knuckle sandwich?

[@Filmbuf-g2k]

Absolute class , My biggest regret was when my dad used to say "do you want a smack " was not to put my fingers to my lips, frown a bit and say "can I think about it and get back to you." 😂...he would have killed me but its still a regret ...

[@toriwolf5978]

Omg my parents use to say that all the time lol

[@blackrifle6736]

*...said every one of our parents.*

[@ladybayside7547]

When I claimed I was running away, Dad offered to pack my bags.

[@NerdsWorldNYC]

I got as far as the backyard with my Little Rascals run-away bag on a stick. I was way over dramatic in the 70s 😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂

[@cindymiller116]

I did run away for 6 months then called my mother and said I'm ready to come home...she said we're are you ....and I said another state...she picked me up and she got pulled over for speeding ..cop said why are you speeding..she said I just picked my daughter up and taking her home ...after being gone for 6 months and showed him the FBI run away flyer...he then wrote her a speeding ticket and said slow it down😂😂😂😂😂I survived

[@thefinerthingsinlife4557]

Same.😃

[@BerryBerry1465]

Be back in time to help make dinner.

[@keithfreeman7725]

Mother would make us pack our bags, then sit at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to be picked up.

[@shelleypegram1450]

Who else is scrolling the comments to reminisce? What a fun, tough, and wild generation to grow up in!

[@oeb3847]

me too---I feel sorry for today's kids because the vibe back then was so much better.

[@KarenMorganComedy]

Me!! I love the comments :)

[@JeannieFaulk-o6w]

😂😂 me

[@JeannieFaulk-o6w]

😂😂me too.. 😂

[@JeannieFaulk-o6w]

​@@KarenMorganComedyso true plus our commercial.. Parents do you know where your kids are??

[@48tomw]

Remember you could love John Denver, The Carpenters and Led Zeppelin at the same time?

[@danieldaniels7571]

I still do

[@mycat2230]

said no one...

[@danieldaniels7571]

@@mycat2230 you’ve clearly never seen my dad’s 8-track tapes.

[@luannd62]

Yesss! Still do

[@baldeagle5297]

And Willie Nelson.

[@dirtisbetterthandiamonds]

We knew 30+ phone numbers by memory. And that spiral phone cord could reach every room of the house ... Oh and butter for BURNS 😅

[@sebschl7546]

@@dirtisbetterthandiamonds i still remember my grandmothers phone number, as she was the one to call if we were having problems.

[@madapro03]

I still remember my grandpa's phone number even if I haven't dialed it in decades.

[@Mr.TreeFPV]

omg yeah..... the freaking butter for a burns..........i still have scars LOL

[@tituscrow4951]

I still remember my best friends phone number now haven’t called it in 35+ years.

[@jryland6]

Mayo worked better for burns, stopped the burn pain in 10 mins. Yep, I know it’s not recommended; but it worked for us.

[@cantrell0817]

Safety? Heck, Evil Kneivel was our idol!

[@turokforever007]

The things we did on pushbikes were insane. I remember a gang of us all under 10 finding a piece of wood, then adding a car tire after each jump. Didn't notice the danger as it was gradual.

[@maryperry1773]

So true! 😂

[@StephenLewisful]

I must have made a thousand jumps off our DIY ramps with my Huffy bike with the banana seat. I'm still amazed I survived that although it does explain some aches and pains I feel now at 56.

[@LizAnne1980]

💯 😂

[@seanrodgers1839]

I forgot about Evil Kneivel. For a few years I lived near his ramp for jumping the St. Lawrence River. He never did it. That was one big ramp; it stayed up for years.

[@matthewkirkhart2401]

"Gen-X ... raised on hose water and neglect". I just saw this on a t-shirt the other day and I was overcome with nostalgia.

[@orokusaki1243]

hose water connoisseurs, we learned quickly which ones were fine to drink from. just like bubblers, there was always that backwards kid that put their whole mouth on the end of the hose...ugh, they were last - always - cuz if they weren't, you'd prefer to go thirsty.

[@antoniomorgan731]

And don't forget Pride!

[@debbied8525]

What a fantastic T-shirt!

[@MissCleo24]

My kids actually told me that they wished they had the same childhood as me, we had 3 blocks of the neighborhood where all of us kids went to the swimming pool every day together and in the evening we played tag, kick the can and red Rover and we had to be in by dark which is about 9pm in the summer and those were fun times, my kids stay in the house all day on their phones but i take them on little trips to amusement parks with their cousins when I can.

[@HumanimalChannel]

Omg yes drinking out of the backyard hose and being out from dawn to dusk

[@kellidinit3725]

I played with lawn darts.

[@JayCaesar]

Jarts!

[@rnmike1569]

And they were awesome! Getting rid of stuff like that just feeds into the pussification of America!

[@debiboyd364]

I still have them!

[@maranathaschraag5757]

lawn darts were the BEST!! AKA JARTS. lol

[@kellidinit3725]

@@debiboyd364 mine are long gone. Likely 20 years and 15 garage sales ago. My mom definitely did not hang onto that stuff, and if she did, my son would have found them when he was a kid. Between my siblings kids and mine, not too much of our youth survived. Though, like I said, some our kids have some of it.

[@kristallia1]

1974. Anyone play with the mercury balls from a broken glass thermometer as a kid? 🤣

[@meisu3287]

Here. Got a glassmate brought a thermometer to school, smashed it and trying to play with the mercury ball. Lost it. Teacher had to seal off the floor to look for it

[@franlockhart1533]

@@kristallia1 yes, in chemistry class as a matter of fact. Our teacher played with it too! Oh, we learned how to do distillation by making vodka and had a smoking area

[@sprowett1402]

@@kristallia1 and they all wonder why we’re warped! Lol

[@shalafi71]

Broke one on the pink-tiled bathroom floor. Chased the balls all over!

[@stephensawer6425]

Aha,ha,ha,ha,ha,haha. Priceless

[@patwo9719]

I grew up in the years when summer vacation for kids was really free time. You went outside as soon as you finished breakfast and you came back in for dinner. We roamed every single inch of the countryside around us and no one EVER worried about a neighbor shooting you because you walked through their yard.

[@richfuller]

Damn your lucky. People shot at us all the time. Then again I grew up in the remote mountains of Colorado, and no trespassing sign meant NO Trespassing. Had bullets whiz past my ears several times. I've been telling my 80+ year old folks stories and they are totally freaked out by them. But yep gen x here.

[@jm7578]

My childhood too

[@c.r.broken_human]

I lived in Canada so that still doesn’t happen here. The shooting if you walk through the back yard.

[@WVgrl59]

Or kidnapped you

[@meatwax]

Our neighborhood didn't even have fences. We swam in neighborhs pools, climbed thier trees, drank from hoses, borrowed other kids bikes, nobody cared. If we got in trouble IT BETTER NOT get back to the parent. We lot stuff on fire, rode bikes to the bad side of town and got them stolen lol..and this was In Michigan. Where it seems like everyone has guns.

[@uprebel5150]

Proud Gen-Xer here that grew up feral and wouldn't want it any other way.

[@shutupshelley1793]

Ditto dat.

[@lstockton8468]

FE-RAL! Ate honeysuckle and wild berries for lunch, drank out of the garden hose (with rust on the end), and risked your life on the playground equipment that was over cement/asphalt. As long as you were home before the streetlights came on and didn't embarrass your unconcerned parents out in public, we were left to our own devices. FE-RAL!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kellykerr5225]

You young whipper snapper. I used to tease my friend who was born just about a month after me. I was a different generation lol. I was born in December and she was born in January. The end 1964 is when it changed.

[@chriskirsten8221]

hell yeah, me as well!

