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

[newlabelwriter]

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!

Childhood illnesses - time off school with measles, mumps and rubella. And kids in my school dying/being left with lifelong after-effects from meningitis. Vaccines have improved childhood a lot.

Walking home from school at 5yo on my own.
Latchkey kid from 7yo
Playing in the woods with my best mate after school at 8yo, 2 miles from the village.
A parent tying a sledge to their car and towing us round the village when it snowed.
No seatbelts, travelled about in car boots and on bench seats in landrovers.
Sneaking out of girl guide meetings for a fag halfway through
Primary school trip to the Peak District staying for a few days in a youth hostel. 4 of us taken in the head mistresses car and the other 4 in her husbands car.

I don't even have a seat without a seatbelt, I had a cushion on the handbrake in a two seater sports car. Happy days.

I used to walk home from school from about 6 and was a latchkey kid from age 8. I used to have to light the gas fire with a match!

I'd be out most days and evenings after school just exploring and hanging around with my mates until the street lights came on
My favorite toy was my roller skates that I'd strap on over my pumps, we'd go racing down hills in them and hope we'd stop before getting to the road!

Saturdays I'd be out first thing til evening playing in the fields and parks with my mates.

My mum used to work in a pub and most Fridays I'd sleep over at my mate's house while she was at work. We'd usually go an play in the park round the corner until it was dark then go to the pub for pop and crisps, say goodnight to my mum then back to their house.

During High School we used to go to youth club every Friday, and they'd have a disco at the end of the month. We'd pay someone older to go to the offy for us and by a bottle of Thunderbird to share before going to the disco!

God, the shit I used to get up to was mental!!!

Oh dear, these are brilliant!

Around the age of 10, waiting until a strange man was hanging around outside school, and doing handstands, while wearing a skirt, so our knickers were on display.

I had a small off road motorbike from the age of about 12yo which I used to tear round the woods on, often without a helmet. One time I lost control and came flying out of the woods and onto the main road, luckily missed all the cars! 🙈

Playing in the icy school playground, making huge ice slides.

Swings and huge slides/ lethal roundabouts and hideous rocking horses with hard concrete under them.

No wonder there were so many more broken arms and legs in the 1980s. After every school holiday one of the class members would turn up in plaster without fail!

Walking to and from school ( about a mile) by myself from year 3. Had house key from that age.
Randomly bring friends back from school with me in an unplanned way. As they were also walking home by themselves.

Sparkling yes of course, but to say that life was so much better without all today rules and regulations is plain wilful idiocy. Yes it was fun back then but there were a lot more accidents and deaths.

I was just looking at seatbelt legislation the other day (too many quiz shows over Christmas - DD had become v keen on The Wheel, for my sins , and I was astonished it was so late, as I never remember my parents ever not using seatbelts, even in the late 70s.

Most new cars did have them, but they weren’t legally mandated - eg front seatbelts were compulsory equipment from 1968, but people were not mandated to wear them until 1983. Same for rear seat belts - all the cars we had in the late 70s and early 80s had them, cars had to have them from 1986 (though most had them before), and they were compulsory from 1991. In reality anyone sensible had been wearing their seatbelt anywhere in the car since the 70s. My parents were horrified to discover I had been taken in a friend’s estate boot once in the 80s - it was clearly massively unsafe and this was obvious to anyone with a brain.

My parents went out and got one of the first child car seats on the market in the mid 70s, and we all sat on booster seats with seatbelt clips throughout the early 80 and we weren’t alone! It wasn’t that these things weren’t out there.

People just took risks a lot more; and most of the time they were fine — and then sometimes, they really weren’t.

Sent to the shop age 7/8 to buy cigarettes for my Auntie - “20 Silk Cut and a box of matches please”

Sparkling yes of course, but to say that life was so much better without all today rules and regulations is plain wilful idiocy. Yes it was fun back then but there were a lot more accidents and deaths

I don't believe that's what is being said here. I was just enjoying a bit of nostalgia, you can't change the way thing were back then, but you can reminisce, which was actually quite nice.
We're all well aware of how far safety standards have come but I don't think that was what this thread was intended to discuss? Bit of a derail.

