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

• Treating older men leering at girls as funny 'dirty old men', not seeing them as paedos
• Page 3 girls
• Deep fat frying at home (and resultant higher level of house fires)
• kids asking each other 'What does your dad do?' (Never about mums)

Leaving your baby unattended in their pram outside a shop.

No, I mentioned the 90s in my first post on the subject... which someone else quoted... and then I think you quoted them. But as I pointed out upthread the word had already been used as an insult for a good couple of decades by the 80s. Just because it was used on TV doesn't make it ok (incidentally the offensiveness of those comedy shows to British Asians was also covered in that radio show!)

When I was 8, my brother was 12, and our parents used to take us to the train station (a couple of times a year), put us on a train, and our uncle met us at the other end. We (brother and I) used to get the tube train to Picadilly, wander around Soho, and be out all day (our granny was at home) until teatime. I'm 63 now

The N word isn't a shortened version of a country's name though. I've never heard anyone in my family ever say the N word despite using the P word previously. Always known it to be very wrong.

My parents bought a "corner" newsagents when I was 10. I served in the shop from the day we bought it, selling cigarettes, "men's" magazines, etc. I remember the first time I was left alone to "run" the shop when I was 11 - my father had to nip out for a 10 minute errand and left me alone (with a till full of money, and a shop full of stock!). It was quite an adventure at the time, and I was proud my father trusted me. It never even occurred to me what may have happened! I was left alone many times after that, for ever longer periods of time. Thing was that it was illegal for a child to sell cigarettes etc but it just wasn't on our radar!

Later at school, I was in a small team doing stage lighting for school plays, aged probably between 14-16. We'd be climbing ladders to move lights above the stage, wire up electrical plugs, and once we even installed a new lighting gantry (scaffolding pole suspended by ropes and pulleys above the stage), wired it up with a huge drum of electrical cable, took the back off the control panel and wired it in), etc. We did all that without any supervision - just a group of fourth and fifth years! Another time, we got an extension ladder to full height and one of us went into the roof space above the hall (3 storeys high), to wind down a couple of the hall lighting units to change the bulbs. Again, no supervision. I actually cringe now at what we did. When you see all the H&S precautions used by adults when working at height, i.e. ladders with outriggers, harnesses, etc., yet we had nothing other than an ancient wooden "A" ladder and occasionally borrowing an aluminium extension ladder. I can't believe no-one got injured!

Wow, yes, so shocking, especially the countdowns eurrgh!!

How we just accepted is beyond me now...

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Definitely seemed to be more house fires in the past, with some disturbing Public Information Films about fire safety in the home.

Probably due to things like faulty wiring/electrics (lots of electrical goods were sold with no plugs), chip pans, smoking - particularly falling asleep in nylon bedding - or any combination 😬

No, nobody's saying it was ok, just that it was still being commonly used without malice up until at least the early 80s in some areas.

And as you've pointed out, that doesn't mean all areas.

Ah, we're in agreement then :)

I remember walking in to XX rated movies in the 80s at school age.

The fug of cigarette smoke floating across the heads of everyone in there.

I think i remember sweetie cigarettes. White sticks in a pretend cig box, with a bright pink 'lit' end. Powdery and sweet and weird.

The Local Weirdo.
Every park had one (W London, 80s) the kids would be encouraged not to play in the bushes because you'd probably get flashed - or worse - by the resident Weirdo.

I was caught a couple of times. Told my parents. Their response was 50% bad dirty old man and 50% your fault for being 1) in x, y, z park 2) ear the bushes 3) still playing out when it's quiet 4) just ... out at all basically!!

😳

Why didn't anyone do anything about them?!

When I used to play out on the estate where I lived there were always dogs running around. Sometimes in a pack, sometimes they'd join you, sometimes they'd bite you - a black dug bit me on the ankle and tried to pull me along for no reason at all when I was lying out one day. And they were always called Lassie or Laddie. One we called "broon Lassie" used to flap the knocker on her door to get in. I always wondered how the dogs living in the multi story flats got home on their own.

We had a border collie who got taken on lots of walks but was otherwise in the flat and people thought we were mad.

