Did those born in the 50's, 60's and 70's have a better childhood?

[Hueij]

You don't have much fun don't you MrF... eh... MrIsn'tItTimeForANameChange.

[Oerdin]

Mr. SourPuss?

[Hueij]

He's just jealous he wasn't around when the Beatles were still together

[Ramo]

My parents grew up in middle-class families in East Pakistan shortly after WW II. They were young adults when the Bangladeshi War for Independence hit, and my mom was politically active in the Awami League at the time. So she had to live through a nasty guerilla war where the Pakistani army and pro-Pakistani death squads killed somewhere between one and three million.

I grew up as a middle-class/ lower-class kid (after my parents split up) in the 90's US. In other words, I didn't face too many real hardships, and generally got along just fine. I lived in Chicago for a few years, and the neighborhood in which I lived had lots of violence, the police came over all the time to our appartment complex, etc., but I haven't had to face anything close to a civil war. And naturally, I've always had far more amenities than one would've had in a place like '50's and '60's East Pakistan.

[Jac de Molay]

Originally posted by MrFun
I guess all this mushy stuff depends on whose perspective of childhood you're looking at.

Want some cheese to go with that whine? And I woud argue that indeed a lot of groups had it better in some respects

Anyway, he was talking about the fact that everything and everyone is so obsessed with safety, security, and liability that kids simply can't be kids, which is a contention I agree with.

I don't think the sharp rise in obesity among children these days is not somehow correlated with this.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Hueij
You don't have much fun don't you MrF... eh... MrIsn'tItTimeForANameChange.

I have thought about chaging my username -- but everyone knows me by this ironic name by now.

[Dr Strangelove]

I was born in 1952. I remember being beaten up for not being bigoted enough, once in New York for not being aware of my KKK heritage, and a couple of times in Virginia for not knowing that Catholics were the scourge of God and/or that n****** were subhumans. I remember the Cuban Missle Crisis and experiencing the real fear that we might suddenly be incinerated in a thermonuclear fireball. The general public's knowledge about health matters was much less then. In the area I grew up the consensus was that asthma was some sort of mental illness. A teacher once suggested that I might be held back because my wheezing annoyed my classmates, and since they had had to put up with it for several years it would only be fair to put me in with another group of kids. My parents grew up in the Great Depression too. Their experiences as children definitely continued to effect their expectations throughout their lifetimes.

I think that its a shame that so many parents feel that their neighborhoods are not safe enough to allow the kids the freedom to roam and play. I wonder what the effect of this mentality is on a child's ability to spontaeously form relationships.

[st_swithin]

Makes 'em come to public message boards for their daily dose of socialisation.

[Oerdin]

My sister and her husband let their kids roam the neighborhood but they live in an, almost, all white middle class suburb north of San Diego where the worst thing that happens is that some kid calls another kid a bad name.

There is no way a good parent would let their kids wander around without an adult if they lived in say Detroit or Phili.

[MrFun]

Um -- what exactly are you saying, Oerdin -- that white neighborhoods are automatically safer than other "types" of neighborhoods??

[JohnT]

(For those whom dont remember the 70's McMOUSE BURGER!! )

Cite, please, 'cause I sure as hell can't find it.

[Joseph]

Originally posted by MrFun
Did children of minority races have a better life before this frivuluous thing called civil rights became law??

It depends on where you lived. I used to eat lunch with our only black kid and no one told me not to.

Were mentally disabled children treated better 50 years ago than today??

The did not attend regular schoos then.

Did children of dysfunctional, or abusive families 50 years ago have the same resources we have today, that can help them at a better chance in life??

Again, it depended on where you were living.

Did teenagers who were realizing they were gay likely to be treated better 50 years ago, than today.

They kept their mouth shut.

I guess all this mushy stuff depends on whose perspective of childhood you're looking at.

Only you would bring up the ugly.

[MrFun]

Sorry to have rained on your parade, Joseph.