Loss of childhood

Frank the tank

Watching the local news tonight the police are now in schools educating children in primary school as to the dangers of guns, knives and gangs. Add to this the D.A.R.E. campaign (drugs awareness) and I can't help but think of childhood innocence just being washed down the toilet due to wasters in our society.

I suppose I could link it into the drug trafficker being executed thread, but there should be no real need.

I just think it's all very sad.

Monkeypump

Isn't this just a symptom of everyone thinking that their youth was a 'golden age' ? I remember my parents saying something similar when I was at school, but I shrugged it off (barely even thought about it) and enjoyed my childhood.

I agree that the reality is very sad, but kids today don't have anything to compare it to, so I assume they'll just get on with it in the majority of cases.

VTech

My youth was a huge drug explosion (acid, speed, cocaine etc), I was a 70's child but the 60's were the same, I think the 80's was the real start of heroin and the harder line into the mainstream ?

I dont remember ever worrying about being shot or stabbed though, the worst I remember was thinking of having a scrap, maybe a black eye but nothing worse.
My son was nearly killed over xmas as he was robbed of £40 and left for dead, we got the guys who did it within 24 hours but they will do the same when they are out.

I was bought up on a council estate and I remember things being quite tight in that people seemed to look after themselves as well as the neighbours, I think the same places these days are different in that people dont know there own neighbours.

I chose to move away as I wanted somewhere for the kids to play in safety which kind of says a lot really.

Frank the tank

Monkeypump wrote:

Isn't this just a symptom of everyone thinking that their youth was a 'golden age' ? I remember my parents saying something similar when I was at school, but I shrugged it off (barely even thought about it) and enjoyed my childhood.

I agree that the reality is very sad, but kids today don't have anything to compare it to, so I assume they'll just get on with it in the majority of cases.

TBH fella I wouldn't change my childhood for anything, it was great.

I was brought up on a council estate (remember them) and had loads of mates (real ones that I used to go and call for ya know, not cyber ones ) We didn't have a lot of material things but we had loads of fun.

At school we were made aware of talking to strangers, other than the academic stuff that was it. As for my behaviour my dad always said "If ya think there's gonna be any trouble keep away, 'cos if the coppers come knocking on our door they'll be the least of your worries". And he delivered the warning in such a way I believed that he meant what he said, and he did.

ballysmate

I certainly think that each generation is afforded more freedoms than the one following. It certainly was the case with my kids and listening to my parents, although they lived in more austere times, they seemed to have freedoms to roam, as was their wont.
In the case of my kids, it wasn't the threat of abduction by some paedophile, which although, quite rightly gets highlighted in the media, is still relatively rare. It was more a case of keeping them away from some of the elements amongst their peers.
Without producing a clone of yourself, you try to instill a set of morals to guide them through life, but are forever mindful that it could go horribly wrong if they get into the 'wrong company'.
Certainly with the availability of t'internet and picture phones it is nigh on impossible to shelter kids from the harsher realities of the world until they reach an age of understanding and more maturity.

dynamicbrick

Some article the other month was blathering on about kids learning about sex via internet porn, and thinking that all the daft angled-at-camera poses and money shots are what actually happens, and how this is all so very wrong and it wasn't like that for previous generations.

Cobblers. At least on the internet you can click on the next link or picture to change the picture. I was probably around 9 (1985) when me and the kid next door discovered a copy of Razzle abandoned in a roadside ditch. My youthful innocence shattered forever by Reader's Wives.. My God, the hair.. the blotchy legs... the white stilettos... the sweat bands... the make up... that snort of snarling pout they all had... and worst of all... the great big murky woolly triangle of curly terror, some as broad as badger's back.

It was years before I found a copy of Mayfair and had my perceptions realigned.

canny_lad

Frank the tank wrote:

Monkeypump wrote:

Isn't this just a symptom of everyone thinking that their youth was a 'golden age' ? I remember my parents saying something similar when I was at school, but I shrugged it off (barely even thought about it) and enjoyed my childhood.

I agree that the reality is very sad, but kids today don't have anything to compare it to, so I assume they'll just get on with it in the majority of cases.

TBH fella I wouldn't change my childhood for anything, it was great.

