What did you do when you were a kid that is considered dangerous now?

[Karlwho]

Just out of interest.
When I was little (7-10), I'd play outside around the neighbourhood with no adults and not a mobile between my friends and I. We'd go home when we were hungry.

It was common to be crammed into the car I think defo remember it in the 90s its amazing now how many people still try and do it my mums an example she will try put 5 kids in a car on each other's laps plus two adults and the cab driver in the front way too many people

protective gear for cycling/skateboarding did not exist.
no seatbelts in cars.
playing outside unsupervised AFTER DARK.
sent out to play outside by all by myself aged 3. (we lived in a block of flats)
carrying knives to school.

When I was 14 I used to skip train carriages whilst the train was moving! Wouldn’t dream of doing that now

Playing on frozen lakes, building sites, school roofs, jumping off piers/cliffs.

Can't ever remember riding in cars without seat belts but it's probably happened.

I also used to use ladders to sneek into the house via my mum's bedroom window when she wasn't home (she would lock us out for the day) and bake cakes.. I'd clear up, take the cake and go back out and play

No necessarily dangerous but not good for you- I can recall going to the doctors and getting a lollipop after the consultation from a big jar on his desk. I can also remember getting a lollipop for going when a sibling was ill and thinking it was great I got sweets too! No way would that be allowed now.

Playing on frozen lakes, building sites, school roofs, jumping off piers/cliffs.

didn't have lakes or cliffs in my inner city area, but building sites - oh yes

Jumping off piers/cliffs into the sea

We played all day in the houses being built on our road..even while the builders were around. We climbed ladders, played hide and seek, did wees in the unplumbed toilets and had an absolute ball. This was the mid 1980s.

A small group of us ( ranging from 10 - 12 yrs old ) would go out for the day on our ponies for a picnic. To get to our destination we crossed an unmanned level crossing and a dual carriageway- no mobile phones in those days and we would be gone for about five hours.

Had a lot of freedom as a kid and as everyone else, we played out all the time and drove with no seatbelts etc. Other things I remember now was that we used to 'borrow' neighbours massive dogs, they were Airedales and take them to the beach and go swimming with them on our own, we were probably 7-8. I remember having a massive scratch on my thigh from one of the dogs claws (not malicious, just swimming too close.) We also used to tie skateboards to our bikes and ride up and down our street. Making our own little fires in the woods was another one. We had little pocket knifes to make things in the forest

We also played in a filthy stagnant 'stream' behind the building site. An old man regularly used to shout at us: 'you'll get diphtheria if you play in that stream.' As far as I know we are all still alive!

It’s really sad actually, my mum was very overprotective and I wasn’t allowed any freedom. I had a bike I was only allowed to ride around the drive once all gates were shut, with a helmet on. I wasn’t allowed on sleepovers or to hang out with friends.

When I did go to a friend’s house and their mum encouraged us to go for a bike ride, I’d be fraught with panic knowing that I wasn’t allowed - I’d go, the mum would merrily tell my mum ‘oh, they went for a bike ride!’ And she would never say anything to the parent but I would be screamed at the whole way home - how I was going to be snatched and murdered etc. We would have been 10/11 and on a safe estate.

My dad, when he was in charge, let me bugger off into town on my own at the age of 10

My daughter has plenty of freedom, so much more than I did - and my mum hates it.

Walking to school, cycling without protection, fetching bread from the bakery (on bike), riding in the boot of the car, ...

I used to run my own bath!!! (Omg!!!)
When I went to my great aunt’s farm, I’d grab a horse and a dog and ride up the mountain and trust that the horse would find it’s way home at the end of the day. (Rural Australia where the snakes are as big and scary as you believe.) Would re-enact scenes from “The Man from Snowy River” and ride full-pelt down the mountain through the bush. (Luckily never killed muse for hurt the horse - very, very smart horse!)

I roller-skated near or even on neighbouring streets without a helmet, knee pads, or any other protective paraphernalia. Roads were much quieter back then.

Looking after our neighbours kids during the summer holidays, me aged 9 or 10. I used to take them to a local water park all day, swimming and building dens. Building sites as playgrounds. I had a friend who lived on a farm, we were allowed free reign - climbing enormous stacks of hay bales, riding tractors, playing in grain silos, riding donkeys and regularly getting run away with and bucked off. It was BRILLIANT.

