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Original poster

If you grew up in 70s/80s what things did you do which would be unimaginable these days.

631 replies

newlabelwriter · 03/01/2022 16:47

Just thinking about this. When I was about 9 my friend and I used to go around knocking on our neighbours doors to see if we could pick dandelions (or something similar) for her pet rabbits. Seems such a random thing to do and obviously v v young to knocking on doors to go into their gardens!

OP posts:
massiveblob · 04/01/2022 23:03

@bizboz

Sit in the boot of a hatchback car when there was a big group of kids being given a lift.
This. We loved it
massiveblob · 04/01/2022 23:05

Playing out in wood and on estate for hours from age 6 with zero supervision

ffscovid · 04/01/2022 23:05

In-car safety was non-existent

In the mid 90s, my good friend was the eldest of 5. The family only had a Ford Fiesta so they would travel with three children sat along the back seat and the youngest two sat on the laps of the older two children. At this point the kids were age 4, 6,10,12 and 16, so quite a squeeze!

I also remember being jealous of another friend who, when going on a long car journey for a holiday, would be allowed to put the back seat down flat to make up a double bed that went across the flattened backseat and into the hatchback boot space. They had a lilo, pillows and a duvet and her and her sister travelled through the evening in a super comfy bed. This was 1989 ish and I was so jealous of her as my Dad made us sleep sitting up with seatbelts on when travelling!

Another friend had a baby sister who - when she'd outgrown the carry baby seat at 6 months ish - went into a seat that just used an adult seatbelt around her (a bit like today's high back boosters but smaller seats). I thought I'd imagined this wrong but nope, I just Googled and they were a 'thing' Confused. The baby could barely sit up unaided! This was also mid 90s (see attached Argos catalogue image!)

If you grew up in 70s/80s what things did you do which would be unimaginable these days.
BraveMumOf4Explorers · 04/01/2022 23:09

@Leafyhouse
Ha ha!!! Doing this for hours on a Sunday eve, recording my faves off the Charts, trying to cut out the DJs voice!!

massiveblob · 04/01/2022 23:15

Another who remembers all us siblings on the back seat on journeys to Cornwall. No seatbelts. Squeezed in. But there was very little motorway traffic in 70s. Plastic car seats.
Penny for the guy.
Bob a job week for cubs (boys only)
Girls at my catholic school expected to behave like girls only.
Not allowed in pubs so dad went in and we sat outside bored. Treat was coke & crisps. No beer gardens.
Cycling with not a helmet in sight.
If not playing out I'd go round kids houses on estate and mum would have no idea where I was and didn't worry. (Age 6 up)
Brownies in brown dresses. Always wanted to be a cub instead but wasn't allowed

JosieJasper · 04/01/2022 23:16

My sister used to be able to buy cigarettes from the corner shop for my Dad if she had a letter from him….she was only about 8 years old 😳 (mid 70s)

BraveMumOf4Explorers · 04/01/2022 23:20

At least Girls can be Cubs now - only just recently - but Boys can’t be Brownies…

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 04/01/2022 23:23

@BraveMumOf4Explorers

At least Girls can be Cubs now - only just recently - but Boys can’t be Brownies…
1991 is exactly recent on girls in Scouts...
BraveMumOf4Explorers · 04/01/2022 23:33

Shock brilliant one about the paraffin - leads to SO many questions…@Fraternaltwin

BraveMumOf4Explorers · 04/01/2022 23:35

Yes you are totally right sorry on guides/rangers etc - but not yet in Brownies x
My husband has only had three girls join Cubs in the last 3 years after 14 years of running it - but it all goes v well.

ItWasntMyFault · 04/01/2022 23:36

Walking to school on my own or with friends from age 5 and then going home for lunch.
No seatbelts in the back of cars and my parents didn't use the ones in the front.
Climbing through from the back of the car to sit on my mums knee in the front on long journeys.
Sitting in the boot if we run out of seats.
Buying matches aged about 8 so we could light bonfires!
Playing on an old disused railway line and on an old quarry aged 9/10.
Playing out until it got dark. My parents knew who I was with but they didn't know where we were.