[@heatherk1200]

Talk to any Silent Gen. Ask them what they got up to while their parents were distracted by WWII. We are feral-lite compared to them.

[@awlabrador]

From our point of view, it wasn’t neglect that we lived through. It was glorious freedom.

[@vivian9187]

Yep, real freedom with no responsibilities, good times

[@judsongaiden9878]

@@vivian9187 "Right now we have freedom AND responsibility. It's a very groovy time!" ~Austin Powers

[@lorih2249]

Truth

[@SEGAGoldenJuly]

@@vivian9187 Couldn't care less about so-called "responsibilities" if I don't have freedom. GIVE ME BACK MY FREEDOM!

[@kurtsherrick2066]

And with that freedom we learned Social Skills. We learned how to take care of ourselves from Sunlight to Sunset with out supervision or our parents looking for us. They knew we knew when supper would be ready. We cover some serious miles in the course of a day. We knew how to patch a Bicycle Tube on the spot. I threw papers. I always had a extra tube, patch kit and Air pump.

[@stevencarpenter9991]

No cell phones, no computers...and neighbor kids were also playing outside with no adult supervision

[@RT22-pb2pp]

We were ferral

[@phaedracannon6662]

This was the best and the downfall of society.

[@Aurorahart5515]

When my appendix burst, on the way to the ER, I was told there had better be something wrong with me.

[@a.johnson1860]

I had a boyfriend who had the same - his boomer parents thought he was faking!

[@samanthab1923]

My brother cut off the tip of his middle finger once & my father told me to go look for the piece! He was taking him to the doctor. Smh

[@kW.v]

😂

[@lilbatz]

Do we have the same parents?

[@toddstephenson9849]

Yes we're triplets... My mom mocked me at thirteen... "I'm dying... I'm dying... Take me to the doctor.... Wah wah wah...". The doctor told my mom, "Why'd you being him here? He needs to be in emergency!" Haha... I still don't let her live it down and once gave her a spanking with wooden spoons to remember haha

[@myfrestuff3453]

Yes, I drank water from a green garden hose, and I waited for it to cool down, too. Still here.

[@Pete-z6e]

It’s a miracle!!

[@Kensington2714]

And it tasted real good!!! 😂

[@rkgaustin]

I got giardia from drinking outta the hose. You know who cared? Nobody.

[@michelesimone6752]

you would burn your lips on the hot metal screw

[@stuartbagley2586]

We had a nice lady in our neighborhood who put out a metal community cup on her spigot. The school was next door so we’d play there and grab a lukewarm drink of water and share germs with everyone when it got hot. Good times.

[@pugowner1347]

Born in 1960. Spent most of my time alone or with friends running the woods and rivers. Snow skiing, skating and biking with no helmet or pads. Swimming in rivers and lakes with no floats. Riding in the back of the pick-up truck. Climbing trees as high as we could. The whole world's gone soft.

[@maryperry1773]

Riding in the back of pickups, climbing trees, rode bikes everyday but we had no helmets. I remember people Rebelling because they were making seat belt laws.

[@johnlozauskas778]

Soft is not the first word I would choose but I pretty much grew up the same way.

[@paulhunt4690]

6-26. The best year to be born!

[@pmc2999]

Hahaha, seat belts. We were in the back of an open pickup truck. We weren't even inside the vehicle. Nothing like a good pot hole to nearly bounce someone out. We had a huge maple tree perfectly branched for climbing. I climbed to the very top. Got a little windy. I was afraid to come down. Not sure how dad had the courage to get as high as he did on little bitty branches to talk me down. Life was so much fun.😊😊😊

[@nettiea9384]

@@nonya.biznessthe news wasn’t as prevalent as it is today. Trust and believe kids were harmed and went missing back then but u didn’t hear about it like u do today

[@caliblue2]

Sooo thankful I grew up in the 70’s! No cell phones or internet just sheer ingenuity ⚡️💪🏼

[@jimthompson717]

I was a teen in the 70's. We did so much dumb, crazy stuff.. And there's not a digital record of it anywhere.

[@StudioBe108]

And thank goodness🤣

[@elcee7800]

So true 😂

[@wingandhog]

Same here. I’m 64. Miss those days

[@Woke_White_Woman]

😁😆😁😆

[@timothygarrett2785]

Truth

[@MamaDisco1313]

We’re the generation that survived Slip-N-Slides!

[@cindyr5342]

Don't use dish soap!!

[@Mhantrax]

And Jarts.

[@lurklingX]

hahaa but millennials, too!!

[@uikmnhj4me]

Even Gen Alpha has Slip N Slides, but you guys did get to them first

[@Jawbeezie]

Didn’t even really bother to get rid of all of the rocks either. Just went a little left the next time lol.

[@Allison-p2c]

Hahaha how many of us were left alone at home, and when our parent left, the only instructions were, don't answer the phone, don't go outside and don't burn down the house 😂😂😂

[@roonboo96]

I remember being left alone at home at night when I was about 5 or 6 years old, with my 7 or 8 year old brother. We crank called every phone number we could come up with then put ourselves to bed. My mom wasn’t too far away: just down the street and around the corner at our friends’ place. No one cared and no one called child services. We were just fine cause we had common sense. 😊

[@glennclarke9442]

ROFL

[@mhm8922]

I spent most of that time trying to prevent my little brothers from burning down the house or hurting themselves. Smh. But we’re all still here, right? Those were some really interesting times. Nothing like today.

[@rosalindr4975]

Latch key kids

[@rulistening7777]

Geeze ! And I thought I was neglected. Now I'm finding out I'm normal.

[@Jennifer-b4e]

I WAS the "remote control", the TV antenna adjuster, and often was told by parents that I made a better door than a window...lol. Also, playing ditch on our bikes for hours until the street lights came on, knee high tube socks and dolphin shorts, overalls, corduroys, painters paints with my big comb, mood rings, rollerskating, Saturday morning cartoons, Sunday morning wrestling and the Three Stooges, tubing down the river and the rapids every summer!, sharing a beer with grampa (just a sip), sliding down the stairs in cardboard boxes, AM Radio, and wow when FM started taking off! TP-ing houses was not a crime but a form of flattery for the recipient (you were popular if your house got TP'd), making our own ice rinks with a hose, learning to shoot when I was six, yes, six, sneaking out to drive when we were 12 and 13, church camp, 4th of July was outright insane with the explosives!, freeze tag, and board games, my dad took my friend and I to see The Jerk when we were 10 (told the lady at the movie theater he'd be back to pick us up when it was over and she let us-LOL).

[@rebeccabamford5505]

Anyone remember “Click-Clacks”? Two hard plastic balls on a double string with a loop you held, and you had to make them hit together up and down. Fast. I can’t believe we never knocked our eyes out with them

[@PhoebeFayRuthLouise]

Oh, I remember those!

[@digitalgypsy1961]

And when they broke it like a piece of volcanic glass.

[@arogue1519]

HAHAHAHAHAH….death on two strings….MAN! Those were the days huh?

[@rebeccabamford5505]

@@arogue1519 absolutely! Good description!

[@vickigonya9432]

Omg!!! Those were the worst!!! Killed several people lol!!!

