Growing Up in the 70s; Did We Really Have it Better Than Kids Today?

Does every generation believe that the time when they grew up was the best? Childhood has a way of allowing us to remain blissfully ignorant of the problematic events that are surrounding us, letting us live a carefree existence. Those who grew up in one of the most troubled eras, having experienced World War I and the Great Depression, with some also fighting in World War II, are actually described as The Greatest Generation. This generation is characterized by a great deal of patriotism, commitment to family, and motivation to work hard to succeed.

I grew up in the 70s, a decade that saw the Vietnam War, massive global inflation, a political scandal that brought down a presidency, and a significant oil crisis. But what I remember as a child growing up at this time in Kansas is a simpler time where my biggest responsibility was taking proper care of my pet rock.

Today’s parents are more than a little shocked when they hear of how we spent our childhood days. We got up on a summer morning and took off on foot or on our Sting Ray bicycle and stayed away for the best part of the day without our parents knowing where we were or when we would return. We met up with friends and planned our day, which could include a trip to the Tastee-Freez, Taco Pete, or Kwik Shop if we had some cash on hand. And these places were not right around the corner. We walked all over the place back then (I won’t try to convince you it was uphill both ways). When we did catch a ride, it would be in a massive sedan, sans seat belts, with the outstretched arm of my 125-lb mother providing all the protection we needed in the event of a collision.

I spent my childhood in the suburbs of Wichita, on a street with neighborhood kids close in age to my sisters and me. We didn’t schedule play dates back then. We just walked outside and joined in with whoever was out and about and if no one was around we knocked on doors. Friendships came and went as families moved in and out of the neighborhood. Others started driving and outgrew the block gang and moved on. I still remember their names and faces, most fondly.

Memories of this time and place include:

• Taking turns pushing one another on a homemade swing hung on a low-hanging branch in the neighbor’s front yard.
• Playing Hide and Seek, outdoors in the dark.
• The neighborhood boys nailing frogs to the wooden telephone pole (UGH).
• Being dropped off at the community swimming pool and staying the day.
• Sleeping in the backyard.
• A neighbor using a cowbell to call her kids home.
• Ringing doorbells and running away.
• Playing crack-the-whip, Red Rover, and kick ball.
• Coming home to my dad’s Frank Sinatra records playing on the console stereo.

I imagine this looking very different from what a kid today would experience on a summer day. It was free and easy and didn’t consist of schedules. We had nowhere to be other than there with our friends, having fun, and getting into mischief. We often hear it said by our generation that kids today don’t know what they are missing. While they are coddled, we were reckless and we came out just fine. If a child was ever poisoned from drinking out of a garden hose, I never heard about it.

Yet, I didn’t raise my own kids the way I grew up. When they left the house to go play with the neighbors, I knew which neighbor(s) and where. While I was growing up we never gave a thought to kidnapping but that changed and as parents, we reacted, and rightly so. I used car seats and seat belts as we learned more about safety (thank you, crash dummies). I never discouraged the use of technology with my boys, eagerly picking up the new Nintendo Entertainment System and even playing alongside them.

In this same way, our kids are bringing up our grandkids from what they know of today’s world—using even more caution with their safety and keeping up with the constant technical evolution via tablets and smartphones.  Maybe we just accept that there is no place for today’s kids in the world where we grew up because they are being raised in preparation for the world they will be living in.  Perhaps we should stop trying to convince them we had it so much better…and just let it be our little secret!