I was brought up on a council estate (remember them) and had loads of mates (real ones that I used to go and call for ya know, not cyber ones ) We didn't have a lot of material things but we had loads of fun.

At school we were made aware of talking to strangers, other than the academic stuff that was it. As for my behaviour my dad always said "If ya think there's gonna be any trouble keep away, 'cos if the coppers come knocking on our door they'll be the least of your worries". And he delivered the warning in such a way I believed that he meant what he said, and he did.

Same for me Frank, brought up in a pit village in Co. Durham. The village bobby knew us all and knew that if he kicked us up the @rse it was job done 'cos if the old man found out, 'kin hell we were toast :shock:

I've got 2 teenage daughters and I agree that the kids grow up far too early these days.

thegreatdivide

dynamicbrick wrote:

Some article the other month was blathering on about kids learning about sex via internet porn, and thinking that all the daft angled-at-camera poses and money shots are what actually happens, and how this is all so very wrong and it wasn't like that for previous generations.

Cobblers. At least on the internet you can click on the next link or picture to change the picture. I was probably around 9 (1985) when me and the kid next door discovered a copy of Razzle abandoned in a roadside ditch. My youthful innocence shattered forever by Reader's Wives.. My God, the hair.. the blotchy legs... the white stilettos... the sweat bands... the make up... that snort of snarling pout they all had... and worst of all... the great big murky woolly triangle of curly terror, some as broad as badger's back.

It was years before I found a copy of Mayfair and had my perceptions realigned.

Ah park porn. Left by the porn pixies. RIP my dog eared, slightly damp friends. You made many a young lads loins feel a bit odd.

ballysmate

thegreatdivide wrote:

dynamicbrick wrote:

Some article the other month was blathering on about kids learning about sex via internet porn, and thinking that all the daft angled-at-camera poses and money shots are what actually happens, and how this is all so very wrong and it wasn't like that for previous generations.

Cobblers. At least on the internet you can click on the next link or picture to change the picture. I was probably around 9 (1985) when me and the kid next door discovered a copy of Razzle abandoned in a roadside ditch. My youthful innocence shattered forever by Reader's Wives.. My God, the hair.. the blotchy legs... the white stilettos... the sweat bands... the make up... that snort of snarling pout they all had... and worst of all... the great big murky woolly triangle of curly terror, some as broad as badger's back.

It was years before I found a copy of Mayfair and had my perceptions realigned.

Ah park porn. Left by the porn pixies. RIP my dog eared, slightly damp friends. You made many a young lads loins feel a bit odd.

Another industry that bit the dust - wanc mags.
Surely that can't be Shhh, you know who's fault?

dynamicbrick

Canny lad wrote:

Same for me Frank, brought up in a pit village in Co. Durham. The village bobby knew us all and knew that if he kicked us up the @rse it was job done 'cos if the old man found out, 'kin hell we were toast :shock:

You 'ad it easy...

Our local copper grew up with my dad, they went to school together... both of their fathers had served together in the Guards.

I never got in trouble - the knowledge that I'd be taken straight home or - worse - round me granddad's if I was caught was a strong enough deterrent

ballysmate

dynamicbrick wrote:

You 'ad it easy...

Not from Yorkshire are you, where you lived in a shoebox in middle of road?

dynamicbrick

Ballysmate wrote:

dynamicbrick wrote:

You 'ad it easy...

Not from Yorkshire are you, where you lived in a shoebox in middle of road?

LUXURY!!!

canny_lad

dynamicbrick wrote:

Ballysmate wrote:

dynamicbrick wrote:

You 'ad it easy...

Not from Yorkshire are you, where you lived in a shoebox in middle of road?

LUXURY!!!

LOL. Aye, we bought our council house as well. Think that's enough, don't wanna start an argument

Cleat Eastwood

dynamicbrick wrote:

My God, the hair.. the blotchy legs... the white stilettos... the sweat bands... the make up... that snort of snarling pout they all had... and worst of all... the great big murky woolly triangle of curly terror, some as broad as badger's back.

Nice description of the kid next door but what was in Razzle

canny_lad

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

dynamicbrick wrote:

My God, the hair.. the blotchy legs... the white stilettos... the sweat bands... the make up... that snort of snarling pout they all had... and worst of all... the great big murky woolly triangle of curly terror, some as broad as badger's back.

