Things that were normal but wouldn't fly these days

[ChopSuey2]

Not really an AIBU but we totally derailed another thread. Following on from the thread about TV programmes that may or may not have been appropriate for young children, I'm wondering what things were totally normal in your childhood but would not be considered acceptable today.

Some of the ones I have been reminded of from the other thread include

• travelling without a seatbelt, in the footwell, in the boot, in the back of a van on a cardboard box
• graphic public safety videos at primary school
• watching graphic true crime under the age of 10
• smoking in cars and homes with kids, smoking in pubs and taking kids to pubs late at night
• playing out under the age of 10 with parents not knowing where their kids are precisely

Loads of people would have thought that was horrifying and racist at the time.

I have a relative who still does that. 🤦🏽‍♀️
Not around me any more though!

DuplicateUserName

when I was a child the dog just did want it fancied doing would bark if it wanted in or out in winter all summer back door always seemed open. Just took its self out for a wander, I also just remember the dog eating a lot of left overs, don’t think dog food was ever bought. Did her no harm lived to a rib old age.

Discrimination being legal. I know discrimination still happens, but it is illegal.

Women being beat up by their husbands being told you made your bed you have to lie in it.

Women often not allowed to wear trousers in the workplace.

And yes smoking everywhere. I swear I passively smoked 20 cigarettes a day as a child.

Older men in their cars picking up school girls aged 14/15 outside the school gates. Mid-90s. No-one batted an eyelid.

Yes!!!!

And bought dog food was posh. Most people fed dogs on leftovers and as a treat bought a bit of liver or a bone for the dog.

I was struck by the Provincial Lady, putting her 8 yo daughter on a train in the care of the guard. She left them heading off to the guards van, hand in hand.
Diary of a Provincial Lady set in the 1930s.

@electricmoccasins There were always people who thought that was wrong. But you could not do anything about it.
Although the nuns in the local catholic school would chase the men away.

No regulation of childcare. I worked in childcare some excellent and some awful.

The ‘dollybirds’ is so not in the past. Check out any Moto GP race-lots of scantily clad fixed grin women holding a parasol/umbrella over the competitors. Very old fashioned and should be banned.

Sexual harassment and "minor" sexual assault e.g. being wolf whistled, obscenities shouted from vans, being flashed, groped etc. Literally just telling friends what happened, all saying how gross the man was and then going about your day without even considering reporting it because it was so normal.

It was totally normal when I was a kid to let your dog shit on the pavement and not pick it up. Dog poo bins did not exist. Neither did poo bags as a product. The only vague concession was that a small minority of people trained their dogs to do it in the gutter rather than on the actual pavement.

@SleepingStandingUp

Where do you live? School would throw a fit if a reception kid wandered up to school alone. Up to year 5 they need to be walked to the gate and if late to the office. Only 10/11 are allowed out the building without the teacher setting eyes on their adult

I live in Scotland. Many children walk to and from school from when they start at age 5 (no reception here). We live too far away so mine took a bus. School only supervised walking to and from bus stop until end of P3 (age 7)

Do you actually mean I could walk up to your school and get into a class room without anything stopping me beyond someone seeing me?

Not a class room - but playground, library, cafe, sports areas are accessible to the public if it's a community school.

And playground is accessible to public for other schools. You'd get chased away of hanging around but walking through to get from a to b is fine.

Walking to school by myself from 5 years old.I insisted apparently. Mum would walk behind me to check i was ok. I didn't know this at the time.
Working at the University in the 70's, we had special dinners, and one of my jobs was to put out wine glasses filled with cigarettes, 2 each, on each table.!

Rape not being Illegal in marriage
Corporal punishment in schools
Smoking everywhere - you would stink whenever you came in from a night out
Going to the pub at 6th form. With teachers.
Going into town at lunchtime at secondary

A carefree childhood! We used to call at the neighbour’s houses if we knew they had a baby. The neighbours would let us take the baby out in the pram. We went roaming around wherever we wanted, usually followed by the neighbourhood dogs that also roamed free. At other times we rode our bikes or walked for miles.

Getting the cane in school for bad behaviourtalking in class or being 'slippered' in front of the whole class by the teacher using the nearest available plimsoll from someone 's PE kit.

Going up into the woods with a group of friends to build dens and whittling wood with a sheaf knife which most of the lads had- including my brother.

Primary school kids knocking on their friends doors to see if they were playing out, or they would knock on your door to see if you were playing out, including on a school night and the streetlights coming on being your cue to go home.

When I started teaching the RE teacher used to slipper the last pupil to arrive at his lesson. One of my fellow teachers once slippered an entire class for poor performance in an exam.

Plus your mum shooing you out to play in the school holidays and telling you not to come back till lunch etc.

Absolutely!

My Aunt lived near Epping forest, and but age eight my best frend and I would go a stay for a few days In the summer, we would go out in the forest for hours but the German Shepard had to go with us (obviously no lead) in case there was any funny men about, because obviously the dog would go for them. I often wonder who the funny men were lucky nothing ever bad happened to us may be the funny men saw the dog and just left us alone. Also by that age I was sent down Walthamstow market to get shopping. Also remember pushing the neighbours baby around in the pram and told bring him back if he starts to cry to much.

eeny meant miny mo
catch a n by his toe…

omg!!

I also remember the ‘pick a bale of hay’ song.

it beggars belief now.

My teacher used to tape my mouth shut with sellotape when I talked too much in class. This was early 90s.

Virginia Andrews books were all the rage with their casual references to child abuse, rape and incest.