When I Was A Kid...

[Sunchimes]

We were talking today about things that happened when we were kids, many decades ago. My mom was a single mom until I was 8, and we stayed with a babysitter. When I was 7 or barely 8, we stayed with the lady next door. She had a baby about a year old. She used to send me to the little grocery store that was about a block and a half away. I had to walk to the end of the block, go down to the next street, cross a street, and then cross the street car track to get to the little store. I'd buy whatever it was she needed, and she would give me a nickel extra to buy a soda. I always bought a K Orange. One day, I stayed home from school sick, and she still sent me to the store. Even after I was grown and married, my mom still griped about that! My husband said, "Wouldn't DFPS have a fit about that!! Can you imagine sending a 7 year old on errands like that these days? ;-)

But, it gets worse...if you are from the Dallas area, you might be familiar with Skillman Ave. She used to take us with her to the big grocery store on Skillman. She had a fussy baby (no car seats in those days) and she would have me steer the car down Skillman while she tried to quiet the baby. Of course, 50+ years ago, Skillman wasn't exactly like it is now! Then, she would leave me in the car with the baby and my little sister (3 or 4) while she did the grocery shopping.

My, how times have changed!!!

Really no point to this post except I think it's funny that now we are so closely monitored and regulated, and back then, anything was allowed.

[Childminder]

I can remember being sent to the store to buy cigarettes for a dad of children I babysat for at age eleven. Yep times have changed. I lived on a farm and would be gone for hours playing at the pond as early as 7 or 8 even or walking 3 miles along the road to play with a friend.

[Bookworm]

OMG, this is funny because I was talking with my husband about going to by cigarettes for my mom when I was 10 yrs old. And walking to the Food Lion (1/2 mile away) with my sister to get groceries. My hubby used to go the liquor store to get cigarettes for his mom and if she didn't have money, they would would "put it on her account". Now, DSS would have our parents arrested and we would be thrown in foster care.

[Sunchimes]

Meant to post as a new thread but had a brain glitch.

[MarinaVanessa]

I started babysitting my infant sister the same summer she was born and I was 10. What kind of mother nowadays leaves their 10yo with a 2 week old baby?? This was 20 years ago and how I got started in child care. As soon as the neoghbors heard that I was baby-sitting her they'd ask if I could baby-sit their kids on my vacations and breaks too. I made $50 a week per kid (for me that was a big deal cuz I was 10, I was rolling in dough). Now as I think about it I look back and think about how crazy that was and how I wouldn't leave my kids with someone that young

[safechner]

I remember when I was 4 years old and lived in North Hollywood Ca at that time. My parents went out of town for a few days or a week so my mother's friend and her husband or boyfriend to stay at my house to babysit me and my sister when she was 5 or 6 months old. I cannot stand of my mom's friend. She bought candy for her and her bf, not for me. I was pissed off and decided I go to the store to buy candy myself. It was my first time to do this so I rode my bike cross the busy street to the store. Truth is, I am not very good at it to get cross the street but I tried do my best. I did cross then go to the store and got a big candy but I do not have money with me so I decided to steal it. I know it was a shame on myself but I was only 4 years old. I went back home and again I have to cross the busy street. The lady was yelled at me from cross the street (I don't hear from them at all but I read her body language to know that she was yelled at me) and I actually flicked at her. I went back the house and showed them that I got candy and they were shocked, . I would never do that again because I know it was wrong. A few days or weeks later, we went to the grocery store and the store manager remembered me and he told my mom about me that they caught me for stealing the candy but I got out of the store since I can't hear them. My mom was shocked and she told me not to do that again. ::::


When I was 8 years old and I have to take care of my newborn brother and 4 years old sister a full time because my dad don't want to do anything with him so he can have a long nap at night time!! My mom worked night shift and my dad worked day shift to avoid to pay daycare for me, my sister, and my bro.
Maybe that is why I become child care provider, who knows. My brother and I were very close but I am not getting along with him right now since he changed it a lot due to army or something.

[Heidi]

These stories are fun!

My parents moved here from Germany when I was 3, and my sister was 2. My dad worked 2nd shift, and after he was done, mom would put us to bed and they would go out to party.

They USUALLY got home before we woke up in the morning, but I guess one morning they were late (I don't think there was a bar time in Chicago back then), and we were already outside playing. I was almost 4 by then, so I was quite mature. I had my sister all dressed, even made sure her ears were warm. She had a stocking cap on.....in July.


When my son was about 2 1/2, my mom suggested I leave him alone for short periods of time (like to run to the store for milk) so that he could get "practice". yeah....no, thanks mom, he can get practice later!

On that note, I miss my mom, she was a lovely lady inspite of her lack of supervision....lovethis

[Blackcat31]

HaHa...funny thread!

When I was 9 my mom and her BFF used to go out on Friday nights when their DH's were fishing/hunting or doing other man things.
I was left in charge of all of my younger siblings (4 of them, ages infant, 1, 5, and 7 yrs) AND my mom's BBF's infant twins!! 3 infants all at once! My other siblings were boys so couldn't have cared less about helping me out.

