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"Back in my day, we used to walk 5 miles to school in sub-zero temperatures without batting an eyelid. Not like you spoiled little brats these days!" We all have an older relative who says things like this about raising kids. They are despairing the coddled youth with their smartphones, crappy music, and parents that seemingly can't say no to their every demand.

And you know what? They might actually have a point on the parenting styles of today. Although the world might seem like a more dangerous place now with higher safety standards required, kids of previous generations had to make their own entertainment. They had to learn to look after themselves from a younger age and take far more risks while doing so. Parents didn't have things like Mumsnet to help them with parenting tips, alternatively, guilt and stress them out for letting kids go out of the safe environments and learn from their own mistakes.

To celebrate the eccentric approaches of old-school parenting and child safety, we here at Bored Panda have put together a list of parents and their kids doing things that would horrify the mommy and daddy bloggers and Instagrammers of today. What's your opinion on the evolution of parenting over the years? Scroll down below to check out the vintage photos for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!

#1

Me Back In 1991 Just Your Typical Aussie Kid Drinking Xxxxlight Beer(I Wasn't Aloud Heavies Back Then) And Holding A Baby Crocodile

Me Back In 1991 Just Your Typical Aussie Kid Drinking Xxxxlight Beer(I Wasn't Aloud Heavies Back Then) And Holding A Baby Crocodile

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#2

My Mother And Grandmother Demonstrating Safety Standards In The 1960s

My Mother And Grandmother Demonstrating Safety Standards In The 1960s

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#3

If Your Mum Didn't Lay On The Ground Making Herself Into A Ramp For Your New BMX, Did She Even Love You? 1980's

If Your Mum Didn't Lay On The Ground Making Herself Into A Ramp For Your New BMX, Did She Even Love You? 1980's

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#4

California Marijuana Initiative Rally 1972. That’s Me In The Box And My Parents In The Picture

California Marijuana Initiative Rally 1972. That’s Me In The Box And My Parents In The Picture

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#5

My Dad And His Veterinarian Mother, With Their Pet Lion Which They Raised For Two Years, 1959

My Dad And His Veterinarian Mother, With Their Pet Lion Which They Raised For Two Years, 1959

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#6

Princess Yvonne And Prince Alexander In Germany, 1955

Princess Yvonne And Prince Alexander In Germany, 1955

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#7

A Couple Ice Skating With Their Baby, 1937

A Couple Ice Skating With Their Baby, 1937

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#8

Infant Me, My Mother & Father At A Bar Because That's How Parents Rolled In The Early '80s

Infant Me, My Mother & Father At A Bar Because That's How Parents Rolled In The Early '80s

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aaronw avatar
Aaron W
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hung in bars too when I was little. Then they wouldn't let me back in until I was 20 - I must have been a rough toddler.

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#9

The Pinnacle Of Parenting: 1930s Swimming Lesson

The Pinnacle Of Parenting: 1930s Swimming Lesson

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Bobby's Girl
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My father threw me into Tampa Bay. I was about 3 years old. I learned to swim in a hurry, because there were scary things swimming around in that water! Google "Horseshoe Crab" and you'll understand.

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#10

Car Seat Safety In 1958. Not Strapped In To Anything, These Seats Relied On The Mother To Put Her Arm Out And Stop The Baby From Falling Forward

Car Seat Safety In 1958. Not Strapped In To Anything, These Seats Relied On The Mother To Put Her Arm Out And Stop The Baby From Falling Forward

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#11

My Hilarious Father (With The Magazine) And My Grandfather, Grandmother, And Uncle At His Bar Mitzvah In 1972

My Hilarious Father (With The Magazine) And My Grandfather, Grandmother, And Uncle At His Bar Mitzvah In 1972

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#12

My Mother-In-Law Riding A Bear At 2 Years Old

My Mother-In-Law Riding A Bear At 2 Years Old

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#13

Harley With A Baby Seat, 1962

Harley With A Baby Seat, 1962

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Monika Soffronow
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Safety first! Remember to properly attach the baby seat with the convenient succion cups to the gas tank before putting your baby in it.

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#14

A Photo Of Me Dressed Up As My Dad, With My Dad (1982)

A Photo Of Me Dressed Up As My Dad, With My Dad (1982)

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#15

My Dad Showing Off His Parenting Skills 1985

My Dad Showing Off His Parenting Skills 1985

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karen snyder
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And his Awesome fashion choices. Cut off tummy top, micro running shorts and Sears Roebuck velcro kicks was my go to in '85 too! but he tops it off with that cherry Tom Selleck stash. Your dad is a legend.

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#16

My Mom In The Hospital After Giving Birth To My Sister. Canada 1978. Smokes And Roasted Chicken

My Mom In The Hospital After Giving Birth To My Sister. Canada 1978. Smokes And Roasted Chicken

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#17

Back In The Day. 1950s To Be Exact. Checkout That Car Seat

Back In The Day. 1950s To Be Exact. Checkout That Car Seat

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Adele Maestranzi
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had one when we were kids. There was the button in the middle for the horn.

