When I was 5 or 6 years old, I was already walking a few blocks to go to the store (on my own) and buy things (candy, chips, baseball cards, or when my parents needed something I’d even buy it at the store for them…even cigarettes)

I’d walk 3 or 4 streets away to our neighborhood park and play baseball and hockey, even at the age of 6.  I liked exploring the neighborhood and even took public transit on my own when I was 7 ..coz I wanted to.  I never ever got lost, not even once.

Most friends I have talked to didn’t go out on their own like that until they were 8 or 9 years old, even older.  They think I was weird coz I went out alone that young, or thought my parents were weird for letting me go out alone, at that age.

Were you adventurous when you were a young kid?

I was probably around 10? That was 1995.  Every year that passes it seems more and more unsafe for kids, heck even adults to walk places by themselves.  It's really sad.  I remember when my sister and I would walk down to the playground.  Then before going home we would stop by the stores and get candy. 

I don't recall going out on my own really until I was umm about 8 or 9. There was this small shopping center near my house, I remember I used to go there and I used to ride my bike around the neighborhood as well.

I was too shy and conservative as a kid to do most things by myself. I think it was like age 9 or 10 when I became more open and went outside more!

I was probably around 10? That was 1995.  Every year that passes it seems more and more unsafe for kids, heck even adults to walk places by themselves.  It's really sad.  I remember when my sister and I would walk down to the playground.  Then before going home we would stop by the stores and get candy.


Well, when I was 5 or 6, it was still the 1960s. A much safer world than today. Kids walked to school, no parents had to walk with them or drive them there. We left our home doors unlocked at times. We could stay out basically all day and parents didn't really worry where their kids were, as long as we came home before it got dark outside.

When I was in my early teens I was adventurous like going to the store to buy myself Garbage Pail Kids or magazines or something to pick up for My Mother like milk, juice or eggs, simple groceries.

taking walks in the park or riding my bike to the park, I enjoyed the exercise growing up.

taking public transportation 26 years ago for the first time by myself.

It's strange to hear all these comments about about how unsafe the world is right now when most violent crimes have dramatically decreased since the mid '90s, this is probably the safest period in the last 40 years easily. In fact if I'm not mistaken crime rates now are near what they were in the 1960s. :o

The 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s was an era of high crime rates but there is still a lot of people who erroneously believe crime to be getting worse.

It's strange to hear all these comments about about how unsafe the world is right now when most violent crimes have dramatically decreased since the mid '90s, this is probably the safest period in the last 40 years easily. In fact if I'm not mistaken crime rates now are near what they were in the 1960s. :o

The 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s was an era of high crime rates but there is still a lot of people who erroneously believe crime to be getting worse.


Strange huh...maybe so. I hear what you are saying and if the stats are correct, stats don't lie.  :)

But we felt safer back then. Ask anyone my age or older (In Canada, not sure about America), it was a safer place 40 or 50 years ago, around the neighborhood.

No one I know had a car alarm back then. Although car thefts may have happened, you never felt it could happen to you. You felt safe about that. No one needed an alarm.

No one I know had a house alarm back then. Although break-ins probably happened, you never felt it could happen to you. You felt safe in your neighborhood. You left your front door unlocked. The back door may have been unlocked overnight but you never thought about it coz you didn't fear a break-in, unlike today.

As kids, we could leave the house in the morning to play and come back before dark. Often parents didn't know exactly where you were. No cell phones to check in every 2 or 3 hours. Although some bad things may have happened to kids, the world felt safe then, parents didn't worry even if there kids were out all day. The neighborhood felt safe. You knew most people near where you lived.

Half of the kids at my school walked there, no parental supervision...although there were probably some strange people out there like there is now, no one ever felt the need to walk with your kid to school, fearing an abduction. It felt safe, the neighborhood was safe, going to school was safe. The thought a kid would be abducted or whatever really never entered into peoples minds back then.

Maybe if you didn't grow up in the 60s and 70s, it might be hard to understand all this, because you are just looking at stats. I lived it..I was there. This was the general feeling out there. (At least it was in Canada..again, maybe things were different in the USA)

The first neighborhood I lived in was a great place to be a kid. It was one of those developments that were built right after WWII. All the houses were pretty much the same (but our house was different because we put on additions). Almost every house had at least one kid it in. We had 6 and we weren't the largest family in the neighborhood. Everything was geared towards kids. The playground was in the center of the neighborhood. In the summer we would have councilors who would come and there would be arts & crafts, sports, etc. We would have a lot of contests (Hat Day, Costume Day, etc. etc). The one that EVERYONE loved was the annual Scavenger Hunt. Each team would have a list and we would have to go from house to house to get these items-and the rule was you couldn't go to your own house. The entire neighborhood got involved. 

