What Was Wrong with the 70s????

[Menofsteel]

I wasn’t born until 1980 but my husband is a 60s child. He’s showed me public information films from the 70s and just introduced me to the original Survivors. I saw the remake with Julie Graham? Why is everything from the 70s so much creepier?!? I’m starting to believe we are a bit softer nowadays .

I was born in 1972.
Long hot summers out on bikes all day dodging the dog poo.
My DM scraping the condensation off the windows each morning in winter and mopping up with a towel and bucket.
Don't think we ever owned a bottle of sun cream. Still have the sunburn scars on my shoulders.
Highlight of the week was sandwiches and trifle from the tea trolley in the lounge on a Sunday night.

The playing outside more is something I remember, fortunate enough to live in a cul-de-sac.

I agree it was an era of fitting in with what your parents wanted you to do.

Most households only had one television set (or if there was a second it was a tiny black and white one) and no video recorder, so as a child you had to watch what your parents had chosen from the three channels on offer.

A pp mentioned John Lydon. Ideas of what was acceptable on TV were almost the reverse of nowadays - back then, swearing and sex were liable to bring in piles of complaint letters to 'Points of View' but sexism, homophobia and casual racism were seen as acceptable forms of comedy.

Born in the 70's

Going swimming and your mates mum driving loads of you in her estate car while you all sat in the boot without seatbelts

Billy Blue Hat and Jennifer Yellow Hat is how we learnt to read.

Anything went for a packed lunch. Often you had a jam sandwich on white Mothers Pride with a Tunnocks Wafer Bar and a packet of heavily salted crisps.

Trains were all slam door with individual compartments. The windows used to come all the way down so you could stick your head out. I had a family member who worked for British Rail who took great pleasure in telling me about all the people who had their heads knocked off by tunnels or who had leaned on a door that hadnt been shut properly and fallen out

I was always thirsty when my parents took me out for the day. They never allowed us a drink until we had travelled hours by train and I have memories of being properly thirsty. They also didnt allow toilet stops so I also was desperate for the loo a lot. I swore I would never do that to my ds.

The noise of Sunday was always motor racing. It still reminds me now

My late nan regularly took my sister and I to her whist and bingoclub where she made us sing to everyone. We were cute but terrible. We were allowed to join in with the Bingo and when someone won a tray would come round with chocolate bars and combs and soap and things and the person chose their prize. There was an old man there called Len and whenever my sister or I won, my nan would make us pick soap or something useful for Len as she said he was very poor and couldnt afford soap

1970s born .
Outside playing a lot of the time .
Not a lot of health and safety . No seatbelts , jumping off the garage roof for fun , blackberry picking , going to the dump . Just wandering about all day .

Feeling hungry as money was tight , era of strikes and high interest rates .

Being chased by the skinheads and having dogs set on us ( my siblings and I ) at the park because we were 'pakis'.

Having our windows smashed on a regular basis. And NF sprayed on our house .

Mum beating beaten up by local skinheads with a baseball bat and neighbours just watching .

Dad having his teeth punched out by local skinheads .

Dad cutting grooves into our windowsills and sliding boards across windows and padlocking so we didn't have to keep replacing windows ( expensive ).

Police calling us the trouble makers .

Having white dog shit posted through our letterbox .

Feeling cold in bed as no central heating in house .

Setting chip pan alight .

I was a teenager in the 1970s. I had a ball. Dating was in some ways less stressful - no social media, no mobile phones, no texting. It was stressful in that staying in waiting for the phone to ring was horrible, but if you didn't hear from someone you had no idea what they were doing, and you never got the feeling of being left out or that others were having a better time than you.

Looking back there was so much that is so unacceptable and wrong these days. So many TV shows that were on wouldn't be shown now. Racism and sexism spring to mind straight away.

Being contactable 24/7 was unheard of. I had friends who didn't even have a landline at home.

I would say that life was less complicated.

I remember decimalisation, the oil crisis and power cuts, glam rock, O levels and A levels, most of the Christmas songs played every Christmas seem to have been hits in the 1970s, the UK winning the Eurovision Song Contest, the long hot summer of 1976 and at 17 going camping on the Isle of Wight with all my mates, Elvis dying, The Yorkshire Ripper

Dogs ran free in the street , as people just opened their door and let them roam free . In my ( council house estate ) you learnt which ones were the nasty dogs and kept away from them.
You'd also get some ' odd ' men you knew it was better to avoid. For example when you heard the ice cream van and saw it was a certain one you'd avoid him because he was creepy and would always try to grap your hand when you gave him the money ( you'd be about aged 10 - 12 )
Also made sure you were close to home in bin day as there was another man who gave out bad vibe feeling to young girls.
Tbh it was quite unsafe in many ways.

I was in my twenties during the 70's and had my first child in 1972. We ate loads of vegetables and were still hippie dippy in believing children shouldn't be left to cry it out and should have loads of outdoor play. No tv till 1978.

