To ask about stuff from your childhood that is strange in retrospect?

[TheCatOfAthenry]

My late grandfather used to poke us in the head with a pocket knife and say "bees bees bees". He used also give us coffee and home-brewed beer in our bottles from the age of about 10 months.

Unrelated, he used also come out with statements like "a minute is a very long time" and "nobody can hear you scream if you're lost in a chasm."

When we were ill, the crystals came out. They hoped to undo my scoliosis before the orthopaedic surgeon saw me. Had abscesses treated with funny poultices and homeopathic sweeties. One particular cure involved massaging your own nose and coccyx simultaneously. (For one condition, the school got involved to ensure I got real medical care.)

We had the archangel Michael's sword carved on our front door. We were taught that if we told a ghost to go away three times, they would. I have yet to utilise this information. And we went to Catholic mass for good measure.

Spent many a night in public houses - Dad's a musician. Was reared in a cloud of tobacco smoke. Holidayed in caravans and essentially ran wild on a halting site every summer.

Mainly nice memories. Lots of lovely people around us. I grew up into a very skeptical medical doctor, but I still enjoy all sorts of people. Get out the guitar from time to time, but only enjoy crystals as decoration these days.

Would love to hear others' retrospectively strange experiences.

We were taught that if we told a ghost to go away three times, they would. I have yet to utilise this information

This actually works, I asked politely once and it went and didn't come back

Was never able to tell anyone my address or dad’s name. The school had my gran’s address and my surname was my mum’s. I couldn’t have friends over, my best friend could come over but only because her father was my dad’s best pal.

Would ask my mum what was for dinner, she’d say “Shite and sugar!”

I let my kids play out on the street They were told to come in when the street lights came on. I never made them go out though and I could see them from my living room & kitchen window! They’re teenagers now though.

When I was 14 we went on a school trip abroad and in the evenings we were allowed to go off into town on our own. We got drunk and went clubbing. I'm not sure what the level of supervision would be nowadays

Letting teenagers out is totally different to forcing young children out, isn't it?

I know it is easy to feel you have to justify yourself on MN but the two things are not even slightly the same.

In our house, the answer to what's for dinner was "Horse shit and tram tickets".

It also seems strange that at 9 I was allowed to go on a 5-mile bus ride with my 10 yo friend to play in some woods, all day.

And I had a mad uncle, who was very accident-prone and rode a motorbike. One of my earliest memories is of waking to hear uproarious laughter and venturing into the kitchen to see what was going on. I found Mad Uncle bent over the kitchen table, with his kecks round his ankles, while my mum, a former nurse, extracted gravel from his arse with a pair of tweezers. The oddest part is that I found nothing strange about this.

We also had an outdoor lav, and in the bitter winter of 1962-63, the water in the cistern and pan froze solid. If you wanted a shit, you had to take a kettle and a pan of hot water with you to thaw it out.

Is that aimed at me ophelia? I wasn't referring to posts about letting children out, i was replying to the op about things i didn't think would happen now. I assume 14 year olds aren't let out into towns to get drunk and go clubbing on school trips now i but could be wrong

This one is about early work experiences. I worked in a nursery and then an after school club. The children were very capable in the nursery - 3 years old up. All out of nappies, and accidents were not common. You only ever had to help with a difficult button or zip. It surprises me now when comparing to kids today.

And I worked in afterschool clubs long before OFSTED. I remember working in a council run basement under a swimming pool. It was totally unsuitable, extremely hot, and would have never been allowed under OFSTED. OFSTED did raise standards, and many young parents now would be horrified at the low level of accommodation, etc allowed back then.

My mum worked on Wednesday nights and when she went out my otherwise very sensible dad would let me stay up and watch Arnold Swarzenegger movies and war films, aged about 9. We bonded over Predator, Terminator, etc. Now I realise it was probably very irresponsible but it hasnt done me any harm.

Also Wednesday nights consisted of the following routine: gym class; penny sweets; Dr Who; Wogan; Dallas and my sister and I used to make up interpretive dance to the Dallas theme tune (still in our gym kit obvs). My dad just used to lay on the sofa thinking we were mad.