My parents had seat restraints when we were younger from Mothercare, bolted into the car so we were buckled in long before it was a requirement. But then later, I remember DF taking the whole team from our gymnastics club to a competition in the city 25 miles away and squeezing 12 kids into the (estate) car - I would have been about 10/11 at that stage.

My DPs were from the city, but we lived in the country (and DF had a professional office-based job) - I used to go farming with a local family, hitching rides on the tractors (and occasionally having some involvement in operating machinery) from about age 6/7. Just disappearing for hours and coming home to eat.

Also going to a local spot where a drainage ditch (small stream) fed into a large pool, scrambling around the trees there, and just generally hanging out in peace and quiet alone (large, chaotic family!).

Bird watching from the boot of a (no longer in use) car, with the boot lid pulled down low propped up on a stick to make a "hide".

Going swimming alone at 5am in summer time (safe spot, with passing traffic at that hour - but still...).

DPs used to not allow us to hitch a lift - so I would walk home 4/5 miles from one local spot along very quiet roads after dark. Which was worse I wonder?!

Use DFs tools in the garage. Cutting the grass with the petrol mower from age 11 or so (and younger DSiblings started earlier - as eldest, I had to pave the way and argue for many moons!!). And the large chopper axe to cut large tree rings into firewood sized logs (I had a pair of steel toe capped boots, but I could take some swing at that axe to get rid of the frustrations of the chaotic household!! Admittedly I was the only one who did the axe).

Playing on various building sites over the years, clambering up ladders in the evenings when builders were gone home etc.

Oh, building sites! Forgot about them. When I was nine,I climbed quite high up the scaffolding on some building with no hesitation. Coming back down was not so easy. I fell and though I don't remember exactly what happened, there was quite a bit of blood and I still have a scar on my knee 50 billion years later (actually, 40 years later; it just seems so long ago.

I was a bit of a chemist, had great fun making Nitroglycerine and the such, shooting the jamjars full of the stuff with an air rifle on the marshes.....

As my Mum was a worrywort most things I did when 5-13 wasn't dangerous.

I'm 29 though so was only 20 years ago

To name a few though.

1. Roller skating without a helmet on.
2. Completely unsupervised on computer when we got one - 10 onwards.
3. Tree climbing. We were quite rural (small town then surrounding fields). I would always get stuck up them.
4. Health and safety being lax at school. We found magic mushrooms at our school and obviously didn't eat them. Were not deliberately planted and had gone undetected for ages. Likewise they didn't really both to ask if you had sun cream on.
5. Some of the games we played were really rough. Particularly that game where everyone piles on you and you have to crawl underneath/between/push them. I had many cuts and bruises from that game.
6. We went to a warehouse place at around 6 that was like a PSA but demonstrated in front of you. One the room filled with smoke out of nowhere. Still terrified of fire. Another a mannequin getting electrocuted on bridge over train tracks. I don't expect you could get away with showing young kids things like that now.

I was born 1990.

@AhhhHereItGoes I remember those scary videos they frightened the life out of me especially the kite in the pylon and showed the boy exploding with fire and sparks

I used to walk to my piano lesson, probably a mile or so away when I was 9/10. Not too bad but the shortcut was through a very muddy, wooded and deserted path. Never crossed my mind that someone could grab me and attack me but no way would I let DD walk somewhere like that now by herself!!

Played out with friends from early morning until tea time every day in the summer holidays. Walked for miles, no phone. Climbed lots of trees and fell out of a few. Loved sliding down the stairs on top of the removable base cushions from the sofa. Used to climb over the school fence and play in the playground in the evenings. Mixed various chemicals in the school science lab unsupervised and shoved a broken mercury thermometer down the sink. Made fab rope swings over the river. Built dens under bridges over streams where as teens we drank cider and smoked Embassy Regal. Happy days.

We used to get a skateboard and got to the top of the (quite steep) hill at the top of our park lie on our belly on it and off you went down the hill, must of been about 6/7. Used to go to the shop from I think 7 by myself but I did have a mobile so not that different from today really.

Not anything too crazy but I remember a lot more ppl smoking in houses and cars around children, squeezing into cars on people's knees and so on, playing in street, no bike helmet etc.