I always loathed 'light entertainment'. When I first went into town (that'd be Manchester) aged 16 it was with the 17 year old from next door. She told me as we travelled in by bus that if the DJ that night was Saville, to keep well away. Don't go up to request a record, he'll invite you back stage and he' a perv. She thought I may be safe because I could pass for 18 and really he liked 13 year olds.
Yes, racism, sexism but not without challenge. The women's movement grew up because women were sick of being expected to brew up and look after the children at any political get together.
Also, some great music and hope things would get better.

@neonjumper I'm so sorry that you went through all of that, it sounds horrendous.

This thread brings back so many memories. My ds doesn't believe me when I tell him we didn't have seatbelts and used to sit on our mums lap in the front of the car with them fagging away.

Also, no TV until 1974 in our house so lots of home made games and creative stuff.

Tank tops and 'dolly' reversible dresses.

Angel Delight was our treat and tinned fruit cocktail - we never ate out as we couldn't afford it.

We would leave home on a Saturday and be out roaming all day on our Chopper bikes. Sometimes had a sandwich with us and 2p for a bag of crisps.

Encountered challenging situations young - a flasher once, but dealt with it.

Free school meals with a ticket and a separate line.

The Charlie Says public service ads.

Top 40 on the radio on Sundays.

Forgot there were packs of dogs too roaming everywhere.

I’ve been watching the child safety films from then, that don’t play on farms one is extremely scary for being aimed at kids! Maybe the 80s was as creepy and I don’t remember?

Dogs - I remember aged about three being chased round the swings by a terrier. I was scared out of my wits. My mum told me it was my fault for 'being so silly' and if I hadn't run the dog wouldn't have chased me.

That was 70s parenting!

My ds doesn't believe me when I tell him we didn't have seatbelts and used to sit on our mums lap in the front of the car

I remember more than once travelling in the back of an estate car - lying happily on the parcel shelf or whatever you'd call it with three other children!

I was a teen in the 70's.it was a good time.
I found work easy to get once I left school. had a lot of fun.
even the power cuts. remember being 16 on a date and candles in the pub.

neonjumper you and your family should never have had to go through all that, makes my blood run cold just reading it.

@Ginfordinner there was a downside to the no mobiles. waiting for that guy to call and hoping your big brother didn't answer the phone

If you want to be creeped out, the film "The Finishing Line", mentioned upthread, is available to watch for free at player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-finishing-line-1977-online

One advantage to rotary dial phones was that you knew all your friends' and family's phone numbers off by heart. I can still remember many of them to this day.

Leyland Motors/ British Leyland starting going tits up which was a massive deal for our family at the time. My Mum cried her eyes out when Elvis passed. Bless him

No mobiles, yeah...I gave my number to a guy in a club once, then thought, How the hell will I explain that one if he calls and my mum answers? (He didn't.)

I moved out out in 1979, and I can still remember my parents phone number

Early 70s baby here.

I have fond memories of childhood, as do my parents (Second World War babies) & some of my late grandparents (1900s/ 1920s babies). It probably depends on your circumstances to a certain extent.

The 70s felt simpler, but that was my perception as a child, & my memory of it. I think my parents found it hard- one income because mums tended not to work, plus the usual stresses of being new parents.

I don't think we were neglected, far from it. Playing out was great fun, & everyone knew everyone else on our street. Yes you kept away from some houses out of respect (usually older people who didn't want to be bothered). But if you got too rowdy your friends' parents ticked you off, likewise everyone knew where their kids were.

There was less choice & things like eating out at the Berni Inn, having a whole bar of chocolate to yourself, & getting brand new clothes instead of hand-me-downs were very special treats. I appreciated it more, & I think we were the better for it. But I think not having things has perhaps made us want more for our own kids, & I'm not sure that it's always been the best thing.

Playing out, constantly with no thought of having to be back at a certain time. Never daring to bother an unknown Grown Up.
Having favourite treasured toys (and nothing else!).
Being cold. Really really cold. Washing hands / face in cold water. Then using a damp towel.
Mum making us clothes, and her horror of using orange thread on denim (rather than matching thread) after we begged and begged her to!
Mince. A lot of mince.
Pretending to be a Dalek army, in endless group re-enactments / games of Dr Who.
I remember the public information adverts, but never found them remotely scary, even though I was generally scared of adventure stories etc.

@hollyandkit

neonjumper you and your family should never have had to go through all that, makes my blood run cold just reading it.

Still happens nowadays but plays out in different ways .

Being chased by the skinheads and having dogs set on us ( my siblings and I ) at the park because we were 'pakis'.

Having our windows smashed on a regular basis. And NF sprayed on our house .

Mum beating beaten up by local skinheads with a baseball bat and neighbours just watching .

Dad having his teeth punched out by local skinheads .

Dad cutting grooves into our windowsills and sliding boards across windows and padlocking so we didn't have to keep replacing windows ( expensive ).

Police calling us the trouble makers .

Having white dog shit posted through our letterbox .

@neonjumper, am totally appalled you and your family were subjected to that. Vile.
And shame on those neighbours and police for bystanding.