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womanofthehills

(10,001 posts)

46. My friends and I always walked ourselves to kindergarten

Tue Apr 15, 2025, 06:05 PM

Apr 2025

As far as trucks go - when I was in college I got a job at a low income neighborhood community center - as part of my job, I would load 20 little kids in the back of my Ford pickup each Fri to take them to the swimming pool.

We also took the teen kids floating down the Rio Grand (0f course no tires or life vests) - we would get dropped off and another staff member would pick us up miles down the river.

When I was around 12 & lived in NJ- we were told never to swim in the bay which was 15 minutes away by bike. Of course, my girlfriend & I were in a row boat drifting way away from shore when thankfully some boaters rescued us. We were told not to play in the woods or on RR tracks & of course we did. We just needed to be home by supper time.

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EverHopeful

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Can you remember anything normal for a kid to do in the 60's-80's that parents would not allow today? Mine is sitting [View all] debm55 Apr 2025 OP

Ride a bike without a helmet Sanity Claws Apr 2025 #1

Thank you very much Sanity Claws. I never used in the 60"/70's. debm55 Apr 2025 #2

I used to ride my minibike (small motorcycle) up in the woods without a helmet. Good times! beaglelover Apr 2025 #33

Thank you very much beaglelover. debm55 Apr 2025 #75

That's mine, too. Aristus Apr 2025 #37

Very good advice to offer, Aristus. debm55 Apr 2025 #76

No bike helmets when I was a a kid/tween/teen... electric_blue68 Apr 2025 #67

Same here, Thank you, electric_blue68 debm55 Apr 2025 #77

Riding in the back of a station wagon. Ocelot II Apr 2025 #3

Thank you very much Ocelot II. I remember all of them. debm55 Apr 2025 #4

Oh the wayback! In the Boston area in the late yorkster Apr 2025 #8

I remember riding in the back of a station wagon once or twice sakabatou Apr 2025 #45

Thank you sakabatou. Same here. debm55 Apr 2025 #97

Ok... like if I remember myself... a few of us would be in the bigger back section of the station wagon.... electric_blue68 Apr 2025 #69

'Riding in the back of a station wagon.' AKA the TAILGUNNER position! nt kelly1mm Apr 2025 #101

HAHAHAHAHAH. Thank you kelly1mm. debm55 Apr 2025 #114

I used to play deep in the woods by myself. Climbed to the tops of the tallest trees there. Mister Ed Apr 2025 #5

Thank you Mister Ed. I like that term free range kids. debm55 Apr 2025 #6

Yes. We used to climb big pine trees. yorkster Apr 2025 #11

Same here. We spent quite a lot of our summers at Grandma's house Ocelot II Apr 2025 #13

Blow the whole allowance on Lik-M-Aid RoadRunner Apr 2025 #7

Thank you RoadRunner. I did not get a chance to blow my allowance as I didn't get one. What is Lik-M-Aid? debm55 Apr 2025 #9

A powdered sugary candy thing that kids like RoadRunner Apr 2025 #14

I collected empty bottles of the side of the road to get my money. debm55 Apr 2025 #17

Allow kids to run and ride their bikes behind... Buckeye_Democrat Apr 2025 #10

Oh, my. That does look dangerous. debm55 Apr 2025 #12

Oh gosh, I forgot about that one. Mister Ed Apr 2025 #24

Going anywhere alone... especially out in the woods.. FirstLight Apr 2025 #15

Thank you so much. I used to walk 7 blocks to kindergarten by myself. Now kids get dropped off and picked up at the debm55 Apr 2025 #16

Whuuutt? awesomerwb1 Apr 2025 #20

Yep. but we did have crossing guards. I went during the afternoon session. I just looked at a map and it was the debm55 Apr 2025 #21

Did other little kids walk the same route that you did? awesomerwb1 Apr 2025 #22

No , I was not given any money to buy anything. It was the same route I followed through out the year. I had friends to debm55 Apr 2025 #36

Same, It was 9/10 of a mile from home to the elementary school.. bottomofthehill Apr 2025 #38

