Things your parents did that you wouldnt dream of?

[Frasersmum123]

Is there anything that your parents did when you were younger that you wouldnt do?

Our used to leave us in the car while they went shopping, for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably about half an hour.

There was 4 of us and we all used to squeeze into the back of my dads car, which had three seats.

[luckylady74]

fil told me ther other day that when dh was a child they put concrete slabs under the garden swing to protect the grass - he can't believe he did it now.
My mum was telling me about when we moved from edinburgh to newcastle - I was 8 mths old and sat in my pushchair in the back of the hire van the whole way!
My mum still believes nailing a blanket over my door (to muffle the noise) and letting me cry it out at 3 weeks old was a necessity to get me sleeping through the night as dad couldn't stand the night waking .

Tbh I think pil and mine were excellent parents

• times change.

[Buda]

My mum admitted recently that she left me in my cot napping and went to a jewellers to buy a ring. The jewellers was the other side of Dublin so she had to get 2 buses! Must have been gone a couple of hours at least!!!

I babysat my younger sisters from about the age of 9 - they would have been 3 and 4.

She would go into town for the day with a friend and leave me in charge of sisters from about that age too. Our house would be over-run with all the local kids.

[KingRolo]

Leaving us in the pub beer garden for hours on end with more pop and crisps every time they went to the bar. We didn't mind at all, quite enjoyed it, but would never do that to mine!

I too remember being allowed to stand up with my head out of the top of a 2CV - all the way up the M6 to Blackpool!

Ditto all the smoking comments. Unthinkable now but just completely normal to smoke round kids back then.

[hatwoman]

left my brothers in a seaman's hostel abroad (can;t remember where) while they went out for dinner. I have no idea why they were staying in such a place (neitehr has mum, she can't remember) but the original plan had been to leave dbs at home with a baby-sitter. baby-sitter fell ill, and the whole trip - including the dinner - was "business" so they couldn't drop out. apparently my elder brother was sitting at the bar chatting to people when mum and dad got back.

[hatwoman]

doing a school run with 2 kids sitting in the boot of an estate car.

[Shoshe]

I was a 80's Mum, DS is 30, and I did a lot o those things especially the rusk in bottle and makeing the hole bigger, weaned at 1 weeks, as was the advice then.

Needless to say on bringing DGD up, who is now 13, I did things a lot different

[Stinkyfeet]

Another one here put to bed in the back of the car while parents boozed the night away (then drove home). We were perfectly safe though, the dog would be locked in there with us

[Shoshe]

weaned at 12 weeks, bloody 2 dosnt work proper like!

[bigTillyMint]

My mum started weaning me at 3 weeks, I was on three meals a day at 3 months

My auntie used to dip the baby's dummy in brandy to make him sleep!

[brimfull]

WHen dd was a baby I remember people boasting about their 3 month olds having cottage pie

[QOD]

Yep to all the travelling from Kent to Scotland in the boot of an estate, or across France. Bedded down on quilts etc.
My mum was forward thinking, my dad bolted and old bus bench seat into the back of their mini van and hooked my sisters highchair across it - voila a car seat!
We used to have to practice emergency stops in the car, if my mum shouted NOW we had to fling ourselves onto the footwell behind the seats LOL

Left us home alone and went to get dad from work (house caught fire once)

left us with 3 other small girls overnight in HOUSE in Maidstone whilst they took BUS TO Margate.

Went to partys, put us to bed with the hosts kids then put us in the car and Dad would drive us home PISSED as a fart LOL

[stickybeaker]

PMSL @ stinkyfeet. What a great thread.

My brothers and I would be put to sleep all laid out in a row in the back of a Volvo estate for a long drive. What made it even more fun was that the sleeping bags were lovely and shiny so gave the extra excitement to the journey.

[stickybeaker]

obvioulsy shiny = slippery!

[stickybeaker]

I can't stop laughing at all the youngsters risking life and limb on journeys around the 70s and 80s.

I love the thought of a pushchair (with child strapped in) in a removals van.

I'm moving house this weekend... Might save a trip....

[thumbwitch]

3 of us in the back of a Ford Anglia estate on vinyl seats (+ a rug sometimes - added slippiness) going up to Sheffield - no seatbelts.
carrycots on the same back seat, no restraints.
rosehip syrup in a dummy
smacking us with stick/wooden spoon/slipper (only when really bad)
3 of us left in the car for up to 45mins while mum was "visiting" for political purposes. we always knew we were in for a long wait if she went in the house and they shut the door...

[Wallace]

We used to travel in the back of a pick-up(in Africa) and I would do that now with my kids. Not on a public highway of course.

I would also let all my kids in the car without seatbelts/car seats if it was still the 80's...

[BitOfFun]

We used to walk to school aged 5 (but so did everybody, and it was safer then on the roads), and go out to play all day till teatime, with a sugar butty for lunch in our pocket!

[CharleeInChains]

Smae here with the car thing my mum had the whole nieghbourhood in our house and she would pile us all into a standard 5 seater car there would be about 12 of us in the car in total to go to the woods for a walk.

My Grandad (R.I.P) reguarly fed me Rum from a young age wether it was in a bottle or on my cornflakes! He would take us to the pub with him and say 'what do you want to drink?' when we replied 'Coke@ he would proclaim that he was getting us a propper drink and get us a Rum and Coke.

We used to sepnd nights on end in the tent in the garden by ourselves from a young age.

My nan was the worst though she once burnt our house down becuase she put my nappy on the fire and it exploded.

[BitOfFun]

Blimey, you must have had really toxic nappies

[stickybeaker]

Oh yeah - for a snack we spread butter on a weetabix then dipped it in sugar!

[CharleeInChains]

Lol, were not sure what actually happened, nan has always been crazy and she said it exploded and flew up the chimney?!

The fireman were baffled, i was to yougn to know and everyone else was out! She sis used to put nappies on the fire from time to time though, mum would always have to check after she had changed us where nan had put the nappy!

[CharleeInChains]

We did that stcikybeaker it was really yummy, not the hieght of nutrition though!

Mum left me in the ouse with my hate when i was about 6 and we fried lettuce/rice crispies/rice on the gas hob in a frying pan in oil. She went nuts.

[differentID]

had my first taste of solids at 6 weeks- cabbage, my mum says; fully weaned by 12 weeks(might help to explain why I'm so big now)
No seatbelts even in the back of the car
Dad sat us on his lap while he was driving and we were allowed to steer the car
When he borrowed work's landrover, we would be in the back sitting/ standing on benches at the side
Tea from a very young age with loads of sugar
allowed us to rig a zip-line on the clothes line using a clothes hanger. THe drop at the end was onto concrete
Allowed to walk 1/2 mile up a hill to school when I was 7 and my sis 5 years old
Sent me up to the shop when I was little to buy her cigarettes.

My mum is brilliant and i love her to bits, but I'm honestly surprised I made it to adulthood.

[Kayteee]

Mum dipped my dummy in Vicks Vapour Rub when I had a cough...I still like the taste and will sneak a finger-full now and then