As a child of the 70s, back in the days before cellphones and video games, our parents used to send us outdoors in the summer with only two instructions: "Don't die," and "Come home before the street lights come on." Other than that, we were pretty much left to our own devices in our neighborhood, and our kid gang roamed freely, doing all sorts of things that I'd be horrified as a parent if my kids did them. These are some of the summer activities we engaged in that we probably wouldn't do today.
Climb to the Tippy Top of Huge Trees in the Park
I was a dedicated tree climber. I loved nothing more than to find the tallest tree around and climb all the way to the top. I guess falling never crossed my mind. Which is ironic because now, I'm a hiker, and I get sketched out hiking along ledges and steep drop-offs. I still do it, but whatever fearlessness I had as a tall tree climber has forever left the building.
Run Around Town in My Bathing Suit
There was a park with a wading pool a few blocks away from our house. And on those hot summer days, I'd throw on my bathing suit without a coverup and race to the park. I'd ride bikes in my bathing suit. I'd roam the neighborhood in it. Now, I wouldn't walk from my hotel room to the pool without a coverup.
Play Outside All Day Without Calling Our Parents
We didn't have cell phones to check in with our parents. Instead, we'd head out after breakfast, roam freely, return for lunch, head back out to roam freely, and then come home in time for dinner and go back out to play after we ate. Our folks didn't know exactly where we were, even when we were pretty young. The mom of the kids two doors down used to go outside and blow a whistle to call her kids home. I can still remember the sound of that whistle blowing as it was getting dark in the neighborhood. We all took it as our sign to head home.
Looked for Leeches in the Creek
Our Editorial Director, Carrie, recalls heading down to the local creek to look for leeches (ew!). And while I never specifically sought out leeches (although I did wake up one morning and find one attached to my toe and bloated with blood), we spent a lot of time at local creeks and watering holes just poking around to see what we could find.
Related: 12 Things at Grandma's That Were Super Weird but Kinda Fun
Walked Everywhere With Bare Feet
Carrie also remembers walking around outdoors with bare feet when she was a kid. "The pavement's too hot now," she notes. I, too, was a barefoot kid. I'd ride my bike in bare feet, skateboard in bare feet, and roam the neighborhood without shoes. My feet must've been a lot tougher back then.
Had Plum Fights
Our neighbors across the alley had a plum tree that would drop plums into the alley. All the kids in the neighborhood would gather them, and we'd have plum fights. Meanwhile, up in Canada, Carrie was doing the same thing with crab apples. I guess throwing fruit at other kids is a time-honored tradition in many countries.
Still, this is probably better than my dad's stories about his 1940s and 50s childhood, where he, his brothers, and other neighborhood kids would have rock and dart fights.
Did Math Worksheets
Our Content & Marketing Specialist, Megan, did all the usual childhood things, but her mom also made sure she prepped for the coming school year. "My mom used to get those workbooks the school sold that prepared you for the upcoming school year, and she would make us work on them every day before we could go play," Megan says. "I'm surely never doing that again."
Rode Bikes/Skateboarded/Roller Skated Without Helmets
Safety was a little more lax for 70s and 80s kids, as our Content & Communications Specialist, Kate, notes, recalling that she roller-skated and rode bikes without a helmet or any protection. Same, Kate, same. In the 70s and early 80s, I spent a lot of time on a skateboard with no protective gear at all. And when I was first learning to ride a bike with hand brakes, I hit the front brake too hard and flew over the handlebars, landing on my helmetless noggin.
Didn't Worry About Hydration
Kate also recalls that no matter how hot it was outside, they never worried about hydration. "We just drank if we were thirsty," she says, "Although I still don't worry much about hydration."
Drank Straight From the Hose
Speaking of hydration, I chugged a LOT of water from our garden hose when I was a kid. I've heard of this as an oft-cited, "Can you believe we lived through this?" kind of childhood thing, but I had to look up exactly why it's considered a no-no today. Turns out that it has to do with chemicals that may be in the hose, including lead, phthalates, and fire retardants. Guess I'm lucky to be alive.
Played Lawn Darts
Heavy, sharp, giant darts hurtling through the air, often tossed by people with bad aim? Sure, why not? We did it all the time, but looking back, I can see why it was a bad idea. We used to play a game where someone would throw one as high in the air as they could, and we'd all scatter to avoid being hit. The person it landed closest to would be the next to throw.
Attempted to Lighten Our Hair With Sun-in or Lemon Juice
As a dark brunette, I was always envious of my blonde friends, so I'd squeeze lemon juice into my hair and go out in the sun. Nothing ever really happened except my hair would smell delicious and be crispy from the lemon juice. Then, Sun In came out, and I thought maybe I'd found the answer to my prayers. That is, until my friend Dan used some. His hair started the same color as mine and ended up orange, so I decided I'd rather live with my dark brown.
Played Fast & Loose With Sun Protection
We weren't quite as well-versed in the dangers of the sun back in the 70s and 80s, and everyone wanted a nice dark tan in the summer. Kate recalls only wearing sunblock at the beach, and sometimes not even then. Meanwhile, Carrie and I, who are a few years older than Kate, both recall slathering our bodies in baby oil (and NO sunscreen), holding a reflector below our faces, and lying out in the sun for hours.
"Smoked" Candy Cigarettes
First, a disclaimer in case she's reading this: my mom would NEVER let us have candy cigarettes because they were the gateway to smoking. But that doesn't mean we didn't buy them without her knowledge, being free-range kids and all. We did. We thought we were cool. And I never became a smoker, so there's that.
Rode Bikes to the Candy Store
Speaking of grabbing candy during a free-range childhood, Kate recalls riding her bike to a store a few miles away and eating a ton of candy. "I'd feel sick eating that much sugar at a time now," she says.
I get it. We had at least three small family-owned stores within about a mile of our house, and we'd head to those for the candy all the time. I'd take my babysitting money or allowance and load up, eating it all before I got home (all the better to hide it from my mom). I haven't had sugar in over a year, so I can't imagine eating as much sugar as we did back then and not crashing 20 minutes later.
Used the Slip 'n' Slide
Kate's family was a big fan of the Slip 'n' Slide, a big yellow tarp you'd attach to the ground with hard metal stakes, wet down, and dive onto to slide to the end. "It tended to lacerate you with its metal stakes," Kate says. "Plus, just flopping that hard on the ground is something I would never do now."
We had a Slip 'n' Slide, too, and my dad always wanted to play on it with us. He was a tall man (6'5") with big feet (size 14), and he got the brilliant idea that he would go down the Slip 'n' Slide standing up. He did, and when he hit the bottom, he kept going and crashed through our fence. To be fair, my dad had a lot of brilliant ideas like this, so I have many stories of similar incidents throughout my childhood.
Held Underwater Shell Hunts
"We had underwater shell hunts in the lake where we opened our eyes in the super murky water to look for tiny shells," Kate shares. "Now I’d worry about getting an eye infection."
Yeah — been there, too. I swam with my eyes open in lakes, pools, rivers, and oceans. I'm probably lucky my eyeballs are still in pretty good shape.
We're Lucky to Be Alive
Not all the stuff we did when we were kids was stupid (although a lot of it sure was). We did wholesome things, too, like playing baseball (in the street — with a hardball guaranteed to break windows), playing on the swings (and jumping off them when they were at the highest peak of the swing), and playing Kick the Can (in the dark, all through the neighborhood, crawling under houses and cars). Sure, some of it was dangerous. But because we lived through it, we have childhood memories we treasure.
