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Kids today might find this hard to believe, but there really was a period in time when smartphones didn't exist. But how did they entertain themselves?. How did they survive without instant and constant access to hilarious videos of cats being cats and people failing at stuff?
Well, actually, they managed just fine. Check out these vintage pictures of children enjoying themselves before mobile phones were invented to see what we mean. Compiled by Bored Panda, the list serves as an important reminder that all you really need to enjoy yourself is a little bit of imagination. Don't forget to vote for your favorite!
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#1
Girl Playing For Her Dog
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#2
Children In A Manchester Street Find Their Own Enjoyment With The Aid Of A Rope And A Lamp Post, 1946
#3
Children Playing "Push The Peanut", King's Cross Street London, 1938
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Imagine that!? Kids with their noses on the ground, crawling.... and most likely no child died as a direct result. People are so germaphobic these days - THAT is what's frightening!
#4
Best Friends
#5
Girl Dancing In Front Of Her Teddy Bear, Paris, 1961
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
I LOVE the way kids valued their toys back then. Toys were treasured because kids were lucky to have them. We lined up our little stuffed animals and performed plays for them.
#6
Two Little Kids Dancing On The Streets Of New York City, 1940s
#7
Paul Remos, A Circus Strongman, Hoists His Son Up In The Air Using Only His Right Arm To Feed A Giraffe At The London Zoo, 1950s
#8
Three Boys Are Fishing For Change During The Great Depression, New York, 1930
#9
Even The Dog Gets A Go On This See-Saw, Northamptonshire
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
One of my favorite games to play as a kid. I remember my neighbor had one in their backyard.
#10
Kids Playing With Skippy Balls, London
#11
Child Hung Up On A Clothing Rope, Paris
Totally Magical Unicorn 8 years ago
This was before we could put our children in the tumble dryer.
#12
Two Girls Ride Sheep
#13
Children Drawing With Chalk, Manchester, 1966
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
This is one I believe hasn't died in years gone by. I do see kids or sidewalk and street art every year. I remember drawing our hopscotch game on the pavement with chalk
#14
Kids Dancing In The Street, New York, 1964
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Set up by the fire dept. during a heat wave. People so poor they didn't have air conditioning, some as you can see didn't even own a bathing suit.
#15
A Young Boy Wearing An Indian Headdress Hides In A Coal Hole And Takes Aim With A Toy Pistol, London, 1954
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Nowadays a kid can't even own a toy gun and people would call the head dress as 'profiling' or any numerous other terms
#16
Children Playing, New York, 1940s
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
We used to play on the roof of the house. We also used to climb trees equally as tall, or taller. NEVER once did a child fall or get hurt. Kids are adaptable that way. A child can get hurt falling off a skateboard or bicycle, it's just as easy
#17
Police Officer Playing With Children, Harlem, 1978
#18
Two Boys Engrossed In Their Comic Books, Outside On The Street, 1952
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Must have been the newest edition. That was the day we all headed to the stores to buy brand new comic books
#20
Ten-Year-Old Martin Witter Watches Two Snails Race In His Home In Lynwood, California, 1954
#21
Nun Dancing With Children On Saint Patrick's Day, Ireland, 1964
#22
Girls On Swings
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
We used to try to get the swing to flip over the pole! Of course that would be impossible, but on a good 10 foot (3 meters) tall swing set it would certainly feel like you were about to go around!
#23
Tuba Players, New York, 1940s
#24
Girls Doing Handstands, Southam Street, London, 1956
#25
The Little Marilyn, Paris 1975
#26
Children Playing With Paper Boats, Paris, 1950
#27
This Girl From Finchley, North London, Shows No Fear Of Being Dropped By Her Two Friends As They Play, 1954
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
And most likely they NEVER did drop her. Look how tall the slide was too! Now this IS a playground!
#28
Young Daughters Of Air Raid Wardens In South-east London Practising First Aid With The Aid Of Their Dolls, 1940
#29
A Group Of Children In The Middle Of A Haystack In A Field In Pawling, New York, Early 20th Century
#30
Children Playing Marbles, Missouri, 1940s
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Getting the 'cats eye' marbles or another 'shooter' was always the BEST. I lost most of my great marbles to the older kids. Especially my sister, she had won all the GREAT marbles on the block.
