To think the younger MN generation would be shocked at things we did decades ago...

[Allonthesametrain]

It was such a different time, before the days of hand gel, smartphones, ordering online, house cctv, awareness etc.

This is from a background of a good home with values, DF worked hard, DM did everything for us 3 DC and also worked early before we got up and during school hours when we of that age.

Things we would do...

All 3 have a bath together every night when young, also go into after bath DF or DM.

Most clothes were hand me downs/passed on from friends and neighbours and anything new was for a special occasion.

If we wanted anything special we had to wait until Christmas or birthdays and were delighted and grateful

Lucky to have a house phone, it was in the hall way so no privacy and a shout how long are you going to be on there if you rang out

Bedrooms were sparse, we put colour on our walls with posters we got from magazines

Fun time meeting your friends, on foot or bikes, roller boots, usually at the school you've been at all day because it was known and had no big fences around it.

We collected tapes, later CDs, which we listened to over again and had to rewind, also recorded from friends on a double deck

Recorded our favourite songs from the radio, had to pause before next one to not include the DJ's blitherings

Young teens, oldest looking member of group bought a couple of 2L cheapest cider, we all drank from

Pubs, rarely enough loo roll, we never thought to bring our own, wipe by hand or drip dry

Need a wee, you went anywhere

You walked to meet your friends then walked/staggered back, split up on way to walk on your own as girls

You didn't dare argue with a teacher, even when it was unfair as a good student

If you went to university it was a shared bathroom and kitchen between 12, one tine fridge, old pans. Then when you moved out to house share the furniture was from the 1940s, mattresses had springs sticking out, slugs were a normal practice to put outside.

You qualify, get your own first flat, most basic furnished, the slug relatives are there, you still have to go to the laundrette as no washing machine. Single glazing, you put your own film up to help.

This was if lucky, friends from less privileged areas and backgrounds were left to roam, hungry, sniffed glue, caused chaos, were always dirty, same clothes every day. When 'naughty' they were beaten by their parents and disrespected, often hit by teachers.

Things have progressed so much but there are still many living this life within their homes.

So, with the observation of MN posts about things like should I be upset about DC not being offered his favourite food at lunch time just seems so trivial compared to the reality of us as older parents.

Are younger parents picking arguments about what could be deemed as insignificant just because they can now on SM?

Yeah, I know, I will seem as a dinosaur, but Im not. Basic values need to come from home, which we as gen X experienced growing up. When you're a young child and all you know is instant gratification from screens then this is their norm, then going forward their DC. Not saying all parents do this, of course not, but sadly many do.

My point? Oh yes, growing up in harsher times, which wasn't ideal at all but it was what it was and now we appreciate the positives of now, but without knowing what it was like before is it difficult to appreciate and not succumb to a lazier way of parenting?

We didn't have a phone until the mid 80s.

Defintely didn't have a bath/shower every day; no-one did.

I did always have new clothes though.

Gen X, born 69. I can relate to much in the OP. I'm not sure I'd know how to call it when it comes to better or worse for women though.
On paper, it was worse. Widespread acceptance of sexism and male superiority was our day to day, and we had fewer laws to protect us, so were very dependent on the goodwill of the men around us to be decent and treat us right. So if you dropped unlucky with an abusive father, partner or sex pest boss, you had less support and options to escape.
However, in reality, despite the theoretical improvements from laws, and supposedly more aware and progressive men, I think in practice misogyny and sexism is alive and well, it's just more stealth than it was.
There also seem to be a lot more angry men around these days. Angrier then they used to be, and angry with us. Which I don't recall as a feature of my younger days.
Then the 'you wanted equality...' brigade who seem intent on punishing women for gaining rights, by withdrawing all courtesy and consideration they might once have shown.
Its a rock and a hard place really.

Does anyone remember tracing paper loo roll at school? I think it was Izal? Horrible stuff! We actually had outside toilets at our primary school (complete with spiders & chain flushes) as it was an Edwardian building, which has now been replaced. So this was in the 80s.
We did a project in my last year there on the history of the school. and were shown all these amazing class photos from the 1900s!

Oh yes, would take hours to choose and the 3 for 2 offers so you made sure you watched them all over the week!

"wipe by hand"

I never thought of that! Top tip....

Born 62, own bedroom from.5, as we were moved into a new council estate as the tiny flat we lived in, above an empty shop, was demolished for another estate build. No phone till 13, but phone boxes everywhere in London. Walked to school on my own at 8, key pulled through letterbox to get in. Family hired car to visit relatives for holiday, fsmily only owned a car when I was 17. Didn't share a bath, had a decorated bedroom and Dad made my dressing table, wardrobe and shelves for my ornaments and books. Cinema was cheap on a Saturday morning and we have five swimming baths in walking distance, all cheap to use and no booking, so you could spend all day there. School teachers took no crap, so lucky the emphasise on learning and not on behaviour control. No social media demands, expectations or bullying... different times, but imo better re. community and the belief you could do better if you worked hard.