Working in the pub kitchen of my local at 15 and being bought beers by the regulars to drink while we swept up. Also doing shifts behind the bar at 16

There was a chap in our village with severe Downs Syndrome, he was extremely aggressive and would hurl stones at us kids, some of whom would throw them back and tease him, making him even more angry, no one seemed to bat an eye lid :( his mum tried to look after him and would spend her time taking him home.

I think about it now and about the poor woman and what happened to him when she could no longer care for him.
Also feel quite ashamed that it was all considered "normal" by the adults around us.

This thread brings back memories. I look back and wonder how I didn’t end up in traction or worse.

We had a few steep hills nearby and we’d have a go at sailing down them on skates or anything with wheels. One kid was always at the bottom looking out for cars.

Pitching myself outside the local pub in the dark with my penny for a guy and returning with a bag of change.

Knock and run on any house without a front garden.

The swings at the local park were hung on long chains and competing with other kids to swing right over the top bar. I never managed it but others could do it.

Working out how many of us could fit on a bicycle and riding down the road with one on the back and a little ‘un perched on the handlebars.

Avoiding the weirdos in cars/vans who would lurk around pre/ after school asking if we wanted a lift or if we wanted to see some puppies.

I remember the Alpine pop man delivering. Not to us, oh no we weren't allowed pop. Next door got bottles of limeade and cherryade and the children always had Ribena moustaches, we were not allowed Ribena either. Or sweets or ITV.

@Stiffcondomhat

Doing PE in your vest and pants because you forgot your pe kit. 21 year old dd is horrified by this!

Oh god this!!

Oh I've thought of a good one! Having an inset day or just visiting or another random reason and going to school.with your cousin at a different school for the day. Teacher apparently fine with that but completely ignored you and you knew better that to bother them.

if you was in top set at our school you had to take a second language and wasnt allowed to do childcare !! as you were deemed too clever!!! girls did typing and sewing but boys didnt girls did not play football

@Sparklingbrook

I remember the Alpine pop man delivering. Not to us, oh no we weren't allowed pop. Next door got bottles of limeade and cherryade and the children always had Ribena moustaches, we were not allowed Ribena either. Or sweets or ITV.

We used to get 'the bean machine' delivering for us. Organic sugar free apple and blackcurrant spread that was like tar, hedgehog crisps (treat) sosmix for veggie sausage rolls lots of other sorts health food stuff that I got judged for at school by the other kids who had conventional food 😅

It sounds as if my parents would have been all over The Bean Machine' @liveforsummer. Not that awful pop like next door's children were allowed.

loads of kids sledging down a big hill with a pond at the bottom no one batted an eyelid spending hours over the park age 9 or 10 fishing in murky quiet deep water for tadpoles all alone riding my bike to my grandparents age just 7 on my own they lived four streets away no phones landline or mobile

walked round from school about a 25 minute walk away from about 6 or 7 same for clubs at village hall went alone or with friends

Girls all doing typing and boys book keeping

Probably already said, but gettting 15 and 18 videos from the video shop aged about 12. Without any form of ID whatsoever. (Only video player was in the main lounge though, so viewing was still somewhat supervised at our house, not so much at a friend's house.)

Going to a nightclub aged 15 and not being asked to show proof of age. We had to be careful not the get obviously drunk, and to be discreet (such as drinking rum and coke), as that was the no-no and would get you turfed out.

Swinging and climbing above concrete in the park. Playing outside for hours, in the next streets, without reporting back or having a mobile on us. I did get grounded if I didn't come back at the right time though, so I did need to wear my watch. (I was not allowed "down the fields" near us, but pushed the boundary a bit. I am sure my parents set the boundaries tight on purpose. )

Feeding cats in the school playground with crisps