The amount of passive smoking is a shocker when you think about it. My gran and grandad smoked all day, everyone that came in the house smoked all day - no wonder my granny changed her nets all the time. They would have been minging with the nicotine.

My mum used to go on the bus on her own to school from the age of five - and she'd come back on the bus for lunch, have soup and a roll and go back on the bus for the afternoon. I used to travel for an hour on the bus on my own to get to school from the age of 7. And it was a long walk to the bus stop! If the bus was really late I'd bunk off and go to the beach on my own for the day which gives me shivers now.

In the 70’s and at least early 80’s it was used by everybody where I lived. I didn’t know any different and my parents would definitely not have used it if they had any idea it was wrong.

My old school fb page currently has calls for a teacher from the late 70s to be investigated for assault, and various other teachers are being talked about for hitting, pulling pupils up by their hair and other similar behaviour.

We lived about a mile from a huge park and spent all day every day in our dens in the woods there, from about age 5, though with some slightly older kids in the group, but all under 10.

We played out in the streets after school even though there was a known pedophile who walked the same streets. We just went into the nearest garden until he had passed.

Also, I managed to get in to see two movies that I wasn’t old enough to see. Aged 13, I went with a group of school friends at the local ‘flea pit’ (as they were commonly known then) to see ‘The Elephant Man’ which was an AA rated film (equivalent to a 15 cert) and aged 15, I went to see ‘The Final Conflict’ (last in the series of The Omen trilogy) - that was an X certificate. I don’t think I was asked for my DOB, let alone ID on both occasions.

You got sent to school regardless of anything.
Leg hanging off? On went an Elastoplast and off you went to school.
Snow? Get your wellies on and off you went to school.
Blood pumping out of your head because you fell off the wall at school? Out would come the teacher with a wad of paper towels.
Elastoplast and paper towels...the cure all for everything 👍
Ok, it's over forty years ago, but still!

Going to the local pub aged 14 or 15 wearing a shit load of make up, and trying to convince the Landlords we were 18.

They didn't really care as long as we didn't get drunk/cause trouble. One of them used to tell us to sit round the corner away from the main door.

I remember a ch4 programme called mini pops which had primary school aged kids miming to the current pop songs - dressed in short skirts and crop tops

smoking and non smoking sections in restaurants- pointless as smoke drifts

at my secondary school mid - late 80’s we had a smoking room that staff and kids could access
and pupils regularly brought alcohol to school or went to someone’s house at lunch and came back drunk.

i recently saw ‘Rita sue and bob too’ and it reminded me that it was definitely a thing that anyone could access school grounds/ playing fields. - and no one questioned it

@DailyMaui
Memories! Yes we had packs of stray dogs occasionally. (80s) The word would go round that a nasty pack had formed and to stay away from it.

You know the amazing feats that you hear people do when they're scared or panicing? Well - i was chased up our road by a pack of dogs snarling at me when i was about 8/9, and i went over our front garden wall without touching it to get away from them! I'll never forget that. It was about chest height to me. Hammered on our front door and fell in backwards as my Dad opened it just as the bigger dogs started getting over the wall

Oh yes. From the age of around 12 according to my daughter and her mates. My daughter said that she felt there were male eyes on them all the time they're out and about. And I have seen it and heard it walking to the station in the morning as I'm pushing against the tide of teens walking to the girl's school near me. It's fucking depressing.

The 3 male PE teachers in our secondary school had a 'best arse' contest for the 6th form girls. (last year of school back then)

One of them was dating one of the girls and about 2 months after she left school it was revealed she was 6 months pregnant. Sort of open secret.

Going for a ‘Sunday drive’ to nowhere in particular.
Oh and ending up with a windscreen splatted with flies. Where have all the flies gone?

My parents picking me up as a teen and cramming as many of my friends as they could in the car for lifts with people on laps and in the boot. As long as we all got home.

carry on films are still on and something i dont mind personally

using the p word all the tme also telling flashers they were dirty perverts and laughing

We still go for a drive sometimes in the countryside. DH is disabled so an easy way to see nice country views.