Things that you can’t quite believe were the norm

[ItsNotAShopItsAStore]

What’s one of those things you think in 10/20/30 years people will go “WTF why was that acceptable?”

For me - the Jeremy Kyle show. I’m so pleased it’s off air - awful poverty porn hosted by a nasty little bully and enabled by god-complex shit stirring producers. Also who wants to watch so much shouting and arguing at 9.25am!

A special care plan needs to be set up with a one on one ta provision.

What a waste of resources, if a parent wants to send their child to school in nappies then they, the parents, should be always available to come and deal with the problem they've created.

I swear to god you are not alone! This happenened frequently... I feel like I'm Hardcore but holy Jesus NO! 4??? & believe me I'm not a moddly coddler... but 4???

The 1920s might have been OK but I’m not sure the 1930s and 1940s were the best of times!

I think they all hang about outside my open bedroom window waiting for the light to come on and me to forget to close the window!

I remember when I was about 10, my family and I were at some sort of social club kinda place.

It was hot so they opened the back doors. Outside was full of empty beer crates and broken glass, and my parents just said 'go and play'.

Not 10 minutes later, I'm back inside, cos I had fallen over, and a large amount of glass has scratched my knee and shin.

It still blows my mind that my parents let me do that. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Smoking in the cinema, airplanes and even the grocery store.
I remember the ring of smoke when I was a kid going to the movies and mam in a supermarket queue with a lit fag!

Gay meaning beautiful. Now it means homosexual

Nylon bed sheets! Did they put a spark into sex. But not in a good way.

What you have to remember is that until a few decades ago there wasn't anything like the amount of motor traffic on the road. I was sent to the nearest shop aged 5 to buy a loaf of bread. My Mum remember this as perfectly OK because there were no roads to cross. I think she's misremembering. There were a couple of roads, but they were very, very quiet because in the mid 1960s not many people in that area could afford cars and those who could had probably driven themselves to work.

Now: Chelsea tractors. Far too big and wide for cities. Their weight must be a factor in why there are so many potholes.

I don't remember quilts, but I do remember our cousin, my brother and I sitting in the back of our uncle's estate car on our way down to Cornwall for our holiday in '77. My dad was probably in the front passenger seat (he didn't drive then), while my uncle drove, and my mum and aunt chatted on the back seats, while of course us kids sat in the "boot space". Them's were the days!

Letting dogs out to walk themselves

I HATED that episode! Lost all sympathy with rhe Drapers from then on.

The 1920s were most certainly not ok for working people. One of my grandmothers was given away to relatives because of poverty; the other was working for literally a third of the money that men were paid in the same place. And both had siblings who died before reaching adulthood.

Gosh no, that's a super aggressive response! I am stating that it didn't happen at my secondary (80-86) and did not happen at the school of any friends I've spoken with about this over the years, including my own children. I was suggesting that it was not universal practice and therefore not necessarily "the norm" as per the title of the thread, but I have no evidence that my experience was more common than yours. I do think it's a barbaric practice so I feel for you and others like you that went through that.

My Nan used to say 'that's queer'.

I feel I dodged a bullet with the showers. Some of my PE teachers in the 1970s were nasty bullies but there were no showers in my school. Had there been, Mrs F in particular would undoubtedly have taken great pleasure in humiliating us there. She put me off exercise and sport for decades. That's something I'd like to think may have changed for the better. PE teaching should have a big emphasis on the benefits of exercise for health and helping kids to learn how their bodies work, rather than team sports. Some of my PE teachers seemed to feel that actual teaching was beyond them. If we didn't already know how to play, we weren't going to learn in those lessons, and if we showed no aptitude for sport we were beneath contempt.

My father was a police officer back in the 60-90’s. He dealt sadly with lots of misusing kids etc.

it never fails to amaze me that my mother in laws brother walked over 2 miles to school there and back. Took the bus on his own. Same my dad said so many kids were out so young hence the steep rise in those types of cases

My uncle dated a page 3 model. My grandfather was apparently horrified and refused to have her in his home

i think he’d have a stroke if he saw only fans and how many girls are on that!

I agree with that too...what the fuck has happened. I blame pull-ups.

I remember people smoking on planes! 😳😳😳😳

BT Customer Service- it is so hopeless it is unbelievable.

In the late 70's when I was age 11/12 I was babysitting for numerous families on my road. We had moved to a new estate when I was 9 and there were loads of newly married couples on our road and a shortage of babysitters. By the time I was 12/13 I was looking after 3 kids in one family during the day from 9am - 1pm (I presume their childminder was on holiday).

Yes, I recall my grandma and my mum having conversations about things that were a bit odd and they would often say 'How queer!' in a rather wondering tone.

It certainly happened at my school. As did male games teachers walking in and out while we were in there. It was even a bit of a joke amongst us which of the male teachers did it and if we'd be quick enough to get dressed before they came in. We'd laugh and call them pervs, (which they obviously were), but bizarrely didn't see it as wrong. This was early 80s.

In the mid 70's we had a mongrel dog who had the run of the street. She used to chase cars regularly and no-one thought there was anything wrong with this. One woman on the road used to drive a Honda 50 bike and she was one of his regular chasers. The poor woman would call into our house and say something to my mam and all she would tell her is "sure she wouldn't touch you" and let it carry on. I was having this conversation with my mam recently and she was horrified at herself but that was normal back then.