And Halloween was great. It was always on a Saturday and we were start off with the local firetruck leading a parade of kids. We would go to the playground for judging and then we starting knocking on doors. By the time the sun went down, all the candy was handed out and all the little ghosts & goblins were back home safe & sound. We would also go Christmas Caroling in December.

There was a "little store" in the neighborhood. Never knew the name of it. We always just called it "The Little Store."  Behind the Little Store was a hill with two paths-dubbed Big Dynamite and Little Dynamite. Great sledding in the winter. But don't let the names fool you Big Dynamite was the tamer of the two. Little Dynamite was the faster one.

The thing is, everyone knew everyone else. And everyone knew where everyone lived. I remember when I was really, really young-I must have been maybe 2 or 3 (and yes, I do remember it) where I wondered away from the house. I ended up about 3 houses down. There were the "older" kids (about 10 years old or so) and I started playing with them-or should I say, they started playing with me. No one really panicked because I wondered off (at least I don't think they did).

I got my bike at 6 so I could go father than I did on foot. Didn't go too far. I went to the next neighborhood and there was a water tower that I went to. One time I rode my bike to the Little Store and went behind it and walked down Big Dynamite-the first time I was there without snow on the ground. At the bottom of the hill was a path into the woods. I didn't go very far when a snake cross my path-just a garter snake but when you are 6 years old, it looked like a cobra. Scared the sh!t out of me that I ran up the hill, got on my bike and pedaled home as fast as I could (I didn't want the snake to follow me.)

But, it was a VERY safe neighborhood. But all of us kids knew that we had to be home when the streetlights came on.



Me on my bike with a friend. But you can see the neighborhood-all the houses looking alike. And I knew each of the families who lived in ALL of those houses.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r92/aandcsattic/family/Untitled1.jpg


Ahh, the memories.


Cat

The 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s was an era of high crime rates but there is still a lot of people who erroneously believe crime to be getting worse.

I agree with that statement.

No one I know had a house alarm back then. Although break-ins probably happened, you never felt it could happen to you. You felt safe in your neighborhood. You left your front door unlocked. The back door may have been unlocked overnight but you never thought about it coz you didn't fear a break-in, unlike today.


It rarely happened in the late 70's in my neighborhood.

My mother would send me to the store, when I was somewhere around 10 or so, to buy her cigarettes.

Yeah I would venture out on my own at a young age, when I was 8 someone said there was a dead dog in the
road across town. Naturally, I went to look for it but failed to tell my mother. That didn't go over too well.

I think the reason we felt safer when we were kids was because everyone in town knew each other. The kids,
the parents everyone. Now it seems to be rare if you can name two or three neighbors.

I think the reason we felt safer when we were kids was because everyone in town knew each other. The kids,
the parents everyone. Now it seems to be rare if you can name two or three neighbors.

A lot of our neighbors either passed away or have moved away but at least in our neighborhood we still have a few of our "old school" neighbors left.

Back then, we didn't have cell phones, I mean we did but they were "brick-sized" and if your parents told you to be home at a certain time you'd listen to them, there was no way to contact them except by payphone which you rarely see nowadays.

Back then, we didn't have cell phones, I mean we did but they were "brick-sized" and if your parents told you to be home at a certain time you'd listen to them, there was no way to contact them except by payphone which you rarely see nowadays.


In high school (1999-2003) I didn't recall anyone having a cell phone, big or otherwise.  But by the time my sister was graduating (2007) a lot of teens had one.  As mentioned before I have a simple cell phone.  Occasionally I text on it but its mainly for emergencies.  To me its sad how technology obsessed people are. 

To me its sad how technology obsessed people are.

We wonder how we communicated without cell phones at the time.

We wonder how we communicated without cell phones at the time.


I still don't have one. Don't want one. Don't need one. I've lived without a cell phone for 50 years. Why would I need one now?

I still don't have one. Don't want one. Don't need one. I've lived without a cell phone for 50 years. Why would I need one now?


I don't know... for status?  ???

I still don't have one. Don't want one. Don't need one. I've lived without a cell phone for 50 years. Why would I need one now?



We have a cell that we use when we are away from home on long trips. I put the call forwarding on and all our phone calls go to the cell. It is really convenient when we go to PR. But, normally it just sits next to the computer. We don't bring it with us if we are just going to the store.