[@PhantomFilmAustralia]

Being born in GENERATION X, I remember... - It took time to write a letter and excitedly check the mailbox every afternoon for a week for a reply. - Playing with other kids outside who we didn't know. - Sending text messages to friends in class written on a tiny piece of paper and passed down the line by classmates. - Making personalised mix-tapes by recording songs off the radio as gifts for our friend's birthdays. - When drinking beer dregs with cigarette butts in them after a party didn't send us to the emergency room. - Peanuts were a snack, not a death sentence. - The only “safe space” we knew was a bomb shelter. - Rewinding the mix-tapes on the end of a pencil to save battery power on our Walkman. - Watching Greatest American Hero every week to find out if he will ever learn to land. - Working summer jobs to earn money to buy what we wanted. - Asking a person out on a date in person. - Having to line up against the wall with our siblings so our mother could snap the last two photos so she can develop the roll of film. - Waiting until the next day for the roll of film to be developed. - Fast food was a treat, not a lifestyle. - A bag of chips was full. - Board games were fun. - Dial the radio station on a rotary phone to be the first caller with the correct answer to win pizza. - There was no redial on a rotary phone. - When left at home alone, parents would call home on the landline, hang up after two rings, then call again as a code to answer the phone. - Things would be repaired, not replaced. - A hiding was warranted for misbehaviour. - Kids learning basic survival skills. - Boy Scouts was a thing to envy. - Chores around the house was a requirement for living under your parent's roof. - Farting on your sibling's head was funny, not assault. - Parents telling kids to "Go play on the road" wasn't deemed as parental negligence. - Falling off the jungle gym was usually our own fault, not the fault of the manufacturer. - Music was music. - Getting a Penthouse magazine created instant friends. - "Snake" was the best video game ever! - "Aqua Rings" kept us entertained for hours. - Rolling down the car window was air conditioning. - The three things in a First-Aid kit were Band-aids, Mercurochrome, and Dettol. - Finding a book at a library to study was like searching for lost treasure. - Being on a phone call and stretching to reach for something but can't quite get it because the phone's curly cord wasn't quite long enough. - Bad actions had consequences. - Losing a competition meant no medal. - Constantly calling the video store to find out whether anyone has returned a copy of the latest release of the film that was completely rented out. - Browsing at the video store. - A dollar bought a full bag of candy. - The family ate dinner together in the same room. - Slamming down the phone was the most satisfying way to end an argument. - "Trick-or-Treating" with no fear. - MTV had music. The best time to grow up.

[@saytr4]

-Telling someone you liked something they did instead using an emoji

[@saytr4]

👍btw

[@angelabyrne154]

lol, my first aid kit still only contains band aids, paracetamol and dettol!

[@keithheighton5259]

Well done.

[@robertzabinski6083]

Great list.

[@Brookesk1977]

I learned to never say "I'm bored!" Cause they would give you something to do, usually cleaning something.

[@gutreaction3030]

Yes. My husband I were just discussing that. If you ever dared to say, "I'm bored," then you were in for a full weekend of chores. "Oh you're bored. Well, the garage needs to be cleaned out..." Oooof.

[@AgnesMariaL]

🤣🤣🤣 yep!

[@lihchan1539]

Soooo true, we read a lot of books and were forced to clean our rooms 😂

[@rulistening7777]

Yeah... Like.... "Go read the encyclopedia !"

[@Edmund_Mallory_Hardgrove]

I don't ever remember being bored as a kid. If anything there wasn't enough time in the day to get it all done. Once we dug out a tunnel fort, timber reenforced of course. I'm talking underground maze of tunnels and rooms over built over one summer. It took us weeks of digging, and building. All from scrap wood we scavenged from the woods. Our plan was to live there. Some proto-Karen reported it and the authorities decided it wasn't "safe" for a bunch of 12 year old kids to be building an underground fortress where we might one day launch our attack from. So they decided to destroy it. But it was so large and so deep they had to bring out heavy earth moving equipment to destroy it. ...we were pissed. Dirt bikes and 22s were part of my middle school years. We looked like some sort Jr Mad Max gang heading out to the woods to raid it for scraps of porn magazines and other useful items. That's right, we didn't have internet porn. We had to scavenge that too. Strangely you could find little pieces of weathered and torn up scraps of Playboy magazine in the woods, that some other unknown kids had probably liberated from their fathers collection. It all ended up in the woods, like mana from perdition. But it was never complete porn. You might get a boob, half a butt, or strike gold and get some bush. Then you'd have to use your imagination to fill in the blanks. We launched rockers, flew gas powered model airplanes on a string, made explosives, and different pyrotechnics. It was crazy fun.

[@jw688]

1967 Gen X'er here. It's so bittersweet reading everyone's comments! So many memories flooding back that I hadn't thought of for a while...like a rusty lunch box and drinking out of a garden hose!! But I think our parents were like that because parents were always like that until we grew up. Then the world changed and got stupid and depressed and isolated and cold. We can lay claim to being the last generation to have such a free childhood. It makes me so sad. Even with my own kids, I was never able to give them what I had had, even when I wanted to. It wasn't the same world to send them out into on their bikes....no other kids were out there on theirs anyway! No one was playing kick the can at night or running around wasting lazy days away all summer long....that world was just gone for my kids. So sad.

[@elizabethpalumbo6516]

Gen X, the best generation EVA!!!!!! Child of the 70's, Teens in the 80's, and in my 20's in the 90's, but forgotten in the 2000's and beyond....and I don't GAF!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@tooniemama6959]

Gen X is the best generation ever! We get shit done and no B.S. We remember the world before the internet & smartphones. We got stuck between the baby Boomers & millennials & that has only made us stronger!😂

[@Brakdayton]

I’m only now beginning to appreciate how great it was. The fashion was crap though.

[@nixm9093]

​@@BrakdaytonOh god, remember legwarmers? 😂 And the hair! I spent half the money I got from my afternoon checkout job on hairspray.

[@SeanGavin-rf5vd]

What a time to be a teen. I was 10 in 1980 and turned 20 on 1990. Man I got a lot done in that decade, even 2 years in the army. Now I look back the the last 10 years of my life and it is a boring blur.

[@ahmedsenussi8232]

Well said 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@audreym3777]

Our generation had mosh pits, kids today have safe spaces. We are NOT the same!

[@MadTracker]

Literally no kid today has an actual safe space. Sure their circumstances are different. I should hope we improve things for our kids over time and not sum them up with cartoonish stereotypes.

[@johndanielsforJesus]

In regards to your 1st sentence, no, not in the world. But these "safe spaces" are ALL OVER college campuses and even high schools. A room where they have stuffed animals to hug and to cry on; crayons to color with; legos to "de-stress", @MadTracker I was told all about these, 5 or 6 years ago, by one of my colleagues/subordinates. I thought he was joking. Then I SAW 😳 one of these rooms, with my own eyes! 😮

[@Whykickamoocow]

​@@MadTrackerexcept they actually do have dedicated "safe spaces" 😂😂😂

[@twystedhumour]

@@MadTracker Ah, this one has blinders on...

[@samuelwoodward7462]

Absolutely. From Seattle, born 75 the 90s were the best for grunge bands!

[@tomekmackiewicz710]

1975 here, Poland. When I was 9 years old, I walked 5 km to school through a secret hole in the fence through a Russian military base. When a large road was being built near my city near the lake, I built a raft from construction boards and sailed out on it, and 100 meters from the shore it fell apart. But I was already a great swimmer then. I made fireworks from scratch when I was 12. Today, my parents would probably go to prison for what I did and not taking care of me. I had a wonderful, adventurous childhood and today I am happy and I don't know what stress is.

[@wendyflatt39]

That is hardcore..Poland was part of the Soviet empire then!

[@tomekmackiewicz710]

@@wendyflatt39 sort of, but we never gave up, not even the kids. And my parents taught me real history

[@Joy_joyful]

Clearly ur a Genius.. esp with the firecracker .. 🤩

[@loverlyme]

Okay, you WIN! Most neglected (and happy) childhood certificate of completion.

