When there were no video games, phones, computers, or ipads, kids had to seek fun in the world outside. And that’s exactly what they did… all… the…time. Once a kid was let outside to play with their friends, parents wouldn’t see them until dinner time.
Safety just didn’t seem like a concern. Not because they didn’t care about their kids, but because people felt that neighborhoods were safe back then. Kids were also mostly in groups or with older siblings so it seemed totally normal.
Spanking
If you misbehaved as a kid, it was simple. Out came the hand, or occasionally even worse, the belt. It's a good thing that most times kids were way out of their parents' sight for most of the day, but when they were with their folks, there was serious discipline.
The kind of physical punishment that went on those days would cause some serious eyebrow-raising today. In some cases, even a phone call to child services. Yep, things have changed, thankfully!
Lead Galore
Lead paint was used on everything. Which is strange, since it was published as far back as 1904 that lead is highly poisonous in large quantities for both workmen and all inhabitants of a home.
Fortunately now, the legal amount of lead is no more than 0.06% concentration. Just think of everyone breathing that in, not just kids!
Community Parenting
With all the 'hands-on' parenting of today, no one would accept someone else telling them how to raise their kids. But in the '60s, parents from the community or neighborhood would have no issue disciplining someone else's child if necessary.
It was extremely common to see other kids' parents giving a little mischief-maker a good yelling, sometimes even a spanking. If that happened today, people would very quickly find themselves in a lawsuit.
The Chemistry Sets Were Not Okay
It's always great when kids test out scientific experiments, but what isn't okay is when these experiments can lead to super hazardous explosions. Like in the case of these old Gilbert Chemistry Sets.
These sets contained terribly flammable chemicals like ammonium nitrate - a chemical used in the creation of homemade bombs and potassium permanganate. Not so smart.