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Sue Sanders
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I typically rode in the rear window shelf. Perfectly safe; if I rolled off it'd only be onto the back seat. No problems.

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THEPS
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its better than the one they showed earlier ! At least its attached to the seat.

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Renee Verone
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used the plastic ones that were shown earlier for both my oldest son and 5 years later in 1979 We even dug out seatbelts to put around them but they grew out of them at about 6 months I had the one shown also for all three

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nazan fidan
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

aaawww it is great to see 1950's babies. Look at that outfit:)

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Mary Rose Kent
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s in color, so I’m thinking it’s more likely the early 1960s. My first brother and my sister and I were born in the ‘50s and all of our baby pictures are in B&W, whereas my two younger brothers who were born in ‘63 and ‘65 had color baby pics.

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Kim Mahood
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oof that looks horrible... I can see a horror film death coming up...

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Gregg V
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The 40s created the A-Bomb, the 50s the safety seat (not so much.)!

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Jenifer Shields
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

great, so he can ribcage it right on that bar in a front collision, and who are we kidding, you would be lucky to make it through in an accident like a rollover. There was almost zero structural steel above the doors in those days. No seatbelts.

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Mya Lugar
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not even a belt across the waist...when he's 7, maybe they'll let him ride on the running board or the hood.

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Lin Thompson
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That was the very same car seat my brother had too and it was in the front seat of the car!

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Ana Cuervo
Community Member
4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My sister was a baby in late 70s, she had the same baby car seat

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Leo Kalme
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because in case of an accident, slicing baby into two smaller pieces creates less damage to car interior.

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Leo Kalme
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because in case of an accident, chopping baby into two smaller pieces creates less damage to car windshield.

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Sasha Taylor
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum used to just hold her baby sister in the backseat. She was about 8.

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Esther Evans
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not a safety seat...just a booster seat, so the kid could see....

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Greg Mott
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? The Lad has his own steering wheel; you know, in case he needs to swerve to avoid danger.

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Carol Taylor
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

growing up in Australia our dad drove an EH station wagon..before seat-belts..we used to argue over who got to sit on the wheel hubs in the back section of the station wagon..chuckles..we were a family of 9

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jleitner
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember mine - loved helping my parents drive (late 1950's)! My parents were safety minded, though - they put it in the back seat... :-P

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Margaret Mueller
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We drive from Trenton NJ to Great Falls MT to Savannah GA with my youngest brother in one of those. California to Montana and Charleston SC six years earlier we were all floating free.

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Christina Smith
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's actually pretty cool! Especially since most of us kids off the 60s and 70s had never seen or heard of a car seat!

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Louise Brigance
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The little guy gets to see where he's going to fly to when the car stops abruptly or Dad gets rear ended.

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Valerie Wagner
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the front seat with a cheap collapsible child seat. Surviving childhood was a real thrill!:)

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Valereee
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wow...now that's safe ! We sure were ignorant back then !

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Steve Cruz
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The hooks are pretty clever, since there were no seatbelts.

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Harleen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mind you, cars couldn't go as fast, speed limits were lower and people overall drove more sensibly.

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Michelle
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My question is, how MANY babies & kids were killed? Now mind you people didn't drive as fast back then (I don't think.)

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Deanna Henderson
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember this,my mom had my brother in one,boy how far we have come

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DforDorothy
Community Member
4 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Also, back then there weren't so many cars, and not even close To how fast they are today, thus way fewer accidents. 🚙

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Monika Soffronow
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The cars that were on the rods had NONE of the safety features that is standard today. That is why even minor accidents had severe consequences with much heavier injuries for the people riding these cars, or being struck by them.

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#18

My Mom Showing Off Her Parenting Skills 1978

My Mom Showing Off Her Parenting Skills 1978

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#19

Me, 1958, Relaxing After My Bath With Toby, I Was Never Again This Cool

Me, 1958, Relaxing After My Bath With Toby, I Was Never Again This Cool

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#20

13 Y/O Dad Having A Taste While The Grownups Are Busy Playing Cards; Upstate New York, August 1954

13 Y/O Dad Having A Taste While The Grownups Are Busy Playing Cards; Upstate New York, August 1954

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#21

My Father And His Pet Lion Priscilla, California 1970's

My Father And His Pet Lion Priscilla, California 1970's

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#22

My Adorable (4 Year Old) Mother At A Zoo In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 1970

My Adorable (4 Year Old) Mother At A Zoo In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 1970

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#23

Just A Photo Of Yours Truly (At 11 Years) Petting A Full Grown Tiger. My Mom Calls It Her "Bad Parenting Moment"

Just A Photo Of Yours Truly (At 11 Years) Petting A Full Grown Tiger. My Mom Calls It Her "Bad Parenting Moment"

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Monika Soffronow
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

From the infamous Thai temple tiger farm. https://www.traffic.org/news/thai-seizure-of-a-dozen-captive-tigers-resurrects-farming-threat/

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