[@andrearace1168]

Wow! That's badass!! Also, love that your username has Makowiec in it!! My family is American, but we have kept the tradition of making Makowiec for Easter and Christmas every year for over 100 years. It has a special place in my heart 🥰

[@julieshelley-fd5kp]

I am 55 --everything she is saying is on point! Love this gal Karen..LOL..I feel sorry the for the last two generations. Social media has destroyed people's brains--sad...

[@kendrawalker5863]

Schools are seeing the downfall of society and the effects of social media on children and teens.

[@jodiarnold5947]

Gen X here ......we got the last of the good old days .....mom n pop shops , businesses closed on sunday / holidays, community closeness ......sure miss it all !!!

[@NikkiaSings]

Absolutely

[@philipbenner]

Blue book laws, open houses

[@jackdillon5903]

Yep. Days when there was actually nothing to do!

[@MM-km5zf]

most stores were closed on Sundays

[@aldotamez3140]

My dad would give us 50 cents and we would go to the local mom and pop neighborhood store and get a couple of pieces of candy and a plastic toy soldier that had a parachute and play all day long with it. Early 70’s…great times

[@ProtoType99468]

70's kids can drive manual, can rebuild a '65 mustang while attending college and working a 40 hr a week job, paid off first house becos i opted for the 20 year mortgage while working 2 jobs and still took wife and kids to 6 flags & Disneyworld. proud to be a 70's kid

[@tracycarmack9714]

I was born in 1972 and grew up as a feral child in a semi-rural town in southern Illinois. We were allowed to run free with no way to contact our parents. Just me, my bike, and some loose change in my pocket in case I found a vending machine somewhere The number of situations I found myself in - and never told my parents about - would have sent them to an early grave.

[@roserollins9800]

I was one of those parents and just now finding out alot of stuff

[@apathyguy8338]

I remember coming home after school every day for 3 hours I was the only one there. You'd be called a latchkey kid nowadays. Don't even get me started on lawn Jarts.

[@lesleypaterson1463]

72 model here, rode bikes everywhere, through drains you name it. Played in cubby houses, girls and boys played you show me yours I'll show you mine. Smoked cigarettes we found lying around. Lot's of fun, harmless exploring and only went home when it got dark.

[@noble604]

All the kids everywhere walking around with a cast or splint on some body part and proud of it. Hard whíte casts on their arm, wrist or leg that everyone signed. Arms in a sling, broken fingers in splints😂😂. You see no kids in casts now ever. It’s pretty hard to break your leg on your smartphone all day. And if you saw half the kids in school in a cast now, you’d be sure there was a child abuse epidemic. 😂😂 Trips to the hospital/ER... ...those were the days

[@noble604]

I’m still trying to figure out where all the child kìdnappers and ne’er-do-wellers were. There were AMPLE opportunities then but it didn’t happen much. What a time to be free

[@heatherjane1919]

Remember how exciting it was when the wall phone rang and we had no idea who was calling?

[@carolmitchell6155]

And supper was not interrupted to answer the phone.

[@heatherjane1919]

@@LoveHisappearing I could hear my brother breathing on the extension phone when I was trying to talk on the phone with my boyfriend.

[@BROU-bb2uc]

​@@heatherjane1919party line

[@phroggie69]

@@heatherjane1919 who it was ooo Mr fancy pants single line!!! We had the party line🥺😊 how many many was that? One, two, or was it a short ring then two regular? No privacy

[@paulcooverjr.6947]

If I didn't answer its because I wasn't home.

[@SavannahSmiles-m8q]

1974 Gen X member here. The walking or biking to school, in any weather, no matter how bad, and it was YOUR FAULT if you were late. Neighborhood games of Hide and Seek always played barefoot because it was summer, and no kid wore shoes unless they had to. Waiting in the hot/cold car while your parents did errands, usually no AC or heat because it wasted gas (true story, kids, look it up). Ya know, the good old days.

[@mcawesomest1]

“Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about”

[@blackrifle6736]

*..said by every parent at least once.*

[@MCastle4.2]

Let's not forget "Children should be seen and not heard". We learned to push our emotions, feelings, and comments way down.

[@heidiwerbrouck5563]

Heard that phrase I don't know how many times. Or even better: 'fine, the more you cry the less you'll pee"😂

[@quickturn66]

“ I’ll turn this car around right now “

[@FCSchaefer]

I heard "because I said so" a lot.

[@doreenbarrick2134]

Our grade school playground and monkey bars were on CONCRETE!! It was great !

[@wendytipon6020]

Inremember fall off those and having a goose egg so big i looked like Wiley coyote and the play ground "mom" told me to put snow on it and id be fine

[@turokforever007]

I remember doing sport's day on concrete.

[@LadyIarConnacht]

Yes, back then when broken arms were considered a normal part of childhood. I was a parent in the 80's and I was so proud that none of my kids ever broke anything.

[@ystrw]

My elementary school was coddling us when they gave us bare dirt with a light scattering of gravel for the monkey bars, swings and seesaws. The basketball area was asphalt, though- blacktop, as we called it then.

[@siouxsqueakpickle3272]

Asphalt, but otherwise same

[@stvargas69]

Our parents were helicopter parents. They flew us in dropped us off and flew away. Kinda like Special Forces team in the jungle

[@chriskirsten8221]

lol

[@digitalgypsy1961]

That's a great analogy. We are the true survivors.

[@donnaharding9604]

@stvargas69 Yeeessss!!!! 😂❤❤❤

[@jazzjasmin]

Ha! Yes!

[@bethkelley1340]

Nailed it 😂

[@bonemagnus4271]

“Unrefridgerated dairy products and rust.” So true!! lol!

[@conniemorris8282]

Born in 62. Stood on the back of my Grandfather’s truck going 65 down the highway. Loved it

[@Valen-xu2wy]

They still do that Thailand. Whole families.

[@jessiewyatt526]

Born in 68 which was great the only bad thing was when MLK died I was born

[@ministryoftruth8588]

Ok Boomer.

[@Aurorahart5515]

I remember finally being old enough to sit up on the side of the truck bed. OMG

[@davidm4160]

Trucks didn't go 65 back then.

[@keithsavagelives]

"Don't bleed on the carpet" was literally what Dad would tell me!

[@Thequietone974]

I threw up pickled beets on my moms new beige carpet , thought my life was over 😂😂😂

[@wpeale71341]

We had carpets in only 2 rooms and us kids were not allowed in either of them without our parents with us. So it ws don't bleed on your Mom's fresh cleaned floors or we will both get a beating.

[@raindrop9675]

In Germany it was this: Indians (american natives) know no pain...so why do you?

[@MINKIN2]

Mastering the art of recording our favorite songs off the radio and clicking the record/stop buttons as soon as the DJ came on air.

[@rulistening7777]

OMG... great one . Bad news.... my tape got all wound up , so my new step dad had to fix it. It was awful, because he heard me telling my best friend that I didn't like him. I hated hurting his feelings.

[@timharris6550]

Blowing into the Nintendo cartridge to get it to work! 👊👊👊

[@judsongaiden9878]

I used to make mix tapes of video game music in the late '80s/early '90s (and I had a MacGyver mullet).

[@michellewingard4757]

I still love recording my music

[@HouseholdDog]

Yeah I learned a lot about the first note of every 80s song doing that. Cursing the DJ for talking over the track/not announcing it.

[@Hodad3000]

The smell of Hawaiian Tropic in the summer was glorious.

[@yesher12]

Who remembers "Clackers"? That defines 70's kids. You could be playing alone with them and knock yourself out!

[@AlpineSprinkles]

Yes!! But I could never do them in a complete circle😅

[@noway73]

My husband still has his from back in the day👍😄😄💫✌️

[@kelcurry4561]

CLACKERS!!! Haven't thought about those in decades! They were popular after marbles but before cabbage patch dolls & cabbage pail kids!