Nice description of the kid next door but what was in Razzle

Dunno, but her mum was in reader's wives. Still haunts me after 34 years :shock:

ballysmate

Canny lad wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

dynamicbrick wrote:

My God, the hair.. the blotchy legs... the white stilettos... the sweat bands... the make up... that snort of snarling pout they all had... and worst of all... the great big murky woolly triangle of curly terror, some as broad as badger's back.

Nice description of the kid next door but what was in Razzle

Dunno, but her mum was in reader's wives. Still haunts me after 34 years :shock:

Did she recover from that nasty looking axe wound. :roll:

ooermissus

Violent crime has been going down since the mid-1990s - but we seem programmed to resist good news.

Hoopdriver

Canny lad wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

Monkeypump wrote:

Isn't this just a symptom of everyone thinking that their youth was a 'golden age' ? I remember my parents saying something similar when I was at school, but I shrugged it off (barely even thought about it) and enjoyed my childhood.

I agree that the reality is very sad, but kids today don't have anything to compare it to, so I assume they'll just get on with it in the majority of cases.

TBH fella I wouldn't change my childhood for anything, it was great.

I was brought up on a council estate (remember them) and had loads of mates (real ones that I used to go and call for ya know, not cyber ones ) We didn't have a lot of material things but we had loads of fun.

At school we were made aware of talking to strangers, other than the academic stuff that was it. As for my behaviour my dad always said "If ya think there's gonna be any trouble keep away, 'cos if the coppers come knocking on our door they'll be the least of your worries". And he delivered the warning in such a way I believed that he meant what he said, and he did.

Same for me Frank, brought up in a pit village in Co. Durham. The village bobby knew us all and knew that if he kicked us up the @rse it was job done 'cos if the old man found out, 'kin hell we were toast :shock:

I've got 2 teenage daughters and I agree that the kids grow up far too early these days.

My childhood too was great - in the mountains near a tiny village in northern New Engand in the US. We had freedom, we had fun, we were kids far longer than kids get to be these days.

tim_wand

All the education we needed as Kids, One of the biggest stars of the 70's funny how you never saw him with Saville :shock:

http://youtu.be/y3FnCiRpdQ4

capt_slog

Ballysmate wrote:

Did she recover from that nasty looking axe wound. :roll:

Like a hedgehog eating ham.

I saw a copy of Men Only in a petrol station the other day, I thought they were a thing of the past, I nearly bought it for the nostalgia.


But back to the OP. Yes, I do think there has been a loss of innocence, and it is a bit sad. I'm 54 so was a teenager through the 70s, and although the drug culture was supposedly rife in the view of some, I never saw it, I never knew anyone who took anything, where the hell was it?

My lads on the other hand....
We were walking down a street one day and they both started looking around for something, I said "What's up?" and they said "Can't you smell it? Cannabis?".
I didn't have a clue, and still don't of what it smells like.

I must point out that neither of them even smoke, let only go on the puff, and I'm as certain as I can be that they don't indulge in anything else along the same lines. But it made me realise that they must have been in contact with a lot of people who had.

ballysmate

tim wand wrote:

All the education we needed as Kids, One of the biggest stars of the 70's funny how you never saw him with Saville :shock:

http://youtu.be/y3FnCiRpdQ4

Talking of Public Information Films, I wonder what happened to Reginald Molehusband? Is he still loose on the roads, mixing crossply and radial tyres perhaps?

Drfabulous0

I seem to remember it being much the same when I was at school, I was in the shooting club from 9 so the dangers of guns were addressed, although pocket knives were commonly used (as tools rather than weapons) and gangs were mostly focussed around building our treehouses.
Drug education hasn't changed much, they still don't tell you anything useful like how to role a spliff or recognise the correct conditions for magic mushrooms.
The main differences I can see is that I can't really let my kids play out in the street the way I did because of the sheer volume of traffic, even on the cul-de-sac where I live and that there seems to be much less focus on sport and physical education at school.

ballysmate

Drfabulous0 wrote:

I seem to remember it being much the same when I was at school, I was in the shooting club from 9 so the dangers of guns were addressed, although pocket knives were commonly used (as tools rather than weapons) and gangs were mostly focussed around building our treehouses.
Drug education hasn't changed much, they still don't tell you anything useful like how to role a spliff or recognise the correct conditions for magic mushrooms.
The main differences I can see is that I can't really let my kids play out in the street the way I did because of the sheer volume of traffic, even on the cul-de-sac where I live and that there seems to be much less focus on sport and physical education at school.

