If you grew up in the 70's...

1) Jarts, we didn't need them. We had a bow and arrows instead. We also used to play "chicken" by tossing open pocket knives to stick in the ground between each others' feet to see who would chick out first.

2) Definitely . . . we never wore seat belts util it became the law. I, too, remember being in the back of the truck on the hiway and laying in the back window of the car on long trips. In '74, our parents bought a new family car (Ford Pinto Stationwagon). It was designed as a 2+2 (two in front buckets and two in back seat); but we had 6 in our family. My brother and I sat in the back area behind the back seat.

3) Unsafe playgrounds. Remember these too. The merry-go-round in our playground was the old kind that could break your legs off if you got them between the bars and the ground.

4) I only really remember the suntan oils to enhance and not really anything with a SPF rating.

5) We thought we were daredevils with bike ramps and running around the streets, fields, and woods on our bikes. Of course there were no helmets. Not even those with dirt bikes (motor cycles) and three-wheelers wore helmets.

6) Was not an issue. We lived in the country; so, being out alone was the norm.

7) No wimps allowed . . . we constantly had some sort of bruises, scratches, cuts, etc from doing things that no parent would dream of letting their kids do today. You learned from experience what not to do.

8) Nobody in my immediate family smoked, but it was not a big deal to be in the car or around others who did. Didn't think twice about 2nd hand smoke.

Haha! Funny. I recall how damn hot the playground slides, swings and bars would get in the sun, and those animal rocking swings. I used to love darts, and my brother actually accidentally inserted one into the back of his friend's head when they were playing. Ahh the 70's were great.

Totally. When we would "go outside to play" we would be gone all day- by ourselves, no adult supervision. We had plenty of places within bike riding distance to play: baseball fields that were open to the public, 3 schools with playground equipment and basketball courts (and it wasn't trespassing to be there), the high school track, parks in addition to large sections of wooded area (that is now all subdivisions and shopping centers) where a kid could kill all kinds of time fishing, trapping, hiking, building forts etc.

Nowadays, if a kid is missing for a half-hour they call the police (and rightfully so!). I've seen kids sledding with helmets on.

The world sure has changed.

Don't forget about PUKA SHELL necklaces and BLACK RUBBER O RINGS worn as rings and bracelets!!! And my courdoroy sky blue super bell bottoms that I had to tuck into my sock when I rode my bike.

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

2) Definitely . . . we never wore seat belts util it became the law. I, too, remember being in the back of the truck on the hiway and laying in the back window of the car on long trips. In '74, our parents bought a new family car (Ford Pinto Stationwagon). It was designed as a 2+2 (two in front buckets and two in back seat); but we had 6 in our family. My brother and I sat in the back area behind the back seat.

Oh man! I have no idea what kind of station wagon my mom had, but when I was 4-5 (in the early 80's) she had a small daycare center out of our house and she would take all the kids' older brothers/sisters (the school age kids) to school or the park/pool in the back of that thing. I remember there being 1 baby in a carseat and all of the other kids ranging from probably ages 3-12 literally piled on top of each other in the back without a second thought.

We also played red rover, red rover (outlawed today) and there was no bulling or political correctness. A large dirt pile behind elementary school turn into at every recess from "King of the Hill" to "Smear the Queer" All the teachers laughed and called it that too. lol

Whaaaaa?? Outlawed, when did this happen? Sheesh that was such a fun game and everyone could play.

I'm not familiar with the King of the Hill game as I don't watch the show... yea I could see how that might be dropped from playing.

But what's wrong with red rover? :sad:

Jarts were my favorite!!!

and who could forget HR Pufnstuf and Witchy-Poo!!!

Jarts! Just last week I was looking online for some vintage ones...extremely hard to find and they can be expensive. I have fond memories playing Jarts at my grandparent's house with my family when I was young.

We would leave the house early in the morning and I wasn't expected to be home except to grab a bite to eat (sometimes we didn't even come home for that if our friends moms gave us something). My parents didn't know where we were at all times and there wasn't any concern unless we didn't show up when it got dark. We traveled in almost every state in the US and never wore a seat belt. We drank from a garden hose all day long and never got sick. I wrecked bikes, skates and skateboards and lived through it all without ever wearing a helment. We rode out bikes about 3 miles to the country club so we could swim and then sat out to tan on the roof of the pump house which was painted silver. We didn't know what sunscreen was but knew what baby oil with iodine mixed in would give us... a nice tan. We threw dirt clods at each other, blazed trails through the woods, jumped on bare back horses and swam in the horse troth when it got cleaned. I stayed home by myself sometimes and by 16 my parents would sometimes leave town to visit relatives and leave me home by myself. I miss the good ole days when you could run free and it wasn't a crime. Kids today are missing out and I think their parents are too.