[@sharbean]

I have purple clackers. It required strength, rhythm, and bravery to kick em into high gear.

[@TheJemimabean]

Mine were lime green and I beat the @#$& out of my own self daily trying to master it 😂😂

[@Troy_nov1965]

LOL man I remember pounding each other with dodge balls. The teachers didnt care they were out in the smoking area tending to their hangovers. Class of 84

[@kellidinit3725]

On certain days I can still smell that rubber ball.

[@llamasugar5478]

I can still hear the sounds they made when they hit someone.

[@wegotgame]

😂😂❤ All this!

[@kimberlywoodbury1739]

I have dodge ball PTSD.

[@llamasugar5478]

Where I grew up (70s central Illinois), _dodgeball_ was the game where kids lined up along the wall while another kid threw the ball at them. _Bombardment_ was played with two teams throwing the balls at each other. But then we also called Duck, Duck, Goose . . . Duck, Duck, _Grey Duck._

[@Vpzoe]

True stories: (I was born in early 70s, my Dad... late 30s (Black, in Arkansas). 1. I told my Dad (as a 10yo) I was gonna call Child Protective Services (or whatever it was called back then) on him. He looked up the number, wrote it down for me, wished me good luck with my new family and told me to write every Christmas. 2. I told my Dad (as a 13yo) I was going to run away. He got a suitcase, helped me pack, carried my bag just outside the front door, shook my hand like a man, wished me luck, and shut the door in my face. (I learned many years later he then called my best friend's parents to tell them I was on my way. I stayed the weekend and came back home of course.) One of the sharpest, no-nonsense men I ever knew - miss you Dad.

[@h.mandelene3279]

My brother would always scream "CHILD ABUSE"!!! My dad would pause for a second then go right back to what he was doing.

[@sunsioux444]

@@Vpzoe beautiful share! thank you

[@loribull1730]

When my sister said she was going to run away, my mom packed a few things and pointed to the door. Said youll come back when your hungry!

[@philip771]

Possibly the best comment on KZbin, thanks for the laugh and the tears. Miss my Dad too.

[@pmazurek559]

@@Vpzoe I ran away and they never knew I was gone. 😂

[@rachelmareywinn]

Midnight Special, Soul Train, American Bandstand, and Casey Kasem Countdown

[@KarenMorganComedy]

😊

[@wolfman515]

The "shut up or I'll give you something to cry about" generation. Those were the best days of our lives, and now we're on the downhill side picking up speed.

[@philipbenner]

“You’re going to enjoy this as a family wether you like it or not”

[@davidszabo1618]

Or "Boys, don't let me get up from this chair'"

[@Toni-zp1cs]

Dad would take off his black leather belt known as black beauty and snap it together,it worked for a little while anyways😂

[@davidszabo1618]

@@Toni-zp1cs "Keep it up and you'll talk to Mister 5."

[@InnocentPotato-pd7wi]

And remember the classic "Don't make me pull this car over!? "LOL!

[@kelkabot]

1969 baby here. Candy cigarettes and wax candy lips. Parents stayed up late in summer smoking and drinking and playing cards, while all the kids ran wild. Dancing the Bump and the Hustle. If we complained about being bored, Dad made us do pushups. We shoveled snow, scrubbed toilets, stacked firewood, cooked meals, drove several years before getting our licenses. Farm kids-we sometimes drove ourselves to school on tractors for the hell of it, and it was legal at any age. What a world. Checking the mail for a letter from the crush you met at church camp. Climbing trees. Watching soap operas with Grandma because there was only one tv and three channels. Dancing to American Bandstand on Saturday mornings. Sleeping in the unheated upstairs bedrooms while the adults got the comfy spots downstairs because we were kids and hadn’t earned the comfort privileges yet. Beautiful, beautiful life.

[@ILfarmgirl1970]

As farm kids, did you challenge one another to touch the electric fence with a millet stalk? 😂

[@pjw661]

You said it. It was a wonderful time to grow up!

[@billienova]

Omg I can relate 1000%

[@PiggyLong-zz6uw]

Awesome… I’m keeping that

[@kaydee9358]

I'm a baby boomer but you just described my childhood.😊

[@eury5405]

Water from the garden hose was THE BEST!!!!

[@momo7gato]

Or the fire hydrant!

[@mandovapehater6988]

Still do it. Ain't killed me yet...

[@Leadeshipcoach]

Water from the garden hose… told my 3 daughters about this… they looked at me like “You drank from what?!!!!”🤣🤣

[@oddball-z]

Best flavor out there 😂

[@robant5578]

I drank from the paddles , from melted snow springs in the woods, from a river , from the pond, you name it, push frogs and algae aside and drink,

[@FireCracker3240]

We played outside until it was dark. We all sat on top of a giant transformer and listened to music on the boom box the cool kid brought over. No one came looking for us. No one told us to get off the transformer. No one thought much of us one way or another. It was an entire generation of middle children (of which I am). And it was a GLORIOUS way to grow up.

[@robedmund9948]

Gen X is okay being forgotten. Happened all the time growing up and that made us tough and resilient.

[@sheilatorio6811]

That’s true! We were latch key kids. Sent ourselves to school. Played outside past dawn. No one cared for us then and they don’t now!

[@StephenKon-wq3ki]

We did thead the fine line.

[@PeteQuad]

The ones that are alive.

[@christopherwarren4293]

No way Gen X should be patting themselves on the shoulder too much. After all, Gen Z is YOUR KIDS, Xers!

[@PeteQuad]

@@christopherwarren4293 what's wrong with Gen Z?

[@Calibri57]

Age 11, I Sneaked into a bar at night with my cousin to hear rock group Kansas play, in Kansas! Got caught and was told to sit on a stool in the back corner until the music ended and NOT make a SOUND! I did and got to hear and see everything. Then we sneaked home and climbed back in the window to the bedroom. No one was the wiser- what a great adventure! So nice of the bartender to let us stay

[@girasoljardin3314]

Was this in Topeka? I went to Topeka West but about six years after Carey Livgren graduated.

[@Earthy-Artist]

Love your story! My friends and I tried to do that for a Kiss concert at night in NYC, I put a dummy in my bed to make it look like I was sleeping and tried to sneak out. But little sis told my parents on me or I would have made it to the bus heading to Madison Square Garden! Years later I asked her why she told, she said she was afraid for my safety. I too was only about 11 then so she probably was right.

[@mikeg3439]

The bartender was probably impressed that an 11 year old had that good taste in music.

[@jpfly66]

Ha, my friend and I walked into a corner bar when we were 13 and ordered rum and cokes. The bartender asked us what kind of rum and we probably answered something like Jack Daniels because we had no clue. He said he could only serve us one drink each. We sat in the bar sipping what was, I am sure now, just plain coke but we thought it had rum and thought we were the coolest kids in town getting served at the bar that afternoon.

[@bicyclist2]

Just more proof that Gen-X rocks! Thank you.

[@duckluvnmom2802]

Anyone remember trying to speed dial their local radio station on a rotary phone? 😂

[@Rogue_VI]

You just hoped there weren't any 9's or 0's

[@matthewcardenas2596]

Lmao

[@jamesweir2943]

@@duckluvnmom2802 we would dial everything but the last number and then wait and hope

[@brucedavis3816]

Yea 555 234 hold the five........now!!!!