Cat

We have a cell that we use when we are away from home on long trips. I put the call forwarding on and all our phone calls go to the cell. It is really convenient when we go to PR. But, normally it just sits next to the computer. We don't bring it with us if we are just going to the store.


Cat


So I guess you're not the ones that "walk and talk" all the time blabbering on the street. I don't do it either.

So I guess you're not the ones that "walk and talk" all the time blabbering on the street. I don't do it either.



Nope.



Cat

So I guess you're not the ones that "walk and talk" all the time blabbering on the street. I don't do it either.

People that do that annoy me.

In high school (1999-2003) I didn't recall anyone having a cell phone, big or otherwise.  But by the time my sister was graduating (2007) a lot of teens had one.  As mentioned before I have a simple cell phone.  Occasionally I text on it but its mainly for emergencies.  To me its sad how technology obsessed people are.


I'm from the Midwest, and by 2001 teens in high school already had cell phones. In 2000 though, there weren't many cell phones, then in 2001, BOOM!! Maybe it depends on region.

I skipped a few posts. How did we go from being adventurous kids to having cell phones?


My mom tells a story about sending me to the store for twelve eggs when I was 5.
I was gone way too long and she got worried and came looking for me. I was standing in front of the eggs crying because they only had a dozen eggs and I wanted so badly to do the job right and bring her twelve.  Guess I was too stupid to count the eggs lol

I skipped a few posts. How did we go from being adventurous kids to having cell phones?


My mom tells a story about sending me to the store for twelve eggs when I was 5.
I was gone way too long and she got worried and came looking for me. I was standing in front of the eggs crying because they only had a dozen eggs and I wanted so badly to do the job right and bring her twelve.  Guess I was too stupid to count the eggs lol



;D ;D ;D


I remember one time my dad sending us to the Little Store for the Daily News & the New York Times. So, we wouldn't forget what he wanted, we sort of chanted/sang the entire way there, The Daily News and the New York Times. The Daily News and the New York Times.   To this day, whenever I hear either one of those, I start to chant/sing, "The Daily News and the New York Times. The Daily News and the New York Times. "  :D :D ;D ;D



Cat

I'm from the Midwest, and by 2001 teens in high school already had cell phones. In 2000 though, there weren't many cell phones, then in 2001, BOOM!! Maybe it depends on region.


cell phones at that time got smaller and compact.

And I remember when our parents gave us a curfew to be home at a certain time for dinner. They'd say "Be Home At 6" and we'd come home to eat dinner, watch tv and go to sleep.

eggs are eggs.  ;D


My story's not about eggs Howard its about math.

I still don't have one. Don't want one. Don't need one. I've lived without a cell phone for 50 years. Why would I need one now?


You sound like my father, haha. He can go on and on about the many reasons he DOESN'T need a cell phone lol. He's almost 55 and has never even used an old computer. I admire him for that though<3

You sound like my father, haha. He can go on and on about the many reasons he DOESN'T need a cell phone lol. He's almost 55 and has never even used an old computer. I admire him for that though<3


He doesn't know what he's missing.

I skipped a few posts. How did we go from being adventurous kids to having cell phones?

That's along the lines of what I was thinking.  I was adventurous by today's standards, but I didn't think of climbing to treetops and walking across ponds at ice break time as adventurous.  It was just something we did as kids.  I could disappear for 14 hours without my parents posting an AMBER Alert. 
::)


My mom tells a story about sending me to the store for twelve eggs when I was 5.
I was gone way too long and she got worried and came looking for me. I was standing in front of the eggs crying because they only had a dozen eggs and I wanted so badly to do the job right and bring her twelve.  Guess I was too stupid to count the eggs lol

;D ;D ;D ;D

My sister sold me five cents for a dime but my mother said it wasn't fair and made her give me my dime back. 
The free market versus big government!

I wasn't particularly adventurous when I was young.


I still don't have one. Don't want one. Don't need one. I've lived without a cell phone for 50 years. Why would I need one now?


I feel the same way(plus it would make it harder for me to dodge work if they call on a day off  :D ).

People that do that annoy me.


I do it and I'm not apologizing for it.  :P

Like, Hi, Fer Shurr,

I was a rather physically inactive kid, due to medical issues, but I was, in some ways, adventurous...for a little girl during the 1980s (I was born during the early portion of 1979).

My mother would put ribbons in my hair, and I'd take the ribbons out of my hair.  I was exceedingly picky about clothing, because I always wanted to feel comfortable, so I had no problem removing layers that made me uncomfortable...even if it was Wintertime. 

When I was young, my next door neighbors knew me well, and, oftentimes, when my mother would try to get me to take a nap, she'd fall asleep, too, right there, on the floor, next to the fireplace, and I'd sneak away, in order to visit the neighbors.