I also mowed the lawn WITH a gas power push mower from age 5 and up

I walked to the store about 2 miles away and bought cigarettes and liquor for my mom

I went tubing down the river with my brother by oursleves and we were gone for 4-5 hours and were in early elementary school

We rode our bikes to town (and we lived 10 miles out) just to hang out on lazy summer afternoons.

We took sips from my dad's beer when we had neighborhood bonfires and no one cared

I drove my mom's car to Driver's Ed classes because she was too busy to take me, so I drove myself without a license!

I ate apples that strangers gave me for Halloween

I did alot of things I am forever grateful I had the chance to do. I learned from those experiences and wish that I could've allowed the same things as a parent myself....

But funny how those things don't seem so cool when the people doing them are MY children... ::::

[Zoe]

This is a very interesting thread! I don't remember how young I was when I first started being able to be out of the house alone, but I'm sure I was a lot younger than I'm willing to let my own kids be out.

At what age would you trust your kids to go out by themselves?

[Heidi]

-One of the times we were left home at night, my mom was actually in the hospital and dad was working 3rd shift. When he got home in the morning, we'd decided (at 3 & 4) to make mom a welcome home cake. In the wading pool...in the kitchen....flour, sugar, eggs, milk, spaghetti noodles :confused:. I can actually remember my dad's face to this day. He sat down on the stool, surveyed the glop everywhere and our beaming faces...and cried...

-We remember playing tag in the dark in the summer...the whole neighborhood of kids....and catching fireflies. I also remember skinny-dipping in our pool.

-Mom worked, so we were alone all summer. Once we got the bright idea to take some returnable bottles to the store on our bikes and buy candy. When mom got home, we fessed up, thinking mom would be mad. Instead she said"well, you can do that ANY time!" I guess she didn't like lugging them to the grocery store every Saturday.

-My sister climbed and fell out of every tall tree in the neignborhood (only once did she need stitches though). I only climbed some trees, and never fell out. Even now, that speaks volumes about our personalilties.


next....

[MyAngels]

When I was a kid my Dad was in the Air Force and we lived on base. They had these wide, deep ravines that ran through the base with some sort of drainage pipe running from side to side at the top. We used to shinny across those things as a shortcut to friends on the other side. The pipes were maybe 1 ft. wide and round, they ran about 30 ft to the other side, with a 20 ft drop to the ground below . I'm pretty sure our parents never realized that we were doing it ::.

After we moved to Illinois when I was 9, I used to ride my bike everywhere around town. I rode to the mall and got my ears pierced, to the library, the discount store, anywhere I wanted to go. If it was too far to ride I caught the bus. I rarely told anyone where I was going - I just took off. I didn't live in a small town (around 40,000 at that time), but I don't remember my mother ever being concerned.

I tried to allow my kids some freedoms as they grew up, but I always knew where they were and when they were to be home. We also developed a network of friends and other parents to help keep eyes on all of the kids in our neighborhood. I guess I'm a little more proactive than my own mother .

[CheekyChick]

This is a great thread!

After my parents' divorce, we were latch-key kids. At 8 or 9 years of age, I would cross a busy highway to pick up my 2 year old brother from preschool and they would RELEASE him to me.

In elementary school, my siblings and I would take the bus to Laguna Beach and spend the entire day playing in the surf with my little brother who could NOT swim.

We would also spend weeks at my grandparent's house in the summer and since they worked full time, we were completely unsupervised and would hang out at the lake with my little brother who could NOT swim.

How my little brother survived his childhood - I don't know...

[Childminder]

Walking the pipe across the gully reminded me of playing in the barn and walking across the beams. They were probably 25 feet up and maybe 12 inches wide, though they seemed a lot narrower. We also swung on the hay grapple probably forty feet up, if we had fallen and not died my mom would have killed us. She never new because my nephews, brother and I fessed up when we were in our forties and she was more than surprised.

The babysitting at an early age is something I did too. Fifty cents an hour at age 9, then my sister hired me to watch my 6 and 7 yr old nephews for the summer while she worked and I made $10 a week!!! I was rollin in the dough.:: I lived 1.5 miles from them AND had to get up and walk there each morning so she could be at work by 8am. Now that I think about it she owes me! Child labor laws and all.

[3girls]

I was a latchkey kid by 2nd grade, if not earlier. Bought cigarettes (for myself!!) starting at age 11. I now have a 10 year old and just think what the heck was going on back then? , total lack of supervision...

[cheerfuldom]

We always stayed home by ourselves and I would cook sometimes too, at 7 or 8. One time I burned the trash can down. One time I made a huge batch of mashed potatoes and we kids flung them at each other. Another time we threw oranges down the chimmney.

I also ran errands for my mom, cleaned house, watched the kids....starting at 5 years old. In our case, there was definitely issues going on at home but it was pretty rare that anything was brought up with the authorities which shocks me now.