[@grantwallace130]

Or forcing it backwards so it would "Go Faster"

[@ingapevzner3002]

Absolutely 😂❤We are the strongest!..❤

[@evelynbare1975]

We mowed the lawn in flip flops, we played with lawn darts, our fireworks were basically dynomite, flares, and crappy fuses, they were unsafe and insane. We spent our free time riding horses, dirt bikes, and jumping off a three story house onto a trampoline to see who could get the farthest bounce. We would get in literal physical fights with each other but nobody better mess with any of us, and if the parents asked no one would say anything. We were farm kids so we did our work but the rest of our time was floating rivers, plinking with guns, building things and blowing things up.

[@wendyflatt39]

Farm kid here, born in 1970. I wreaked my first car at 15 driving to the farm to pick my mom up so she could get another load of grain….same day my brother was messing around with my dads gun and literally shot a hole in the house. My wreaking the family car didn’t seem so bad! lol…the car even had a bunch of corn stalks stuck in the axle! 😂

[@evelynbare1975]

@@wendyflatt39 😆 🤣

[@CocoOPNY]

Even suburb kids found a way to do most of that lollll

[@amywolfe6100]

You know it!!

[@StevenLewis-y3q]

God help the farms!

[@jacquelinehembrey4825]

True! True! True! When I was seven years old, I told my mum "we need to go to the hospital. My leg is broken." She told me it wasn't because I'd be crying if it was broken. So I cried. And that didn't help because she said I was only crying because she said I'd be crying. Blah, blah, blah .... and It took me three days to convince a grown up to take me to the hospital, where a doctor looked at my leg with his eyes and said it wasn't broken and he wasn't going to waste x-rays. My friend's mother insisted so they could prove to me I was wrong and I would shut up about it! So, anyway, ..... my leg was broken

[@samanthab1923]

That is child neglect!

[@a64738]

@@samanthab1923 Or also known as Gen X upbringing...

[@moonhunter9993]

Yeah, same reason I walked around with a broken wrist for a week...

[@davidszabo1618]

Similar thing happened to me. Broke & dislocated my ankle, torn ligaments as well. Lay on the the couch for 3 days crying in pain. Called a sook (Aussie for cry baby) before mum relented and took to me to see the orthopedic surgeon, he took one look at my ankle and said "Yep, that's a plaster job."

[@Earthy-Artist]

Yikes!

[@kellidinit3725]

I’m still amazed that so many of us survived. I had at least 5 near death experiences a week and just brushed it off and went on with my day. 😂😂😂

[@turokforever007]

If you could get up and walk, then it was fine.

[@ladyaqua4544]

Same 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@emmawilde152]

And all the things that happened, and it never occurred to me to tell my mom about the 20 near misses each day

[@StephenKon-wq3ki]

Don’t tell your kids about it.

[@emmawilde152]

A few years ago I was helping a friend clear brush along a fence. I got a big cut on my arm from the barbed wire. She's younger. She started talking stitches and tetanus. I side eyed her like she was crazy and kept working. Gen X pain tolerance. Lock jaw is just ER scare tactics.

[@GenX_-um2ct]

1976 here! So true. My poor ass parent didn’t have money for daycare so as a 6 year old I was given a latchkey. I think this had lasting effects on my adulthood too. I would like to find a spouse, but I am also completely content and capable of taking care of myself.

[@julybear8019]

"What are you doing inside!?? go play somewhere!

[@bitburg40]

It was the opposite for me. My mom had a hard time getting us to come inside. Even got in trouble numerous times for riding my bike across town in San Diego to play with friends in the old neighborhood or riding 20 miles to the beach. I was 8 at the time. I guess that would be child neglect in the snowflake generations.😂

[@rckc.1719]

my dear fathers words to my ears.

[@mexman000]

home by dark was the rule. i could go to the friends on the weekend after dark. We would never stay inside. btw, i was born in 1972

[@thomabb]

"Get out of the house" was mom's way of resolving fights between us brothers.

[@iainherridge6253]

"Go play in the traffic!"

[@gannman2001]

Born in 1962, grew up in the 70's............what a magical time to be a kid, and especially a teenager !

[@Bme6725]

@@gannman2001 same and just turned 62.

[@debraderoxtro8342]

Im 62 also!!!

[@jeffreywolfe1]

@gannman2001 Agreed! Born in 1963. Life was so much better, real, offering you the chance to truly grow and become strong and capable. Trying to pass this mindset on to my young kids today.

[@BROU-bb2uc]

@@gannman2001 born in 61.

[@shade0762]

Same - Born in 1962 in small town America and it was idyllic (in retrospect)... at the time it seemed a struggle 😂

[@orphafrank1024]

I describe it as a time before the word "parent" became a verb.

[@ice-iu3vv]

i bet lots of younger people wouldnt even get the joke.

[@orphafrank1024]

...because they don't know the difference between a noun and a verb@@ice-iu3vv?

[@ice-iu3vv]

@@orphafrank1024right. and, if you had them pick apart the phrase "my parents have parenting skills", or "my parent really knows how to parent", i dont think most younger folks would even know where to begin, or what exactly is being discussed.

[@carynmason3421]

😂

[@andercoyote4170]

😂😂🤣🎯✨

[@CynthiaPrusak]

I just got teary eyed. I miss those simple days so much. It will never be the same.❤❤❤

[@debfletcherwins6488]

The latch-key kids! The generation that raised themselves!

[@SpressoHead]

But somehow still got discipline!

[@lynnardbaker2025]

I should have done a better job!😂

[@KeleWele23]

​@@SpressoHead I was latchkey, I enjoyed the freedom of having the house to myself for a few hours! I never left the house & didn't allow anyone to come over. I cooked my lunch & watched cartoons!

[@timothyhight9588]

So that's what wrong with them!

[@vladomatoski1634]

​@@KeleWele23and porn on rented VHS tapes😂

[@ruthresetar5940]

I wouldn't change any of this for a minute. Kids today don't know what they have missed. Having your own cell phone is not the answer.

[@moralfortitude...2217]

frfr...U AINT LYIN' 💯💯💯💯💯💯

[@Troy_nov1965]

I hate cell phones and I still carry my old flip phone. Once I retire that son of a bitch is going into the garbage can. Still have my computer though ;)

[@moralfortitude...2217]

@@Troy_nov1965 fact!

[@Troy_nov1965]

@cAlmliKeAboMb2023 I remember in the early mid 70s we lived out in a real rural area. My father was working on a ranch. We still had a party line lol.

[@moralfortitude...2217]

@cAlmliKeAboMb2023 FACT !!! 💯🎯👍

[@seanjohnson8957]

For those not born in the ‘70s, and not experiencing the ‘80s, I truly hate that you missed out.

[@HumanimalChannel]

71 child here. Yep... when jokes could be FUNNY! And the MUSIC...ohohoh, listen to the music! Just too good! LYRICS! MELODIES!

[@susiduo3438]

The 80s sucked. I would have rather lived in the 60s and 70s.

[@OneofInfinity.]

@@HumanimalChannel Being a* teenager in the 80's was magical, the films, the music...

[@mistymeasles2527]

1:20 YEEEES I climbed out on my Nana's roof with a blanket, slefp until I woke up sweating 😂😂😂❤

[@divinecommerce3912]

Who put cards in their bike’s wheel spokes with laundry pins 😎

[@markh.7650]

And now we cry, thinking what those cards would be worth now! First year GenX, so all my cards were from the '70s.

[@kelcurry4561]

Momma with 3 boys here and I taught every single one of them that trick. I gave my boys a taste of my childhood every chance I could. They loved it. 😊

[@HumanimalChannel]

Remember Spokies? Beads for the spokes? I never had any but some kids did and they looked and sounded awesome

[@frederickgramcko5758]

We would have 3 or 4 of us on either side of the street, and the bike rider had to zoom by. . . We all had Frisbee's.. . . . .Ricky took one in the front spokes. . . Needless to say he went head over the Handel bars.. . Cried for a bit , didn't break anything. . . Scraped up, see in school on Monday.

