What did your parents do to you that would be illegal now?

mamafrahm

My parents used to let us ride in the big gravity wagon full of soy beans or corn, whatever was in the fields that year.. we used to "swim" in the beans up in the corn crib, I've been driving since about 12, always rode in the bed of the truck, and yes, lets not even talk about the belt!! ouch!! Oh, and when we were misbehaving in the car, my mom would make us get out and walk, no matter how far from home we were.. we live about 15 miles out of town, so sometimes it was a pretty LONG walk!!!

mamashatzie

I stayed home alone a lot, and loved it too. I rode in the bed of dad's truck a few times. I stayed in the car while Mom ran short errands and it was common at the time, no big deal. Dad taught me to drive when I was 13.

SueInAz

I rode everywhere without a seatbelt - in the front seat of the car, in the 'way-back' of the station wagon and in the open back of a pick-up truck! I rode my bike everywhere and went skiing without a helmet. We played on our Big Wheels in the middle of the street, went all over the place without parental supervision - even after dark! I walked a mile to school with no adult presence in kindergarten and first grade. My parents let us play with sparklers and set off small fireworks. The house was never childproofed - cabinets opened freely, electrical outlets weren't capped and the toilet lid was not locked down. Somehow, I prevailed!

This was in the mid-70's. My parents were completely normal, responsible and loving people. Times were just different. :-)

Your life sounds almost identical to mine, including the time frame! Not only did we always ride in the very back of the station wagon where there were no seat belts, my little brother used to ride in the "way-back" seat of my dad's '56 Beetle, too. If you've never seen what I'm talking about, it was basically a big pocket under the window. He was around 7, 8 and 9. There were 6 of us in that little thing riding to church on a Sunday morning. Our other vehicle at the time was a full sized van with two chairs up front and a bench seat in the back. Only two fit comfortably on the seat (no belts, of course) so the other two were usually sitting on the carpeted floor. I also remember my parents smoking in the car with the windows up when I was younger. Thankfully, they both quit smoking by the time I was 10.

We'd disappear for hours without any sort of parental supervision and go play in the woods. We'd walk a few miles to the convenience store and spend our pocket money on cookies and soda. Any calories we were eating we were definitely burning off! Probably why I stayed so thin during my childhood.

BecksgotBack

Out to eat at dinner and misbehaving??? Sent to the car until dinner was done.

i get strange looks now when i threaten my daughter with this....

my dad was a pot smoking whiskey drinking hippie...i don't know how he was able to reproduce. no seatbelts, car seats, riding in the back of pick up trucks, the belt (he still has it and not affraid to use it) skateboarding/bikes with no helmets. i'm sure the list goes on and on.

NiciS72

We didn't get spankings, we got BEATINGS. That's what you get in an Irish Catholic household. He'd pull your pants down and you'd get spit on the hand smacks until it hurt for days.

My dad being a typical Irish Catholic likes to drink. He used to pick us up from school and take us to the bar with him and leave us out in the car for 3+ hours. I was 5-8 and my brother was 8-11 when he did this. Now mind you my mother had no clue and we were threatened within an inch of our lives if we told her. OH and his mother lived 4 blocks from the bar! So not only would he be arrested for leaving us in the car, he'd get it for driving drunk with kids in the car too!

Of course having grown up in the 70's & 80's we didn't have chest straps on the seatbelts on a lot of cars and whoever heard of a booster or child seat? Not us!

Not sure if they'd get in trouble, but I remember being 3 and the neighbor kids told me a dirty word and told me to go tell my mother. I did and MAN did she use a WHOLE BAR of ivory soap in my mouth! YUCK! Took years for me to curse after that even with a father who curses like a sailor!

leynak

I was left at home at all hours of the day & night to babysit my 2 younger sisters. This started when I was about 9 & they were 5 & 6 until I was 14.

My mom used to leave us in the car alone- sometimes for more than an hour- She loved to talk :grumble: Then I'd get in trouble when I got out to see what was taking so long...

Grokette

My grandma used to put coffee in a baby bottle and let us have coffee with her, LOL

My mom and dad used to rub whiskey on our gums when we had a tooth ache or were teething when we were babies.

My mom and dad also let us drink beer with supper once we were in the 3rd grade and older (traditional Polish / German roots)

I was never spanked by my dad EVER growing up, but my mom became abusive to us (which was illegal then but overlooked) once she went on Dialysis.

Banks01

It's called "one for the road" for a reason

jamk1446

I would walk to the gas station when I was in 1st/2nd grade with a note and some money. The note said to allow me to buy cigarettes for my mom. And they would let me! My reward was a free crappy sucker (like the ones you get at the bank)

Ooh, this too! I forgot about being able to buy cigarettes for my parents.