That' s nowt we lived .....

I used to walk to school by myself - 25 minute walk, played out all day on my bike with the kids in the road, shoplifted sweets occasionally (terrible, really). I remember the first time I got a bedroom of my own (I was 12) when we moved to bigger flat, before that I had share with my teenaged brothers (me on the top bunk, one brother on the bottom bunk, one on a single bed, tiny room. Poor brothers really.

Listening to radio one, watching Top of the Pops, Grange Hill (Tucker era), Why don’t you…?

Attending massive fights in school (inner city school, former technical school), 3 girls in my year were pregnant before 16, one had 2 kids by the time she was 17 (pregnant during cse exams).

We didn’t own a camera till I was about 9. I used to love receiving the photos via post. Saving up Green Stamps, remember those? Rented the tv.

Every generation is surely the same though, but it's amplified now because of social media, and our alpha/Gen Z kids will get the same from their Delta (or whatever they're called) kids. If they have any, and if society still exists.

😂😂

That’s one thing I don’t miss! Everyone stank of fags whether they smoked or not!

I enjoyed the 60s, 70s, and 80s more than I do today's world and certainly wasn't miserable.

As for freezing cold every winter, I'm not in the UK and central heating isn't really a thing here, so most of us still freeze in winter. I don't enjoy it, but it's really not that bad.

A female friend of mine did tech drawing at school in the 70s btw.

I had to get special permission to do TD instead of home economics and sewing!

A party line was one telephone line shared between multiple households. Instead of each home having its own dedicated connection, several neighbours were all connected to the same circuit. Think of it as everyone on your street being plugged into the same line, but each house having its own telephone number and handset. You would pick your phone up to ring someone and you could hear your neighbour chatting away to someone. You had to wait for them to finish before you could try ringing someone.

its like that eposide of love thy neighbour when they shared the phone connection,

I know you weren't saying that, I was responding to a poster who seems to think that life for all women now is oh so rosy.

I enjoyed your original post and can relate to much of it, even though I'm not in the UK.

From 1968, UK law required all new cars to be fitted with front seat belts. This meant that by the early 70s, most cars on the road had seat belts, even if people didn’t wear them and most didn't from my experience. I'm Jones Generation.

On 31 January 1983, it became a legal requirement for drivers and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts. Compliance jumped to around 90% almost immediately.

From 1 July 1991, all passengers, including adults in the back, had to wear seat belts if fitted.

love post because i find it fascinating to compare childhood experiences UK/States...born '63 on east coast usa, and i relate to most (not the pub, wish we had them). As a child, we always had Sunday roast too because of tradition/heritage. However, we had cars since public transport so limited, -but, one car had cardboard covering the holes in the backseat floor, and only the driver side door worked. The seats had hard springs and we all knew to start bouncing when we were approaching any big bumps in road. I treasure my limited memories of the 60's, penny candy behind the market counter, Beatles /Stones music, wearing white vinyl go-go boots, sewing machine in the kitchen, very old hand me downs. Freedom to run outside anywhere all day long from age 5 up. Yes, ditto the crappy parts of 70's/80's sexual harassment as teen etc in school and jobs. What a difference one generation, I had oranges in xmas stocking and some china for my "hope chest" ...not wanted, but they had a plate/week promotion at the food store my mother thought nice. So my millenial and gen Z children were totally spoiled (i mean Way overboard) by me every holiday/bday so that i could heal my trauma haha

You lucky devil. We didnt even have a hole 🥰😂🤣

Says you 🤣

Notthebravestthen should be your new username. Or Bitofatwat. I can’t decide. I love posters like you after a few drinks on a Saturday night.

I got stuck at the toilet paper shortage and wiping with your hand??? 🤢

a whole new meaning to sicky fingers on a night out

I was born in 1959. I worked part-time in the corner shop after school and on Saturday mornings (1972-1975), and I can remember the toilet paper shortage very well. There was a fairly new housing estate in the village and everyone had coloured bathroom suites. My boss was buying any toilet roll he could from the Cash and Carry and people were still complaining when they couldn't get the right colour for their bathroom.

@OP Valid memories as you describe but do you think you've over generalised a bit with the 'we'? not eveyone of that time had that kind of lifestyle.

Even in 1999 when I was divorcing my then husband, 'coercive control' wasn't recognised, and I had to bring up an incident when he had tried to strangle me when I was eight and a half months pregnant. He then had to go and swear an affidavit with an independent solicitor to say it was true. He had got himself in so much debt with his credit cards and left us with very little money, but fortunately he had enough of a conscience to realise he didn't want a charge put on our home, so he had to leave. Much easier for him than cutting back on his excessive alcohol consumption which is where most of his money went.