OhWhyNot · 05/01/2022 00:07

Put our heads out of the sun roof on my friends dads Capri while he was driving

It was a bronze/gold colour I thought it was the best car ever

TansySorrel · 05/01/2022 00:07

When i was at infant school (age 5- 7) in the 70s, the headmistress used to give children a hiding in front of everyone in hymn practice for fidgeting etc. Totally unimaginable now thank goodness.

OhWhyNot · 05/01/2022 00:09

And playing on building sites at the weekend or old houses that were empty (seemed to be a few around)

Owl55 · 05/01/2022 00:52

In school because we were in set A we had religious study, while if you were in set B you had sex education!!! Annoying we wanted sex education too!!!! 🤣

Londoncallingme · 05/01/2022 06:22

1970’s London
Going to buy my dads cigarettes then sitting in the front room passive smoking with him.

Graffitiing a huge mural slogan ‘make love not war’ on a bridge wall with paints, with about 10 friends - organised by a group of the mums.

Getting a red bus rover ticket and bussing all over london on our own, out all day, with no money, just a sandwich and a bottle of tea.

Londoncallingme · 05/01/2022 06:25

@BraveMumOf4Explorers

At least Girls can be Cubs now - only just recently - but Boys can’t be Brownies…
Genuine question - why do girls need to be cubs/scouts - isn’t brownies/girl guides the same thing?
Londoncallingme · 05/01/2022 06:30

Ooh I’d forgotten this / we didn’t even have a PE kit mid 70’s - vest and pants as standard.

mjf981 · 05/01/2022 06:54

This is from the early 90s...I remember getting our first classroom computer. We were learning how to type on it. A girl in our class was quite large and having a hard time. The teacher said - in front of everybody - 'well no wonder you can't type Donna, your fingers are too fat!' Shock
Imagine the fall out now!

FindingMeno · 05/01/2022 06:58

Sitting at home barely able to see to the other side of the room because of the fag smoke haze.
Eating candy cigarettes.
Not to mention our asbestos riddled homes and schools with no idea of the risks and how to manage them.

Onelifeonly · 05/01/2022 07:09

Smoking in the back seat of coaches on school trips, with the driver winking at us in the rear view mirror.

Playing out on the street all summer long, going round to others houses without telling our mother where we were (in primary school).

Being allowed to stay in our form room all lunch time with no adult supervision (as far as I recall), playing very dodgy games, in what is now year 9. So much fun / emotion.

Going on a school cruise, about 20 of us, with only one member of staff who was ill and out of action for a few days (aged 14).

Visiting universities and deciding where to go without the assistance of parents (maybe they gave me the train fare!)

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 05/01/2022 07:12

@Londoncallingme, no they are different organisations, with different philosophies. Similar, but different.

Burgess67A · 05/01/2022 07:33

In art class one day a boy was mucking about so the usually placid art teacher hit him over the head with a big wooden board !

Cuck00soup · 05/01/2022 07:34

Going more than an hour without a drink of water.

NightmareSlashDelightful · 05/01/2022 07:55

Early to mid-80s —

When I was about 8 or 9 my friend and I would go and play in her mum’s car while it was parked on the street. We’d sit in the front and pretend to be driving off on adventures. We had the keys and would be messing about with the handbrake and everything.

Younger — probably five — my first teacher used to whack me over the head with a big book if I got an answer wrong.

Again, first year in primary — there was a big table at the back of the classroom for ‘the slow children’ (era-specific quote, not my words) who would basically be ignored while she taught all the others.

I walked a mile or so to school on my own (or sometimes with a friend) from about the age of eight.

I was given watered-down alcohol with weekend meals from age eight.

Fake IDs for pubs and clubs from about 15. (Though this would have been early to mid-90s for me.)