UpEarly

Your life sounds almost identical to mine, including the time frame! Not only did we always ride in the very back of the station wagon where there were no seat belts, my little brother used to ride in the "way-back" seat of my dad's '56 Beetle, too. If you've never seen what I'm talking about, it was basically a big pocket under the window. He was around 7, 8 and 9. There were 6 of us in that little thing riding to church on a Sunday morning. Our other vehicle at the time was a full sized van with two chairs up front and a bench seat in the back. Only two fit comfortably on the seat (no belts, of course) so the other two were usually sitting on the carpeted floor. I also remember my parents smoking in the car with the windows up when I was younger. Thankfully, they both quit smoking by the time I was 10.

We'd disappear for hours without any sort of parental supervision and go play in the woods. We'd walk a few miles to the convenience store and spend our pocket money on cookies and soda. Any calories we were eating we were definitely burning off! Probably why I stayed so thin during my childhood.

And wasn't it GREAT!? I have so many happy memories from my joyful, carefree, free-ranging childhood. :-)

jwhit31

When I was in the 5th grade my mom started sending me to the liquor store to buy her weekly cartoon of cigarettes.

melissalan

I had an accident on the school tire swing in first grade. It resulted in an open wound that turned green and infected. My parents did not take me to the doctor.

I was bit on the face by a German Shepherd and needed a stich or two- no doctor. Rabies anyone??

I had a fever of 105 and vomited so much that they tore the carpet up the next day- no doctor then either.

Can you say Medical Neglect? BTW, we were not poor and had the money to go the doctor, they just didn't take me.

Also, around age 5, I laid in the back windshield of our car during an 8 hour drive to Disneywold.

mommared53

My dad worked and my mom was the stay at home mom who took care of the kids. She used to leave us at home for a few hours at a time and we'd climb the tree behind the house and climb onto the house and jump off the roof. We lived in a very tiny town and it was a one story house that my dad built.

We also used to ride, standing up, in the back of pickups and laugh and enjoy the feeling you get in your stomach when you go over the hills fast.

In the summer, my mom would lock us out of the house so she could watch her soap operas.

Not only did we get hit with switches and belts but we'd have to go get our own switch and/or belt for my mom to use. She was the disciplinarian.

We used to ride on/drive my uncle's tractor. He didn't have a car so he would drivie his tractor and trailer the 20 miles to Unionville to sell his corn and buy groceries and supplies. My parents used to let us stay the summer with him and I remember sitting on the fender of his tractor when we went to town.

I forgot we also used to slide down the road on our sled in the winter time. We'd go to the far end of the block (which was the opposite end of the block from where we lived) which was up hill and see how far down we could go. Luckily for us it was a tiny town and not much traffic. :laugh:

WifeNMama

Apricot brandy shots for bad colds. I could drink it straight without making a face before I was 8. It worked like a charm, sinuses cleared instantly.
Um... We would drive down the street to grandmas house going 10-15 klicks, with a tow rope out the back window, with my brother holding onto that end, and me or one of my sisters getting pulled along on a snow saucer. Between the ages of 7-10 I think.
Family vacations with 4 or more kids in the back of a truck with a shell, we'd put a mattress down to sit on, and our luggage all around, with a pile of Archie comics, barbie dolls, snacks, and other stuff. If we fought, the guilty parties had to sit in the truck cab with mom and dad.
Dad would ask me to hold the wheel while driving so he could light a cigarette.
Scared me to death. Haha

Bankman1989

WOW where do I begin!! I used to get beat with switches, race car tracks and extension cords.

I WAS my lil brother (4) and lil twin bro/sis (1) when i was 8. Not just once but all the time.

I remember being the only one in the house working. I was 11.

I found marijuana and crack under my dad's kitchen sink while visiting him for the summer..I was 13 and to this day my mother or brothers don't know about it.

jwhit31

All of my "motherly" responsibilities seemed to start in the 5th grade so this is when this incident took place. We lived in a bad neighborhood and my parents would leave us home alone all the time (me being the oldest and the youngest was around 3yrs old). We lived behind someone else so the entry to our house was through an alley. Well this particular time my parents left us alone I noticed a group of about 5 high school aged boys wandering around the alley. When my parents left I was suppose to padlock the gate but I never did because then I would have to climb the high gate in order to sneak out to the store...hahaha! I just made it look locked for my parents sake. Within 5 minutes of my parents leaving the group of boys were in our yard. We had no phone so I couldn't call 911. To protect my younger siblings, I locked them in a closet and I got my daddy's shotgun. I went out the the front porch, locked the door and proceeded to cuss them out as I cocked the shotgun. They thought I was bluffing so they started to walk toward me. By the grace of God a neighbor happened to walk by and saw what was going on. He got the boys out of the yard and told me to lock the gate. I did, went back in with the shotgun and told my parents what happened when they got home. The sad part is, they still left us home alone after that incident.

elysecea

I remember my Mom and Dad drinking beers all the time in the van while driving me and my brother and sister around, and on long road trips! I think it was Illegal back then too!

