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

Doing PE in your vest and knickers/pants
Being smacked at school for being naughty/having board rubber thrown at you by the teacher.
Girls doing home economic classes and needlework, while boys did woodwork
Calling every adult 'auntie or uncle' without there needing to be a blood connection.
Being warned by neighbours that they would tell your parents if they caught you being naughty- and your parents respecting what they told them and punishing you accordingly.

“Ernie” the games teacher used to smoke ciggies on the games field during lessons and make snide comments “ooh butterfingers Julie you dropped the ball”.

Not being able to take a ‘boys’’ subject at O level 🙄.

Being hit in school by teachers. Our primary school teachers used to stand us up and hit us with a ruler in front of the class.
I have a complete phobia of any kind of public speaking, as we'd be made to stand to give answers and slapped with a ruler if we got it wrong.
I went to a girl's grammar at 11 and was astonished to find the teachers never touched us, the only punishment was detention and that was rare, and that most of the feedback given was positive and encouraging. Absolutely thrived in that environment.

"Ladies" glasses if you had a beer in a pub, and generally women only had half pints.

I remember going to the zoo for a ride on an elephant.Then being thrown across a gap between a wooden platform and a bench strapped onto an elephant, with just a rope across my waist.I thought it was fantastic.

Played football and loved it, but although I was allowed to train with the boys I wasn't allowed on the team as girls couldn't play with boys. There was no girls team.
I was a very good player, but everyone, even my own dad agreed that I boys shouldn't be 'made' to play on a team with me or against me.

I now coach one of of our country's most successful girl's footie teams, and yes my DDs are in it...

I did work experience in year 10 from school in an office where the blokes had page 3 pictures on their desk partitions.

20 of us, aged 10 went on a school trip to another country with ONE teacher in charge. ONE. And we went by bus, ferry, bus so it took a day hand a half each way just to get there! We basically had 3 days travel 2 days actually in the city we were visiting.

Used to be sent to the corner shop on a Friday to buy mum and dad's ciggies. Handed over with not a murmur from the shopkeeper - I was 8/9/10.
They drew the line at alcohol though, the off-licence made kids stand outside, which really pissed my dad off!
Oh, and the beer he drank ( Tennents?) use to have photos of glamour models on them with names like Linda or Penny on them, dressed in low cut tops or swimsuits...

I discovered the other day that train companies don't let children under 13 travel alone. Weird, as I remember being packed on a train to Leeds to see my auntie when I was about 8.

As secondary school, we were made to shower after PE and whilst a PE teacher (female) watched, had to walk naked through the showers to "make sure we got wet and used soap". Can't imagine it was fun for the teachers either!

This is definitely still available in the UK!

For anyone who saw call the midwife last night they might be interested/shocked to know that the first conviction for rape within a marriage was in 1991 and it was only written into law in 2003.

The thread about the ten year old kid who walked home, around the corner, by himself. And the mum came over to have a go. Makes you worry about kids nowadays... Our mum knew we were out, but wouldn’t have known where, or whose house we were in. Or what we were doing there!

I'm not a parent quite yet and this might go the same way as lofty ideals of limiting screen time, but I hope that I let my children go out and play all afternoon without knowing exactly where they are and trusting they'll be back for dinner.

When I was 12 or 13 I remember having to take part in a talent show (I don’t remember being invited to do it - it was just assigned and there was no choice) at the local youth club. Another girl and I had to go onstage in bikini tops and jeans and do a dance routine to Forever in Bluejeans by Neil Diamond. 40 years on, I’m still absolutely mortified by it.

Sorry but I don't agree with this at all. There was a really good R4 programme which I now can't find annoyingly on the history of the word and the connotations were always pretty negative. A good friend of mine from Uni of Pakistani heritage was very, very bothered by its use when he was a kid, which would've been at the same time as me (90s).

Wiki suggests that although usage was initially mixed it has been used as a slur since the 60s. Even people using it without malice in the 90s would've surely, surely been aware of this.

Also parents never checking when you said you were going for a sleepover. They never talked to the parents, just let you go.

driving and parking anywhere in central london- leaving school by yourself noone checked if parents were around

raping your wife

One of our teachers threw the board rubber at any pupils who didn’t get answers right.

And if they misbehaved, boys used to get a plimsoll on the bum and girls a ruler on the hand. I remember boys coming back in to the class all red in the face and humiliated after “the slipper” as it was called and even then I felt the injustice of it but we weren’t allowed to speak to them.

Another teacher used to turn a a pupil’s desk over with a slam when everyone wouldn’t stop talking.

There was a telly series called “Wacko” about a school where the pupils were always getting into scrapes and the head teacher delighted in caning them.

I was a young child in the 90s and this word was used. I had no idea it was bad at the time, I thought it was just a shortened version. Same with what we used to say when ordering a Chinese take away...I obviously never use these words now but had no idea it was a slur at the time.

Depends where you live @QueenSmartypants - I'm in south London and I can't imagine being comfortable with that til mid secondary age (teens basically). In rural areas it's different as the scope for roaming and potential for anything bad happening (getting knocked down on a road) is proportionately less.

“Wacko” was a comedy by the way.