Your growing up years

The thing I remember about childhood is crawling around engine sheds looking at steam locos. Never nicked owt or caused any damage, and never came to any harm as I had the sense to know what was dangerous. No kid could do that nowadays. It simply would not be allowed. Similarly, when I was about 8 or 9 a gang of us would walk from Gorton to Marple quite regularly. Again, no kid would be allowed to do that nowadays, and remember, we had no mobile phones. You just had to look after yourself. No one ever died as a result of those trips.

I would hate to be an average kid nowadays. OK, they have all the fancy electronic stuff, but OTOH a medieval princess had more freedom, let alone the kids of my generation.
 
mexico1970 said:
Being out all the time is what I remember, knocking for mates hoping they were in or allowed out not being able to ring them on the telethingymubob first, everything on spec. It was a time when a stick and a tin can entertained a child for hours only landing home if you were starving.

Risk assessment as a child was character building, playing on building sites inside empty houses and thriving on jam butties and egg and chips, playing football at the drop of a hat and for hours too.
Click to expand...

How true..
 
Flashback memories courtesy of my dystopian mindset. I have no idea what dystopian mindset means but it fits in rather well with this story line so let us continue.

First available memory circa 4 years old . An auntie in Withington buying me a cornet with a flake in it. Proper made up as the poorer children in the street couldn't afford flakes and so I saved that for last as a badge of honour.

Circa 4 years old. Being captured by the hill people and moved by horse and cart to Rozzendorf and nair to return back to my ancestral home. I cried until journeys end and I am still to this very day featured on the back of milk cartons in Withington.

Circa 5 years old..First day at school and all on our hands and knees as one of our class had shit her self and we all wanted a gander.

Circa 7 years old. Losing out as Jesus in our school nativity to a long haired yeti with not an ounce of acting nuance and instead being cast as a crappy Shepard lad but mother said without the crappy shepherd lad showing the wise men the way then Jesus would not have gotten his gold frankenstein or grrr.

Circa 8 years old ..Watching mothers clothes spiraling and or floating down past our bedroom window sill as father emptied the contents of her wardrobe down into the garden because she said she never had enough clothes but there seemed to be an awful lot falling down and at times it looked like a reconstruction of Arnhem. After that he disappeared into the distance with not a backward glance and we never saw him again.

Circa nine years old. Working as an alter boy and being taken to a house of a deceased church member to waft the incense on her open coffin. I had to make my way home in the dark a mile away down past the brook and desolate lane frantically breaking from a trot into a mad gallop as my sphincter gave way to liquid fear. When I got home I moved all my glow in the dark Frankenstein figurines into the cupboard and slept with the light on for a firther 9 years : (

That is all:
 
Last edited:
I remember being 7 and walking home alone from school everyday, letting myself in the house getting changed and going out playing footy, couldnt really see that happening today
 
I loved my childhood, born in 74 so I had the whole of the 80s through my childhood to early teens, loved every single second of that decade, young and without a care in the world I had an absolute scream, I wish I could relive it again.
The music, the clothes, the football, the tv, junior school to high school, every day of every year seemed exciting with something going on or finding out something new.

Ah memories :(
 
Life is pain, the world owes you nothing, existence isn’t meant to be fair, etc.

Those were the platitudes of my childhood, such as it was.
 
JULES said:
I remember being 7 and walking home alone from school everyday, letting myself in the house getting changed and going out playing footy, couldnt really see that happening today
Click to expand...
Exactly this. Morning, Noon and Night was football out on the street with about 20 kids. The mothers basically had to come out and drag us in off the street! Jumpers as nets in the middle of the road, Ball putting windows threw. The only times I'd see my mam and dad was when they'd wake me up for school :)
Nowadays there is nobody out kicking a ball...All to busy with their PS4 and Nintendo switch unfortunately.
 
I didn’t have a care in the world but I knew nothing
 
SWPISHOME said:
Exactly this. Morning, Noon and Night was football out on the street with about 20 kids. The mothers basically had to come out and drag us in off the street! Jumpers as nets in the middle of the road, Ball putting windows threw. The only times I'd see my mam and dad was when they'd wake me up for school :)
Nowadays there is nobody out kicking a ball...All to busy with their PS4 and Nintendo switch unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Also partly down to the overprotection of parents now, as well.

I will say that nothing compares to the lack of freedom given to American children, though. I am still continually surprised by how much colleagues and mates control what their children do here. Nearly every moment is accounted for, tracked, scheduled, and so on.

It’s really not good for their long-term development. There are movements here away from that, though, and I hope they grow and go elsewhere, as well.
 
SebastianBlue said:
Also partly down to the overprotection of parents now, as well.
Click to expand...
Very true too. Years ago you could just walk out the door and shout to your parents "Am going out" and that would be it until you came home that evening.
Now it's all changed. Which is understandable too. As I'd put myself down as an overprotective parent, The area I live their was a few cases of child abduction 'that failed'. But if the kids are out on the street I'd have to go out and sit on the wall in the drive way just to be sure.
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
All these parents who were the ones who would get up to all sorts of shit as kids are the generation of parents who don’t like their kids do anything these days.
Click to expand...
Absolutely.

To be fair, I am sure it is at least in part due to the sort of anxiety I admittedly experience, which is the fear they’ll turn out as insane as we are. But I have to remind myself that my own shortcomings are not really due to being given the freedom to discover, fail, and learn.

Taking that opportunity away from children is doing them a substantial disservice and will cause far more issues when they are adults.
 
manimanc said:
Collecting wood for bommy night, I'm pretty sure kids don't do that today.

We used to pinch wood from gangs off other estates, kids aged 10 and 11 running down back streets with a pallet each and a wardrobe between them.
Click to expand...
Haha brilliant days. Fighting with other estates for pallets and tyres. Wait until the other estate get a good build up of goods before you go in and raid them...They were the ones doing all the work that was the name of the game. Dont actually see kids doing that anymore.
 
SWPISHOME said:
Very true too. Years ago you could just walk out the door and shout to your parents "Am going out" and that would be it until you came home that evening.
Now it's all changed. Which is understandable too. As I'd put myself down as an overprotective parent, The area I live their was a few cases of child abduction 'that failed'. But if the kids are out on the street I'd have to go out and sit on the wall in the drive way just to be sure.
Click to expand...
Beat me to the punch, mate. Quite a lot of it is down to how we see ourselves and the world when we become parents, even if some if it may not be entirely accurate.

Most parents’ heart is in the right place.
 
SebastianBlue said:
Beat me to the punch, mate. Quite a lot of it is down to how we see ourselves and the world when we become parents, even if some if it may not be entirely accurate.

Most parents’ heart is in the right place.
Click to expand...
True mate. Probably going a bit off topic now but regarding parents there is alot of play areas/playgrounds ect where I live we do bring the kids but a thing that really bugs me is parents just sitting with their phone in hands and not even watching the kids then all of a sudden they take a selfie with the child "just too show facebook"...
Anyway would be great see kids back out playing ball or even bikes, pogo sticks ect Bloody parents eh :)
 
SWPISHOME said:
True mate. Probably going a bit off topic now but regarding parents there is alot of play areas/playgrounds ect where I live we do bring the kids but a thing that really bugs me is parents just sitting with their phone in hands and not even watching the kids then all of a sudden they take a selfie with the child "just too show facebook"...
Anyway would be great see kids back out playing ball or even bikes, pogo sticks ect Bloody parents eh :)
Click to expand...
Completely agree.

Maybe they can make a new PS4 (PogoStick4)? ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top