[@machineman268]

Yep, I would buy baseball cards just for the gum.

[@m.bustock5265]

Born in 1965 here…our backyard was adjacent to a canyon….literally would goout the back gate and play with pollywogs, see coyotes, endless tarantulas, silver backyard slide (2000 degrees in the summer) and we came home at dark. We spoke to people, danced in groups in our living rooms (especially the Hustle), went roller skating, rode our bikes, etc. what a wonderful upbringing!

[@Earthy-Artist]

Yes! I did all that stuff too, even 'the hustle' with a group of friends in the living room, and also 'the walk' that was a thing then too. Everything except the pollywogs, coyotes an tarantulas {none to be found in New Jersey 😆}.

[@alexcastillo1384]

I think you were in a cult

[@jimhazel1544]

Same here and same year, hop the fence and don't look back. We built tree forts, underground forts, damned up creeks and stocked them with the fish we caught 2 miles away after putting pennies on the railroad tracks until they were as big as our calloused little hands.

[@BerryBerry1465]

Jars FULL of pollywogs that died in our garage 😂

[@BerryBerry1465]

How do so many people here live the same life yet never met. Here we are❤. Pennies on tracks and forts with sheets as doors.🎉​@@jimhazel1544

[@LarsonPetty]

In truth, we were as feral as children could be without someone going to jail because of it.

[@DAJ2000]

Feral is a good way to put it. I allowed my kids to be a bit feral too and they turned out fine.

[@LarsonPetty]

@@DAJ2000 I truly believe that being too sheltered can be just as detrimental to development as allowing a kid to run completely wild. Other end of the scale, to be sure, but a life devoid of living is not a book that anyone would want to read.

[@Gizziiusa]

isnt that the truth. We neighborhood kids called it "Exploring", and had places already named like "the hills of America". ps your comment brings back a whole lotta good memories.

[@stuartbagley2586]

@@GizziiusaWe called it going on an adventure, but it was the same thing. Great for bonding with friends.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

@@Gizziiusa Me, Beeve, and Wally, called it, "Going out to mess around". Maybe there'd be some drying cement we could write our names into, or a dog fight, or a staggering drunk, or some bottles we could break, or an abandoned car we could vandalize, or some nut job pulling out his wang.

[@kristenp5835]

71 baby here and was a proud owner of a Holly Hobbie lunch box. 😁💕thanks for this. You made my day.

[@KarenMorganComedy]

🥰

[@kendrawalker5863]

I still have my Holly Hobby game and it was my favorite lunch box.

[@Jeweliedear]

Holly hobbie and strawberry shortcake dolls

[@stephenpenrice1230]

Watching The Wizard of Oz exactly one time per year. Thirty five years later, my daughter’s school showed it in the gym every time it was too rainy to have recess outside and she got tired of watching it. I don’t think I ever adequately explained to her how unimaginable that would be to my eight-year-old self.

[@Xianne027]

That witch and the Flying Monkeys traumatized me! And then one day, that witch was earning her money in the role of Mrs. Olsen serving up Folger's coffee in television commercials... 🤔 Then I finally got a clue how the world was put together.

[@stephenpenrice1230]

@@Xianne027 She appeared on Sesame Street once, in character, and they were flooded with complaints that it was too scary. The episode was never shown again in reruns. She also appeared on Mr Roger’s Neighborhood , but of course Fred Rogers knew the right way to present her. She came as herself, but carrying a small bag containing her witch costume. She put it on over her regular clothes while Mr Rogers explained it was all make-believe.

[@100lamadrina8]

I live in Florida today what kids do for exercise in high school; they walk around the track with their clothes on looking at their phone. How sad. If it was raining we still had recess we had board games we could color, cut and paste etc.

[@Oluinneachain]

@@Xianne027my sister who was 5 and in school , brought me to see it on a Saturday morning in the school hall, courtesy of the nuns. I was 3. Before TV in our area so first moving picture I ever saw. Traumatic experience. Scarred for life. The wicked witch melting😳. As with others during the summer out the door until we heard ( but pretended not to) the bell our mother rang to call us to dinner. 😊

[@lynns8090]

We had outdoor recess regardless of the weather! No A/C in the school building either. We survived.

[@MB-xl4cz]

I was a teenager in the 70's. Wouldn't give it up for anything! Hitchhiking, no camaras following you, real freedom. Best music ever. Ahhh good old days!

[@jillwklausen]

Really, it was the music that made our generation the greatest. Entire KZbin channels are dedicated to younger generations listening to it for the first time and being gobsmacked by how amazing it is. I doubt anyone will be doing that with today's music in 50 years.

[@thegrimspeaker8987]

I grew up in seventies. She is spot on. I look back and think these kids and helicopter parents nowadays would’ve never made it back then. It was the greatest era of my life, and made me who I am today.

[@Amanda-h5l8s]

I love it! Tanned on the roof with baby oil and a boom box. No seat belt fell out of the car a couple of times and turned out good.

[@ceciliacalabrano]

Those were the days! Born in 67 and the 70s, and 80s were the BEST!!!!!!!

[@toms4806]

I was born in 67 too. I can’t agree with you more !

[@notmyrealname2592]

Same!

[@missyvinson6220]

Me too, best years to grow up. And had the best music ever.

[@KandyKoatedKrafts]

Same 1967 rules!! 🥰

[@TheOtherKine]

You're not Gen X then LMAO you're the left-out Gen LMAO

[@julieharden2433]

That woman on Romper Room never said my name either! I'm 52 and still pissed.

[@doricetimko5403]

Me neither

[@Troy_nov1965]

I didnt like that show after Kaptain Kangaroo went off and Romper Room came on i was ready to go find something else to do.

[@Spunkkygirl]

Never heard my name either!

[@KellieLV]

Omg my father ran a TV station. He'd pull me out of school to be ON romper roo.

[@chriskirsten8221]

lol

[@martinneumann9345]

When Halloween fell on a Saturday, the distance you could cover trick or treating was unreal.

[@wpeale71341]

And if you were really sneaky, you could double your candy amount by scaring the smaller kids on their way back home too.

[@kimwilson3831]

@@martinneumann9345 got to the point you couldn't carry the pillowcase any longer so you would have to go home.

[@ThatsaTechnicalFoul]

I really enjoyed this clip-first time seeing Karen Morgan. I’m baby Gen-X, born 1980, and it’s funny cuz like so many of the rest, I didn’t have a good upbringing & there was almost nothing BUT struggle. I know the younger generations may be annoyed by us now that we’re having our moment in the sun but we all had nothing when we were young. Nothing but a strong will to survive, a hefty dose of sarcasm to get us through pain, and a stiff backbone. We deserve to have a little camaraderie now cuz we were on our own all our lives. It makes me feel less alone and until Gen X started talking about their lives online, I had no idea it was such a collective experience we shared. Thought it was just me & the ruffians from my neighborhood. Appreciate you Karen, as an elder Gen-Xer, just as I do the rest. Y’all 70s babies gave me the blueprint for how to survive back in those days where no one gave a fuck about us. ❤

[@KarenMorganComedy]

Thanks so much! This is why I love what I do 🥰

[@luannd62]

62 years old - I miss so much about the 70s, when I came of age. Yes, there were societal issues just like there have always been, but damn, we had a blast. What a wild, free time it was.

[@jetcat132]

The best time…. Ever.