#31
Russian Child Plays On Homemade Swing Made On A German Cannon Left Behind, 1944
Violet Spencer 8 years ago
i like this not only because of the happiness on the child's face, but the beauty of a weapon made for destruction now being used in the most innocent fashion. what a great shot.
#32
Children Playing In Paris Under The Eiffel Tower
#33
Girl In Japan, 1958
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Adorable. That is one big telephone receiver, even for an adult - It's as long as her whole arm!
#34
Children Playing, Ribeira, Porto
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
We did this indoors at the homes of kids who lived in 2 story houses. We would ride the carpeted stairs.
#35
Children Leaping With Umbrella, 1963
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Sometimes we used sheets as parachutes too. We knew the umbrella might break, and that is actually what we would get in trouble over, but not for playing on the roof. lol
#36
Kids Keeping Cool In The Summer, New York, 1937
#37
Children Playing In The Housing Slums Of Gorbals District, South Bank Of The River Clyde, Glasgow, 1960s
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
Those three kids were LUCKY. They actually got a boat to play in. It looks like 8 others had to watch
#38
The Little Parisian, 1952
#39
Youngster Playing In Water From Fire Hydrant. Police Are Waging Campaign Against Indiscriminate Opening Of Hydrants Since It Reduces Water Pressure And Poses A Threat To Fire Fighters, New York, 1959
#40
Children Fishing In Victoria Park, London, 1953
#41
Children Singing In A Snow Cave, Niigata Prefecture, 1956
#42
An Eye On The Street, Glasgow, 1968
#43
Boys Skateboarding In Streets Of New York, 1960s
#44
A Group Of Boys Aged Between 8 - 14 Out At Play
Ashley Kate 8 years ago
Adults would disapprove. It's not that kids don't want to play, it's just that we don't get as many opportunities any more.
#45
Children Balance On Rail In South Dakota, 1959
#46
Girls Playing With Their Skirts On An Air Vent
#47
Boys Riding The Rails After The Liberation Of Holland, 1945
#48
A Us Soldier Helps Some Children With Their Skipping, England, 1944
Zori the degu 8 years ago
One of my favourite old school activities. My class was the best at this sort of entertainment.
#49
Two Girls Swing On A Lampost, Manchester, 1965
#50
Children Walking Rue Marcelin Berthelin Berthelot, Choisy Le Roi Mai, Paris, 1946
Cassie Schoonover 8 years ago
In the too big boots handed down from an older boy probably stuffed with wool or old newspaper to prevent slipping :) lol
#52
Children Playing With A Bike Wheel, Palermo, 1971
#54
Girls Playing, Barcelona, 1958
#55
Two Children Have Great Fun Hanging Upside Down Off A Low Rail In Stockport, 1966
#56
Kids Play With Boxes
#57
Children Looking At Billboard Adds, New York, 1950s
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
I don't think they were necessarily looking at ads, I think they were looking at ladies in their undergarments. This would have been more on the seductive side for the 1950's.
#58
Girls Playing Hopscotch In The Street, New York, 1947
#59
Two Girls Playing In Sydney Slums, Mainly Surry Hills, Woolloomooloo, Redfern, 1949
#60
Youngsters Play In Harlem Street In The 1920's
#61
Young Boys Swinging From A Lamp Post In The Midst Of Rubble Left By A Bombing Raid On London During The Blitz, 1940
Sweep the Leg 8 years ago
It's so fascinating to see the happiness on their faces when so much turmoil surrounds them. These days, people record their children having tantrums when they don't get the gift they want.
#62
Kids Play In The Street, New York, 1900s
#63
Two Girls Play With Their Tricycles, 1920s
#64
London Children Wear Their Gas Masks As They Skip In The Park At Their Temporary Homes On The South Coast Of England, 1940
#66
Girls Peeping
#68
German Kids Playing On A Panther Tank Turret Following The Fall Of Berlin, 1945
Heidi Carine Brimi 8 years ago
Berlin has a history before 1989. You might consider to google WWII.