Thank you bottomofthehill debm55 Apr 2025 #98

My friends and I always walked ourselves to kindergarten womanofthehills Apr 2025 #46

Thank you very much, womanofthehills. It sounds fun. debm55 Apr 2025 #99

When I was about 6 years old a few of us would pack lunches and hike around the rock bluffs Bev54 Apr 2025 #18

Thank you very much Bev54 debm55 Apr 2025 #115

I used to climb fences in my backyard kimbutgar Apr 2025 #19

Thank you very much, kimbutgar. debm55 Apr 2025 #116

Play/hang out in the neighborhood at night (10pm +) awesomerwb1 Apr 2025 #23

Oh yeah. Remember these? True Dough Apr 2025 #25

"Jarts", as I remember them. Harker Apr 2025 #59

Anything True Dough Apr 2025 #62

Leave the house at 7:30 am with my best friend Phoenix61 Apr 2025 #26

Going downtown by myself on the bus Jilly_in_VA Apr 2025 #27

Taking a pocketknife to school. Sneederbunk Apr 2025 #28

Play in the street Rachel M at 6 pm Apr 2025 #29

Car!!!!! lol. n/t getagrip_already Apr 2025 #30

and yell car at the top od your lungs when you saw one coming. bottomofthehill Apr 2025 #39

I love being known as a free-range kid. Gone in morning; back in time for supper. Polly Hennessey Apr 2025 #31

We had contests about who could hold a bee longest in their hand womanofthehills Apr 2025 #48

Good times DUgosh Apr 2025 #32

Oh you reminded me of one of my favorite childhood things EverHopeful Apr 2025 #54

Rural kids carrying pocket knives TexLaProgressive Apr 2025 #34

Go trick or treating alone . . . even when carrying a UNICEF collection box. Vinca Apr 2025 #35

ride with no seat belt ofr for that matter, no baby seat. bottomofthehill Apr 2025 #40

Not so much what "parents would not allow today"... but mainly school rules and state laws won't allow today Niagara Apr 2025 #41

Do you have Sir Walter Raleigh in the can? LuckyCharms Apr 2025 #42

No, but I have a Frank Rizzo on the other line Niagara Apr 2025 #43

SIZZLE CHEST! LuckyCharms Apr 2025 #44

Buying cigarettes Emile Apr 2025 #47

Playing with gas powered model airplanes MichMan Apr 2025 #49

I too was a free range kid. I also grew up in deserts, and once in fifth grade, we spotted a tarantula in the Dorothy V Apr 2025 #50

I am LMAO picturing this. 3catwoman3 Apr 2025 #64

Oh yeah! Then he picked on another girl and discovered she could hit like a boy! Dorothy V Apr 2025 #66

Ride in a car without a seatbelt Ineedamoment Apr 2025 #51

Yes and no car seats for the little ones. Thank you Ineedamoment. debm55 Apr 2025 #117

Out for hours on bikes, or down in the creek, or floating on pond IrishBubbaLiberal Apr 2025 #52

Sounds great. Thank you very much IrishBubbaLiberal debm55 Apr 2025 #113

Lawn Darts bpj62 Apr 2025 #53

I never played but watched my cousins play. Thank you bpj62. debm55 Apr 2025 #100

Lawn darts, klackers, going out in the morning with no contact with my folks until it started getting dark. catbyte Apr 2025 #55

Agree, catbyte debm55 Apr 2025 #106

Walk home from school wendyb-NC Apr 2025 #56

Thank you very much wendyb-NC. Agree with you. debm55 Apr 2025 #96

Roller skating in the street with no helmet or pads in a dress SARose Apr 2025 #57

Thank you SARose, I did the skating with no helmet or pads, but not in a dress. Your poor knees. debm55 Apr 2025 #81

We used to go to the "thumbing corner" when we were like 10 years old and hitch a ride to town doc03 Apr 2025 #58

Thank you doc03, I never thumbed. Always used the busses around Pittsburgh. debm55 Apr 2025 #91