When I was young, I would sneak into the kitchen at, like, 5 A.M., just to see what the previous night's dirty dinner dishes looked like.  I was actually fascinated by the odd appearance of hot dogs, mustard, etc., that had been sitting out in the kitchen since 7 P.M.

I remember being interested in ideas, etc., that other 1980s girl children just didn't give a rat's booty about!  I mean, my mother says that when I was little, I hated television (She claims that I'd just walk right up to the T.V. and turn it OFF!), and that I was interested in other things, like whales, dinosaurs, etc. 

I was obsessed with dinosaurs between the ages of about 3 and 10 (?), and, when I was really young, I learned all that I could about dinosaurs, so that I could converse with adults about the scientific names of dinosaurs, the pronunciation of those names, the eating habits of the creatures, etc., in an active, informed way.

I was a verbally adventurous child.  One day, when I was fairly young (3?), my mother was having the typical "No, you CAN'T have the candy that's in the check-out isle!" conversation with me.  Of course, I asked her why I couldn't have some candy, and she, believing in talking realistically to children, said something like, "I don't want you to be eating candy, because it has artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives in it!".  Well, in front of everybody, I said, in the loudest voice possible, "But I LIKE artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives!", and, as the clerk laughed, my mother blushed in front of a line of shoppers.  Today, I am, of course, adventurous, in that I try to NOT like artificial ANYTHINGS, due to my newer knowledge about how harmful they are for me.

I was also known to be carried through The May Company by Grandma, while singing "There's More For Your Life At Sears".

Speaking of Sears, I think that's where Mom took me during 1988, in order to buy me the Barbie doll that was to secure my friendship with another girl from school.  I'd been to this girl's house, but her mother wasn't too crazy about me, and, since the girl and her other friend were always playing with Barbie dolls, and I didn't own a single Barbie/ Friend or Family doll at the age of...NINE...Mom believed that if I had SOME kind of Barbie doll, I'd be able to better relate to the other girl and her friends.

Well, she took me to Sears, pointing at the various Barbie dolls, trying desperately to encourage me to choose one, etc., only to have me react with total disinterest!  She practically had to FORCE me to accept one of the older Skipper dolls that still stood on the shelf (1985/1986's Tropical Skipper), and, once Mom told the OTHER girl's mom about the purchase, the snooty woman informed my mother that HER daughter was giving away ALL of HER Barbie dolls!

I was also plenty adventurous in school, and my adventurousness sometimes led to embarrassment.  I was in pre-school or kindergarten when I practiced some in-school gymnastics.  Being used to hospitals, changing in front of medical personnel, etc., led to total shame for me once I went to school.  I'd never taken a gymnastics class in my life, and when the teacher told us to change into our gymnastics gear, I naturally assumed that I was to remove ALL of my clothing before changing into the leotard.  The teacher made me feel like the worst 4/5-year-old pervert in the history of EVERYTHING!  It's not as though I was 13, or something!

I guess that you might call my personality "adventurous."  I once decided that this other girl from my preschool (?) had a perfect life, and I announced to my mother that I wanted to BE this girl!  I very nearly left home because of my obsession with being this other girl.

Then again, I was ALSO the 9-year-old who once entertained Grandma, Mom, and Dad by singing songs from "CATS", making cat treats (marshmallows, licorice whiskers, etc.), and making a cat mask (White paper, covered with wadded-up tissues).  I was the little girl who would accept NOTHING but a hippo for Christmas one year (Grandma was actually able to find a stuffed hippo toy). 

Worst of all, I was that kid who would disgust my adult self today!  I hated to wash my hair, and, because Mom refused to buy me Fireball candies, I'd just finish the half-eaten ones that other kids left on the playground.  I tended to pick things up and eat them, even when I was 9!  I was on vacation with my parents during my 9th year (1988) (Mind you, my health was in decline, and we didn't know it, so my brain may not have been getting enough oxygen...), and I ate something off of a pharmacy floor!  Well, when I admitted my mistake, and the fact that I didn't feel well, my parents panicked, and my father nearly went through the ROOF of the hotel!  I've rarely SEEN him that angry; he was pacing back and forth, railing at me.  I could only lay there on the bed, crying.  I had to be taken to the E.R., where precautions were taken (I was made to barf out, totally...ICK!), just in CASE I'd ingested something dangerous.