[@MM-km5zf]

what are remember the most from my childhood in late 60's/early 70's: streets were crowded with kids riding bikes, play some time of ball, or playing tag that cars couldn't speed through the neighborhood -the ice cream truck stopping and swarms of kids surrounding it -hardly ever spent any time in bedrooms other than to sleep because we spent the majority of our time outside -watch cartoon Saturday morning and off we went outside afterwards until it got dark -i was a tomboy and I never was considered to have gender issues/confusion; i was just a girl who hated to wear dresses because I couldn't climb the trees as fast as the boys, but I always wore pigtails with ribbons -we addressed the adults with respect or else we were lectured which meant time away from playing outside

[@Celeste-in-Oz]

We were feral and it was sublime. Hanging out at the local park, not an adult in sight, just kids with a few coins for sweets, swings and our dogs

[@DAJ2000]

An old friend and I were sharing stories of all the things we remembered doing in our old neighborhood. I said "I don't remember a parent ever being around when we were doing all that (dangerous) stuff." She answered "I know! It's a miracle we didn't die!"

[@turnbacktime65]

@@DAJ2000me and my sis can’t believe we are alive. 1958, 1960. We had some adventures.😂

[@stephen3390]

Only way I could get a day off school if I was plugged into a life support machine but my mother would still try asking for a portable version!!

[@NubianP6]

I TOTALLY said: *”Let the dog lick it”* when she first started the list! 🤣🤣🤣

[@davidpepper-ip2sm]

@@NubianP6 there's only 3 of us here but I was told that by my Dad more than once 🤣

[@skrlreels2060]

Right. Didn't they say at one time that a dog's tongue has something on it that can make your sores heal? That was a thing, I think. 🤣🤣

[@bicyclist2]

As a 47 year old Gen-Xer I can confirm that she is right. This is what nostalgia sounds like. Thanks.

[@muratsinanengin9773]

76?..

[@dano7189]

As another 47 year old , I fully agree with you and her

[@sebikelifeusvetparatrooper]

🕶

[@matthewstearns289]

47 your still a kid.

[@teriamborn5247]

You haven't seen pain until you have experienced MERCURACHROME.

[@timrankin8737]

When mom got that out u knew u fed up bad. That was only when the insides were showing. But u never had an infection after that.

[@ArtArchitectureAndAI]

😂 lol.I had forgotten about that mercurochrome..

[@00bikeboy]

Ahh, that takes me back! 😃

[@btventura9570]

Ha Ha! With the light saber applicator! That stuff was painful but magic. I miss it.

[@squidward66]

I loved the way it smelled though. And the pain told you it was working! 😆

[@scottwendt9575]

I remember jumping off railroad bridges into the river and when I told my mom, she told me where to find a higher bridge.

[@samanthab1923]

I love that 😂

[@hermosabeach7869]

😂

[@100lamadrina8]

today parents would be arrested for even telling you that. Good times.

[@predragbalorda]

Me too!!

[@neilosbeverly7462]

When your friend Bruce in Tennessee takes you all day jumping off a 40 ft cliff into a big lake. On arriving home his mom asks Bruce you didn't take them to that cliff where that boy jumped onto a school of baby watermocosins and bit him to death . . Did you? Bruce says Yes as he looks slyly over at me. . . . BRUCE!

[@iamjones11]

Holy cats, "Romper Room," now that's a blast from the past lol!😂

[@ynotdeviltry5968]

Frozen tv dinners.. The stress of going to the bathroom and / or getting a snack before the commercials ended.. Getting up to change the channel.. Watching game shows and soap operas when sick at home.. Yes, that huge color tv was a big part of my childhood

[@chriskirsten8221]

my family was the last ones on our block to get a color TV - we had a black and white set for what seemed like an eternity lol

[@panpiper]

My brother and I didn't have to get up. Our TV was only an 8" B&W. We sat close enough to it we just had to lean over. Wasn't much of a chore with only two channels.

[@Earthy-Artist]

@@JanetFlores-r2j Yeah, wasn't the Wizard of Oz on during Thanksgiving or Christmas or something? I remember watching it with all the family over and a holiday dinner happening!

[@samanthab1923]

We were bad at answering the phone. You lost your seat on the couch or chairs if you got up to get the phone in the kitchen. Lazy 😂

[@amaldpdamald8874]

And steak umms 🤣

[@davidrogan1292]

70s and 80s were the best times to grow up. Parents did advise their kids and kids knew if something happened like falling or anything it was their own fault. Siblings had to share bedrooms and knew how to share. They know everything wasn't theirs and nobody else's.

[@itsenergybob8917]

Playground injuries were badges of honor.

[@predragbalorda]

Grated kneecaps and ankles anyone?

[@rulistening7777]

10- 4 and bare feet all summer.

[@Twotone-ld1fb]

@@predragbalorda Many many times.

[@skrlreels2060]

You have to scrape your knee at least once in your childhood.

[@Bigfish1day]

You forgot pet rocks and mood rings😂😂😂

[@jpfly66]

And Ouija boards! Hey kids, go take your mood rings and summons whatever spirits into our home in your bedrooms while dad and I watch tv.

[@kimberlywoodbury1739]

I’m sick of you kids being underfoot - get outside and don’t come back until dinner time!

[@panpiper]

Yep, that was the norm.

[@samanthab1923]

Children were to be seen & not heard

[@widfara1]

or when the street lights came on.

[@Talpiot_Program]

....but it's rainin' and hailin' ma! Tiny rock hail. Quit you're complainin' and git. 🎉

[@cindyelam9509]

And locked the door, had to knock to get a drink of water, playing all day in 100 degree heat..then it was there's a water hose outside 😂hot water coming out of the hose and tasted like rubber 😅those were the days..born in 66

[@richardsiciliano7117]

As someone who was born in 1970, I can confirm that everything she says is 100% accurate, and was 100% AWESOME! A couple of things she didn't mention, riding in the back of pickup trucks, Dynamite magazine, and watching Dialing for Dollars movies during the day.

[@BerryBerry1465]

And Tang and Kix cereal.

[@EnzoFerenczyo]

I was born in '59, and we were worse, I came home constantly needing stitches. We were explorers, gone all day on our bikes, swimming in Niagara Falls Dufferin Islands, diving off of bridges into 4-5 feet of water, shallow dive, one kid was rushed to hospital. Another got sucked into the Hydro tunnel downstream. Lots of adventure, no parents around, I was maybe 10.

[@_Y.Not_]

@@EnzoFerenczyo '62 here and a Fort Erie kid, as a young girl bruises all over my legs and knees from stupid stuff and the scars to prove it, living at Crystal Beach and not being able to sleep for sunburn, jumping off the lifeguard stands, riding my bike everywhere with no brakes, ate pixie sticks, Lik'emAid, pop rocks and black candies with an unmentionable name...good times :)

[@EnzoFerenczyo]

@@_Y.Not_ I remember going the store and buying lots of candies for 5 for a penny 3 for a nickel, chocolate bars were 5 cents and soda too, my favorite was orange popsicles after that long ride in the summer. Niagara Falls was like living in Disney World as a kid. Skylon tower, heck we used to even go golfing. My comment mysteriously disappeared twice because I mentioned the candy you said was a no no. Lol I wasn't even finished typing and ZAP big brother swooped in! Thanks for the comment and the memories, it really made my day. I don't appreciate these little snots giving me their ultimate smear, OK, boomer. You guys are so weak, it bleeds my heart for what you've missed buried in your phones and games. Good Night ALL.

[@orokusaki1243]

Heh Dialing for Dollars with George Allen, that was local show for me, apparently syndicated elsewhere.

[@toomylight2311]

And we’re all still alive and appreciated things in life !!

[@kathryncainmadsen5850]

Well, we aren’t ALL still alive. But for those who are….it was good times with all that freedom.