No bus here. nt doc03 Apr 2025 #108

Riding in the back of a truck is a good one. Laffy Kat Apr 2025 #60

Thank you Laffy Kat. And do get better. debm55 Apr 2025 #74

Sleeping on the shelf behind the rear seat in Dad's Oldsmobile. TomSlick Apr 2025 #61

Very true. TomSlick, Thank you. debm55 Apr 2025 #73

I used to ride my bike 3 towns away. Golden Raisin Apr 2025 #63

Agree. Golden Raisin. Thank you. debm55 Apr 2025 #72

Instead of putting the rolls in my toy cap pistol, hitting then with a hammer on a concrete block Ziggysmom Apr 2025 #65

Thank you Ziggysmom. I did something similiar. I used a rock to hit the caps. That is until one cap hitting my eye. Then debm55 Apr 2025 #71

Wow, all this free range kids stuff in the 'burbs or smalker towns... electric_blue68 Apr 2025 #68

Thank you electric_blue68 debm55 Apr 2025 #70

Home alone UpInArms Apr 2025 #78

During the day I was , but never at night. debm55 Apr 2025 #88

We had a wood-burning kit. And we also made gunpowder. Walleye Apr 2025 #79

Thank you Walleye. Glad your cousin was okay. debm55 Apr 2025 #87

Thankfully it was a habit I never picked up markbark Apr 2025 #80

We had one at our school too. Times have changed. Thank you markbark for that memory. debm55 Apr 2025 #86

Riding 2 buses for 40mins+ as twelve year olds to go from suburban Chicago to Wrigley Field. NoMoreRepugs Apr 2025 #82

Thank you NoMoreRepugs. I rode one bus with my friends in 7th and 8 grade to see the Pirates at Forbes Field. . It was a debm55 Apr 2025 #84

Never asking the boys what they did today. Squaredeal Apr 2025 #83

Thank you very much Squaredeal. debm55 Apr 2025 #85

Had a Chemistry Set if..fish..had..wings Apr 2025 #89

Thank you very much, if..fish..had..wings. Glad no one was hurt. debm55 Apr 2025 #92

what do you mean IN the bed of the pickup lapfog_1 Apr 2025 #90

I lived in a steel mill town. However, people had trucks. Kids would get in the bed --back of the truck . It was filled debm55 Apr 2025 #94

In the 60s thru 70s, my parents would have no idea where I was no_hypocrisy Apr 2025 #93

Same here. Thank you no_hypocrisy. debm55 Apr 2025 #95

Walking through town ( about 5 miles) as an early teen LiberalArkie Apr 2025 #102

Wow, Thank you LiberalArkie debm55 Apr 2025 #105

Yep, get 2 quarters from my mom. 1 to get into the Boys Club pool and 1 for snacks LiberalArkie Apr 2025 #107

Riding our bikes around the entire neighborhood with no helmets, no supervision. lark Apr 2025 #103

Thank you very much . lark debm55 Apr 2025 #104

Floating Down the Mississippi River on Inner Tubes Two or Three Times a Day in the Summer (two or three miles). waterwatcher123 Apr 2025 #109

That sounds wonderful. Thank you very much, waterwatcher123 debm55 Apr 2025 #112

cutting the grass with absolutely dangerous machines rurallib Apr 2025 #110

Wow two dangerous things to do or witness. Glad you are here with us, rurallib. debm55 Apr 2025 #111

My parents pretty much just left us run rurallib Apr 2025 #120

Playing near an abandoned slate quarry as deep as a 2 story house, bottom 4th was filled with water Clouds Passing Apr 2025 #118

Thank you, Clouds Passing. Glad you are with us. I didn't like snapping turtles when I was a kid either. debm55 Apr 2025 #119

The neighbor boys brought home a snapping turtle that stuck out a foot on each side of their red flyer wagon Clouds Passing Apr 2025 #121

That's why I don't like them. debm55 Apr 2025 #122

Getting a full-time babysitting job at the age of 12. This was in the early 1960s... Hekate Apr 2025 #123

Thank you very much, Hekate for sharing your post. You were a very responsible young girl. I admire you for that. debm55 Apr 2025 #124