Sure, I was adventurous in OTHER ways, too.  I idolized Jessica Rabbit at the age of 9, and when I heard that "The Little Mermaid" was going to be released, I didn't think clean thoughts; I thought "What if her seashells fell off during the movie?".  LOL!  By about 5th grade, or so, I became rebellious, wanting to be "a slut" (Like I had the faintest IDEA about what an ugly business that type of term REALLY referred to!), claiming to want to go to the mall where the cheap women were.  I was really all talk, and I looked far too young for my age, anyway.  One day, Mom actually LET me have a tight, zip-up-the-front, hot pink dress, and then, I didn't even bother to WEAR the hot little number!  I guess that I was just jealous of my 6th grade (1990-1991) classmate, who wore big tee shirts over what appeared to be tube tops (used as mini skirts).  Of course, during about 5th grade, I got to have SOME adventurous fun on the day of our Halloween party, because I'd forgotten my long skirt, which was supposed to go with my tube top (I was dressing as a pop singer for Halloween).  Well, I couldn't have been happier about being able to wear my original shirt OVER the "mini skirt" tube top!  That was as sexy as I was ever able to be during the 5th grade.  LOL!

I was not able to be PHYSICALLY adventurous, with regards to being an active, adventure-seeking young child.  My FATHER would know about being adventurous in THAT sense, because he came from a family wherein divorce was the norm; he was a young kid during the late 1940s/ early 1950s, and he was getting on busses for dental appointments...ALONE.  I NEVER went to a dental appointment by myself when I was a young kid.
8)

 

Sees the above post

http://derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDcvMTUvMjNfNTJfNDhfMzU2XzM3NTIyMF9fc2FmZV9mbHV0dGVyc2h5X2h1bWFuaXplZF9yZWFjdGlvbl9pbWFnZV9hbmdlbF9hcnRpc3RfY29sb25fc2hlcGhlcmQwODIxIl1d/375220__safe_fluttershy_humanized_reaction%2Bimage_angel_artist-colon-shepherd0821.png

So much text!

I wasn't particularly adventurous when I was young.

I feel the same way(plus it would make it harder for me to dodge work if they call on a day off  :D ).


you could always put your phone on vibrate.

When I was young, I would sneak into the kitchen at, like, 5 A.M., just to see what the previous night's dirty dinner dishes looked like.  I was actually fascinated by the odd appearance of hot dogs, mustard, etc., that had been sitting out in the kitchen since 7 P.M.


EW! Why would you want to do that? 8-P Don't you sleep?  ???

Like, Hi, Fer Shurr, Howard,

I guess that I was destined to be the real life version of Charmin' Chatty; I don't mind, though, because, for me, Charmin' Chatty represents that smart, unconventional, precocious 1960s girl who was under-appreciated, but super cool!

When I was in about the 6th grade (?), I did an entire science experiment based upon the growth of mold on various surfaces, and the teachers liked the experiment, so I'd say that my fascination with old food wasn't a TOTAL ick...

With regards to my sleeping habits, I spent my very early childhood trying to fall asleep around constantly-beeping machines, so I've never really slept well at any time during my life. 
8)

Speaking of Sears, I think that's where Mom took me during 1988, in order to buy me the Barbie doll that was to secure my friendship with another girl from school.  I'd been to this girl's house, but her mother wasn't too crazy about me, and, since the girl and her other friend were always playing with Barbie dolls, and I didn't own a single Barbie/ Friend or Family doll at the age of...NINE...Mom believed that if I had SOME kind of Barbie doll, I'd be able to better relate to the other girl and her friends.


Do you still own Barbie dolls?

I never thought of myself as adventurous, more like 'anything to combat boredom'!

I had this bike when I was 9 or 10 and I used to go riding on it...



...in Central London...



...in the rush hour!  :o

Those of you who know what Central London is/was like in the rush hour (even in the 70s), will probably be thinking, 'how is he still alive?'  ???

Like, Hi, Fer Shurr, Howard,

I not only own just about every Barbie doll that I received when I was a child, but some NRFB Barbies, several Collectors' Request Barbies, some My Favorite Barbie dolls, a few Silkstones, TONS of My Scene dolls, TONS of Disney dolls, and one 1969/1970 Standard Barbie, which I got while I was on vacation last summer.

Do you still own the sunglasses that you are wearing in your avatar photo?  If so, how old are the sunglasses, and do you wear them at night...to keep track of visions in your eyes?
8)



Do you still own Barbie dolls?

Do you still own the sunglasses that you are wearing in your avatar photo?  If so, how old are the sunglasses, and do you wear them at night...to keep track of visions in your eyes?

I still own those sunglasses in that photo, the sunglasses are a few months old, I have about a few pairs cause I collect a lot of them (that OCD).