Motheroreily

That's hilarious

It didn't work, I'm an atheist now

My mother never hugged me or said she loved me or showed any physical affection. I didn't know it could be any different until I was a teenager and started spending a lot of time at friends' houses.

I spoke to her about it once. She said it was the same for her - my nan had 8 children plus her own father to care for, so none of the children got much individual attention.

It sounds awful but I don't think it affected me that much. I'm not very tactile and am quite reserved, but once I get to know someone I'm happy to freely give and receive hugs!

I went to a rather strict single sex school. Trip abroad aged 15 we were allowed to spend the evening as we saw fit. Boys, alcohol and a lot of fumbling if I remember correctly.

PlausibleSuit that's not even a good reason. Women worked their bollocks off during WW2 precisely because the men were away fighting.
They would have needed decent nutrition.

And the men's rations would largely have been good. In fact, during the first world war the average soldier gained a stone as many were eating decent nutritious food and enough protein for the first time in their lives.

My auntie used to come over and take me and my brother out sometimes. We'd often go to visit her "friend" Bill, on the pretence that he had a massive garden that we could play in. DAuntie was having an affair, obviously. She admitted it to me years ago.

We never saw or heard anything dodgy, and we were never asked to lie either. Bill was actually quite nice. I last saw him at my grandad's funeral.

oldlaundbooth thanks I plan to
Write a memoir about it one day.

It's funny now but at the time it was mortifying. We lived in an estate where lots of kids from my school went. On Sundays they'd all play outside. I'd panic thinking "what if they can see or hear church in the living room?" Then I'd feel immense guilt because I was ashamed and Jesus wasn't ashamed when he carried my sin on the cross.

I can't see why it wasn't successful

Of course we were cared for. We just weren't helicopter parented to within an inch of our lives. We learned to work things out for ourselves, we learned resilience and to rely on friends and neighbours not just our parents.

Um you do have a point but I am pretty pleased that my helicoptering has meant that none of my DC have been flashed at, or groped by a family member, or had someone attempt to pick them up (physically) and run off with them, all of which had happened to me and/or my friends or sisters by the age of about 12.

Oh and at age 10 I used to LOVE being asked to go to the newsagents to buy fags for my stepfather, because he used to give me 10p for sweets for going. "Twenty number six please"

Can you imagine it these days!

Of course "it" wasn't "aimed at you", Raspberry

I can't compete with that. Strangest stuff I got was palm reading and in soviet Russia... stories.

A naked man walked on to our school field and sat next to me and my friends. There was no fencing stopping anyone from getting on the field off the public footpath so anyone can wander on. Imagine the safeguarding issues with that now!

From the age of 6/7 my friend and I used to knock on the doors of everyone in the neighbourhood who had a dog and ask if we could take them for a walk. Without fail, the owners all said of course! Gave us the lead and dog(s) and off we went down the woods for a couple of hours. I can remember at least 10 different dogs we used to walk regularly. The smallest was a Jack Russell and the biggest were rough collies. We always took them back afterwards and never had any trouble with any of the owners. We were flashed at once in the woods though.... We were just animal crackers and not allowed pets of our own. This was in the 70s. Now I have three dogs

Both my parents took me to work with them. I spent every school holiday in my mum's office or being taken to client appointments by her boss, who would then take me out for lunch or to M&S and buy me nice toiletries. This was between the ages of 3 and 14, after that I became useful and it would probably surprise lots of customers to know that their double glazing was designed and in some cases leaded by a teenage girl!

opheliacat Oh right. It was right after my post and about teenagers being let out - exactly what my post was about. You sounded a bit irate. (Backs away slowly.)

It was irate because my post was perfectly polite and by saying it was "aimed at you" the inference was I had attacked you in some way.

The poster above you said that her children went outside and were teens.

There was no fencing stopping anyone from getting on the field off the public footpath so anyone can wander on. Imagine the safeguarding issues with that now!

I'm pretty sure lots of schools aren't fully enclosed. I've seen many rural ones which aren't.