#69
Children Playing On Waste Ground, Middlesbrough, England, 1976
#72
Children Playing With Toy Guns, Rome, 1951
#74
Kids Play In A Fort, New York
Totally Magical Unicorn 8 years ago
Kids still build forts. It's a great play to watch to tv from.
#76
Children Peeping Through The Window
#82
Children Playing In An Area Of Bomb-damaged Wasteground In Stepney, In The East End Of London, 9th March 1946
#83
Children Playing, New York, 1940s
Loz Deehan 8 years ago
Err they arn't playing here they are picking up pieces of the broken mirror !
#84
Two Young Girls Play A Campbell Soup Kid Doll, New York, 1912
#87
Three Children Playing Golf With Clubs Made Of Sticks, 1905
Lisa A. Coughlin 8 years ago
This proves the power of playtime ... problem solving and innovation can be fun.
#88
Young Boys Playing Stickball In Vacant Lot Next To An Apartment Building, New York, 1947
#90
Children Balancing On A Wall, France, 1949
#91
Children Playing At The Berlin Wall Near Bernauer Strasse. The Three Boys Are Climbing Up The Wall And Moving Along A Barbed Wire Fence Alongside The Wall Hand By Hand, 1963
#92
Children Playing Cricket In A London Street, With The Wicket Drawn On A Lamppost, 1930
#93
Girls’ Playground, Harriet Island, 1905
#94
Children Play In The Gutter In The Southern Section Of The Bronx During The Great Depression, New York, 1936
#95
Boys Posing For A Photo
#96
Children Playing In London's Bethnal Green Area, 1949-52
#97
A Group Of German Children Playing War, 1915
#102
These Young Neapolitans Like The Danger Of The Strictly-forbidden Practise Of Hanging Onto The Backs Of Street Cars, 1948
#103
Group Of Gleichen Boys Playing In Rubber Tires, Alberta, 1920s
#104
Girl Playing Stickball, New York, 1947
#106
Game At A Girls' Orphanage, Naples, 1948
#109
Children In A Street, Paris, 1953
#110
Kids Playing In Water After Busting A Hydrant, New York, 1953
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What do you think ?
Alec 8 years ago
It's not just that there are no smart phones. It is also the fact that modern parents are way too overprotective, and too many of those activities would horrify most of them. All that climbing, jumping... and toy guns? Oh, the horror (and that's called sarcasm, in case you didn't get it!)
Cassie 8 years ago
I once threw a small seventh birthday party for my daughter when we had an evergreen tree with very low branches. My kids and two of my daughter's friends were in the tree very low when their parents arrived to pick them up and both sets of parents just freaked out that I let them in a tree. The parents didn't even have to reach up for them. They were literally low enough that a parent just reached over and plucked them like goofy fruit from the branch. I felt very sad for those children.
Load More Replies...
pearl dsouza 8 years ago
these are the same kids who grew up and set rules on the next generation of kids.......
Lor 8 years ago
We can't blame technology for kids not playing outside. Parents today are WAY to over protective. the term "helicopter pa
David Berry 5 years ago
When I was a kid in the 1950s they warned we'd all end up with "TV legs" from not getting enough exercise...
Load More Replies...
Alec 8 years ago
It's not just that there are no smart phones. It is also the fact that modern parents are way too overprotective, and too many of those activities would horrify most of them. All that climbing, jumping... and toy guns? Oh, the horror (and that's called sarcasm, in case you didn't get it!)
Cassie 8 years ago
I once threw a small seventh birthday party for my daughter when we had an evergreen tree with very low branches. My kids and two of my daughter's friends were in the tree very low when their parents arrived to pick them up and both sets of parents just freaked out that I let them in a tree. The parents didn't even have to reach up for them. They were literally low enough that a parent just reached over and plucked them like goofy fruit from the branch. I felt very sad for those children.
Load More Replies... pearl dsouza 8 years ago
these are the same kids who grew up and set rules on the next generation of kids.......
Lor 8 years ago
We can't blame technology for kids not playing outside. Parents today are WAY to over protective. the term "helicopter pa
David Berry 5 years ago
When I was a kid in the 1950s they warned we'd all end up with "TV legs" from not getting enough exercise...
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