I remember having pen knives at around nine years of age and yes we spent our summers building camps or dens. Must sound quite 'Enid Blyton' or 'Swallows and Amazons' to the youngsters on here.
Happy Days!

tim_wand

We Country kids were ahead of the Curve, and more in the Hood , We used to have Gat Gun air pistols and Crossbows made out off Clothes pegs and Knicker Elastic.

Every now and then we d mix up a batch of Hooch by pushing crab apples through a grain seive, and get off our heads and Cruise the hood on our Pram wheel go karts doing drive bys on the local cats.

D em was bad days blood, dont know how I got outta of the ghetto, Some of us graduated to Young Farmers and Pony Club, Luckily I found the local bike club.

ballysmate

tim wand wrote:

We Country kids were ahead of the Curve, and more in the Hood , We used to have Gat Gun air pistols and Crossbows made out off Clothes pegs and Knicker Elastic.

Every now and then we d mix up a batch of Hooch by pushing crab apples through a grain seive, and get off our heads and Cruise the hood on our Pram wheel go karts doing drive bys on the local cats.

D em was bad days blood, dont know how I got outta of the ghetto, Some of us graduated to Young Farmers and Pony Club, Luckily I found the local bike club.

No chance of building a cart, or trolley, as they were called round our way, since the demise of the big prams, the wheels of which were much prized. These modern buggies are shite.

ballysmate

And discarded inner tubes were perfect for being recycled into catapults.

Frank the tank

Ballysmate wrote:

tim wand wrote:

We Country kids were ahead of the Curve, and more in the Hood , We used to have Gat Gun air pistols and Crossbows made out off Clothes pegs and Knicker Elastic.

Every now and then we d mix up a batch of Hooch by pushing crab apples through a grain seive, and get off our heads and Cruise the hood on our Pram wheel go karts doing drive bys on the local cats.

D em was bad days blood, dont know how I got outta of the ghetto, Some of us graduated to Young Farmers and Pony Club, Luckily I found the local bike club.

No chance of building a cart, or trolley, as they were called round our way, since the demise of the big prams, the wheels of which were much prized. These modern buggies are shite.

Yeah, trollys I'd forgotten about them great fun and great for wrecking your jeans on. Can you remember winter warmers ? A tincan with holes in filled with combustable stuff usually sticks that was then ignited and flailed around vie a length of wire in a loop. A lot more fun than any x-box, and cheap.

ballysmate

Frank, Tim. Do you remember 'clackers' and the damage they did to your wrist?

Younger readers may think it sounds rude but it wasn't.

Cleat Eastwood

Yes clackers - they were also called knockers

VTech

I was talking with my oldest school friend today about our youth.
Its amazing that when we were kids we both loved cars with a passion and we never went abroad on holiday.

25 years on and I rarely get passionate about cars and have been to almost all the places I ever wished to go to as a kid (not showing off I assure you but its the way it is). I would love to get the passion back but its gone, thats a part of childhood lost which I reckon will be the same for many people here of my generation who didnt go away as a kid and did as they were adults.

ballysmate

VTech wrote:

I was talking with my oldest school friend today about our youth.
Its amazing that when we were kids we both loved cars with a passion and we never went abroad on holiday.

25 years on and I rarely get passionate about cars and have been to almost all the places I ever wished to go to as a kid (not showing off I assure you but its the way it is). I would love to get the passion back but its gone, thats a part of childhood lost which I reckon will be the same for many people here of my generation who didnt go away as a kid and did as they were adults.

As you get older you get more worldly wise, or is that world weary? It takes more and more to excite you. Just like drugs apparently, you have to up the dose to get the same buzz.
I have travelled, but perhaps not as much as VTech ( Not taking the pi$$, just saying.) I have reached the stage, for whatever reason, that I am content at home and there is nowhere I feel I would like to see before I die. Holidays to exotic places don't interest me.
Some people may think that sad, but others search unsuccessfully their whole lives for that sort of contentment.
Feck me! I'm being philosophical tonight. Best have a lie down.