ArroganceInStep

I remember having to pick the switch that i was gonna get spanked with if I had misbehaved. we had peach trees. they stay green. and hurt like hell. haha

Oh man...my mother did that with me, she'd say go get me something to hit you with. I brought her a pillow once. That was a mistake.

Then when I got bigger and she couldn't hurt me anymore I laughed at her once when she was disciplining me. That was ALSO a mistake.

With my dad I once said 'thank you sir, may I have another'...I don't learn apparently


My folks roughed me up fairly good growing up, which might be considered illegal now I dunno. All I know is I needed it and without that I'd probably be in really bad shape right now.

Rikki444

Because of them.... it probably is required to have your kids in car seats! I remember a time when Mom made a sudden stop and I was standing on the passanger seat..... are you getting the visual? hahahahaha......

You're welcome!

Estela565

I would rife in the back of my uncles truck together w my cousins we were like 6,7
No seatbelts, I'd ride in front of my dads car when going to school on a rainy day
Buy grampa cigarettes (10)
Go to the grocery store by myself to buy bread, milk, cookies
Babysit my brother 5 years younger than me for long hours
Cook simple foods and bake w o moms supervision
My brother and i 10,5 would help Clean the house ( mop, dust, clean bathrooms)
On weekends go to the playground w my friends by myself
And a bunch of other stuff :-)

Estela565

Also if my brother & I miss behaved in a restaurant we'd stay in the car w the window cracked open till everyone else was done.
Also if we bothered the adults ( dinner party and such) after they were gone ehejeeje belt belt belt

Deathwithab

I rode everywhere without a seatbelt - in the front seat of the car, in the 'way-back' of the station wagon and in the open back of a pick-up truck! I rode my bike everywhere and went skiing without a helmet. We played on our Big Wheels in the middle of the street, went all over the place without parental supervision - even after dark! I walked a mile to school with no adult presence in kindergarten and first grade. My parents let us play with sparklers and set off small fireworks. The house was never childproofed - cabinets opened freely, electrical outlets weren't capped and the toilet lid was not locked down. Somehow, I prevailed!

This was in the mid-70's. My parents were completely normal, responsible and loving people. Times were just different. :-)

^^ this and i grew up in the early 90s lol

i also was left home alone at 6 and was sent to get my parents grocerys all the time , spanked with all kinds of kitchen spoons and spatulas, ride around the block in a rusty wheel barrow , ride my bike 4 miles to the beach

mommared53

We used to hang out at the tavern. Even as a little kid I remember going in there and sitting by my dad while he drank a beer. As teens, we'd hang out there because that was the hang out place. There were no community centers or anything like that. I also remember going to the store and buying cigarettes for my mom (when she smoked); Salem cigarettes they were. or tobacco for my dad (he smoked a pipe).

TigerBlood72

I was operating heavy machinery starting in 5th grade for my dad. Including driving them on streets.

My dad gave me cigars to light off fireworks when we ran out of punks when I was very young.

I've always had a job since 3rd grade.

We had a big family and when we went on family trips I had to lay down in the back of a citation hatch back for the whole trip.

Definitely in the back of pickups and no seat belts.

Loved every minute of my child hood.

mommared53

Received my first handgun (.22) at 12, and first shotgun (.410) at 14, and never used them for evil. Was taught to respect them and only open the case with dad there. AND I kept them in my room, not a gun safe.

Oh that reminds me, my dad had a couple guns (rifles or shotguns I don't know what type they were except they were the long guns) that he kept put up on nails on the top of the living room wall. We used to sneak them down when my parents weren't home. They were never loaded and I don't know if my dad even kept any bullets around for them. My mom would have beaten us black and blue if she knew we took them down though.

La_Amazona

let me taste beer
no seat belts or car seats that i remember

tgh1914

- Besides soap in the mouth, sometimes I got Tide (if it was closer)
- Lots of incedents with the belt, wooden spoon, or whatever was closest - weather stripping, high heel sole, straightened out chicken wire, etc.
- Wait in the car alone while they're shopping
- No seat belts

warmachinejt

i used to know where my dad hid an old revolver and i played with it....good thing is the bullets were somewhere else

AliDarling

hit with a belt, and riding in the back of the pick up truck aroud town

mommared53

When I was growing up, I remember as a little kid, we would take our Saturday night baths to be clean for going to church on Sunday morning. We didn't have indoor plumbing so my mom would heat water on the stove and fill up (the all purpose) galvanized tub. Each child would get a bath in the same water starting with the youngest and ending with the oldest. Six kids using the same water to bathe in. :laugh: No wonder when my older brother grew up he hated taking baths. He would only take showers. :laugh:

We also played in the dirt, the weeds, the coal house, the corn bins at my uncle's farm, the pig sty, all kinds of dirty places and surprisingly I don't recall ever getting lice. Maybe we were just too dirty for lice to live on us. :laugh: