ADVERTISEMENT

Kids in the '70s and '80s had a different experience when growing up. No wonder your auntie Betsie never misses a chance to tell the same old story of her 10-year-old self walking 5 km to school in freezing winter. “These days kids, they don’t know!” she mumbles.

But she must be right. This illuminating thread shared by Dan Wuori, the senior director of early learning at The Hunt Institute, shed light on what kids in the past experienced in their daily lives and most of it is simply hard to imagine.

“My high school had a smoking area. For the kids,” Wuori tweeted before asking everyone to share “What’s something you experienced as a kid that would blow your children’s minds?” Below we selected some of the most interesting posts that reveal just how much times have changed.

Image credits: DanWuori

#2

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

CourtneyAnnePh Report

Add photo comments
POST
blinder-logs0t avatar
Juan Ghote
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Trawling through the library index first to find the right encyclopedia / reference publication then building your footnotes / bibliography to support your submission. Roughly 30 minutes for per reference...

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Childhood memories are something most of us cherish throughout our lives. Prof. Krystine Batcho, a scholar in science of nostalgia and licensed psychologist, has developed a tool to measure our emotions towards the past using the Nostalgia Inventory Test. The tool shows how strongly and how often people feel nostalgic.

In a previous in-depth interview with Prof. Batcho, Bored Panda asked the professor about the role our childhood memories play in our lives. According to the professor, childhood memories can influence our adult lives in a number of ways. “They can contribute to our overall sense of happiness in life.”

#6

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

MiraCeleste2 Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This was "normal" in the UK in the 80s and 90s. Uniform was a skirt for the girls. In winter they simply wore woolly tights, which was also part of the uniform and had to be a certain colour. Boys wore trousers and it was only if it was really hot we could wear shorts and very occasionally it would be declared a "no tie" day.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

Moreover, Batcho argues that social experiences we had when little are crucial to our development and adult lives. “Positive childhood social events, such as family get-togethers during the holidays or parties to celebrate birthdays or achievements, help establish good self-esteem and healthy social skills in adulthood,” she told us.

Prof. Batcho’s life-long research suggested that “positive childhood memories are associated with more adaptive coping skills in adulthood.” For example, people with happier memories of childhood were less likely to turn to counterproductive ways of dealing with stressful situations, such as substance abuse or escapist behavior.

#7

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

StacyKratochvil Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You think that's bad. When I was a university, I didn't have a phone and used the public call boxes at the end of the street. Doesn't sound too bad until I say that I lived in the red light district and got propositioned whilst on the phone to my mother! LOL

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

RealGravitas Report

Add photo comments
POST
hrfreeman92 avatar
Holly Freeman
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The amount of times I would burn my hands on the monkey bars from the hot Aussie sun 😤 the blisters! But my god was it fun!!!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

That means that healthy coping is not something we’re born with, but rather “it is learned during childhood by role modeling trusted adults, and memories of how respected adults coped with adversity,” the professor explained.

If you deeply cherish your childhood memories and carry them throughout your life, you’re not the only one, Batcho argues. The professor explained that this phenomenon is called “rosy retrospection,” and it refers to a tendency to remember the past as better than it really was.

ADVERTISEMENT
#10

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

crunchyrugger Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ha. There was one bus stop in the entire village. Apart from the one and only school bus, the remainder of the bus service flipped between one an hour to two busses a week! I walked to primary school, including on my own from about aged 7 or 8, and cycled to secondary school which was 3 miles away in the nearest town. This is probably why I have such little patience with the Chelsea tractors (SUVs) doing the "school run".

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

“There might be an evolutionary reason for it, because a favorable focus on the past helps most people remain healthy and happy despite the practical and emotional challenges of adult life,” prof. Batcho explained. Having said that, it’s also important to note that memory retrieval and the way we feel about them is directly influenced by a person’s current mood and state of mind. It turns out that when we are sad or depressed, we are more likely to remember negative events in our past and remember past experiences less favorably.

#13

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

long17_de Report

Add photo comments
POST
mdburke avatar
Grady'sRaider
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The one I remember was mostly a toy: molded plastic seat, one inch plastic strap with a buckle, and a plastic steering wheel with a squeeky horn button.

joereaves avatar
Joe Reaves
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can only assume whoever invented that, specifically the horn, did not have children. I wonder how many parents over the years wanted to find him and murder him lol.

Load More Replies...
laly-lynch-9 avatar
b_nut137 avatar
Pheebs
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom said with how crappy the ones in the early 80s were, none was better. Mine was apparently a plastic monstrosity with a single button to get out of it. A single button said kid could easily press, unlike the straps nowadays that take a masters degree to figure out.

Load More Replies...
alixpitcher avatar
Powerful Katrinka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom relied on The Flying Arm of Steel. Because she had lightning-fast reflexes, I spent a significant amount of my childhood going, "whoomppff.

benitavaldez avatar
Benita Valdez
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh and don't forget, you were done with carseat after 4/5; no boosters, just seatbelt and a fight with siblings over who got to sit in the front.

generally_happy avatar
similarly
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was a kid, nobody had car seats. I can remember being 3 or 4, and on long drives, I used to climb up and lie down in the back window, watching the stars.

scottcrowell avatar
tamrastiffler avatar
Tamra
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just what I was thinking! We had no car seats, and no one ever wore seatbelts. Also, if we were lucky to know someone with a pickup truck, we got to ride in the bed. Fun times!

Load More Replies...
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen worse. On my classic there was a child seat that straddled the propshaft tunnel. Perfect for yeeting toddlers and babies out the car when you stop overquickly.

laurenrogers avatar
Blackstone
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember riding on the center console of my papa's truck. Also in the back of the truck.

Load More Replies...
alisonreddick avatar
AliJanx
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was child #3. My version was navy blue, with the vinyl starting to split on the chest-bar. I can remember patting it while mom was driving.

janealexander37 avatar
Jane Alexander
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What car seat? I sat on Dad s lap, grabbed the wheel and told the car to go faster.

boredpanda_127 avatar
A
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My parents put me in a laundry basket on the back seat in the early 1970s. They drove a convertible! I'm happy I survived to share this information with you all.

myhre0724 avatar
Lisa Whipp Myhre
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the plastic steering wheel! I made a hard right turn one day and ripped it off.

corytollman avatar
Cory Tollman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My seat was basically a thing that lifted me up so I could see out the window and then I had a regular lap belt. At least if I was sitting in the back seat. Sometimes I was sitting in the back with or without my booster seat. I did have my "close and play" record player and a whole lot of 45s. My dad is still traumatized by "Little White Duck" which I apparently played the c**p out of between Iowa and Florida in the mid 70s.

ivanakramaric avatar
Ivana Bašić
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We didn't even have them. Or seat belts in the back. I was carsick so I would lie down and try to sleep.

bartoncarolina avatar
Silre
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You had a car seat? I was jumping up and down on the front seat of my mom's Dodge Dart!

blank-man avatar
blankman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And, if your car was a two door, the front seats just folded forward. No catch of any sort to stop that from happening.

he350 avatar
Kiwi Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember those! Ours was dark brown…and the metal got SO HOT

amystruthers avatar
Don't you wish you knew
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom let us last literally lay in the back window 🤣🤣. I couldn't imagine seeing that now! And we had a great conversion van. Best road trip vehicle ever and we were in the back free to roam around the whole way! The 80's & 90's were the s**t!

islandgirl_1 avatar
Island Girl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mum paid a huge amount of money for one of these, most parents just chucked their kids in the car with no seatbelt.

shelbyaj319 avatar
Shelby Jackson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had one like that. I think it was floral patterned though and not as cushiony

mimi-0610 avatar
Furmama0501
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The plastic and metal ones hurt like a b**** if you were sitting next to it and it pinched your arm!

adriennedoyle avatar
Adrienne Doyle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those were in the back seat which only had a lap belt. As for coming home from the hospital, we were carried in our mom's arms while she sat in the front seat.

blank-man avatar
blankman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And if the car was a two door there weren't any sort of catches to lock the car seat in an upright position - it just folded forward if you pushed on it.

kathybrown avatar
Kathy Brown
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a child , I sat in the front seat while Mother drove. Sometimes she suddenly would put her arm out in front of me and I found it startling, wondering why she did that. Now I know it was for safety reasons I was oblivious to.

rix_1 avatar
Arenite
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What are these “car seats” you speak of? Dad drove with me and my sisters all crammed together in the front seat. How I miss those bench seats!

oberlinmom1 avatar
Stymied Egan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I asked my mom what she did when we were babies. She said she had a soft basket that she'd put us in and wedge it behind the front seat on the floor.

cynthia-vengraitis avatar
Cydney Golden
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, we brought our daughter home in a seat that looked like a toy. So did her stroller.

drh95051 avatar
GramDB
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No seat belts or car seats when my 4 kids were growing up … just me to hold them back.

gillianstover avatar
Gillian Stover
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The one I had for my son, he could unblock or and climb out. It made for fun drives on the freeway during rush hour!

lenacanepa avatar
elcee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't remember these, but we had a scout, with just the lap belts. and beer coozies in the glovebox, u know, for the weekend

alisoneboroski avatar
SomePeopleCallMeMaurice
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who here remembers riding in a car before seatbelts were a thing? Or when seatbelts were optional?

sthomas826 avatar
Susan Thomas
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More to keep the kid in one place for mom’s sanity. Not a safety measure.

karlalawatsch avatar
Karla Lawatsch
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only teacher who did that in my experience was the Chemistry teacher/boys basketball coach. During basketball season he would roll in a projector and show recordings of past years basketball glories. No chemistry teaching or learning was accomplished during that time.

geneprocell avatar
BroknBtBlesd
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You had a car seat? Our safety restraint system was Mom's arm when ever slowing down or coming to a stop.

joanne_haywood65 avatar
Jods
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Car seats for kids? I used to sit on my mum’s knee.

ljdia avatar
Liv
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No car seats when I was a baby/toddler/child in the 80s. As a newborn my father would put me on the floor of the car and take for a ride at night (as that would always make me stop crying).

jlkooiker avatar
lenka
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember sitting in the back cargo part (no seats) of our old Holden, sucking in exhaust fumes that came in through the back window.

thefarmwork1 avatar
Susun Wilson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one shown is super hefty compared to the one my little sister had!

mireetta avatar
Remi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There was this kind of extra padding at some point that was a kind of safety seat for the older kids. I heard it was because kids got their neck sliced by the seatbelt. I might be really wrong though.

akraven avatar
AKRaven
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only car seat I remember growing up was the kid sitting in Mom's lap.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

KevinGi62453362 Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That was a student prank. Our chemistry teacher had some mercury in a beaker and we stuck our hands in it. Not sure that touching it is a big deal, but you don't want to ingest it.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

Seymour_from_GP Report

Add photo comments
POST
lunashau avatar
Ash
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

AND you could pick up the phone and listen in on their conversations!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

MelissaV007 Report

Add photo comments
POST
katy_malinowski avatar
Katy McMouse
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Probably because they were hunting rifles, used for hunting and not assault rifles, used for God knows what.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

DarciaAnne Report

Add photo comments
POST
nathanlaycock avatar
Nathaniel
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is one of these near my sisters, in a park, it is 3 feet wide. Spin on that fast and you will vomit and feel ill for the rest of the day.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

HoldenCapt Report

Add photo comments
POST
patricklynch avatar
Pat Head
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Fortunately, the jet injectors do no use a needle, but instead use a high pressure spray that penetrates the top layers of skin to deliver the vaccine. They used to be used for mass vaccinations, but now only a fraction of people in the States use it for insulin.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

3rdtimewalter Report

Add photo comments
POST
emeraldocean avatar
Emerald Ocean
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well at least the nurse tried to calm her down, though a newborn should not be near smoking!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#28

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

jan_ruscoe Report

Add photo comments
POST
scigib avatar
Karin Gibson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had Nitty Nora the head explorer. You were treated then and there. The shame of going back to class was dreadful.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#29

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

Elisabethmngirl Report

Add photo comments
POST
vickibreakey avatar
Marie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm also from Raleigh. My second grade teacher's wooden paddle was made by her husband and he'd even done fancy burn in lettering to put her name on it. Good times

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

Mindblowing-Childhood-Experiences

m00n_child_227 Report

Add photo comments
POST
yesanded_1 avatar
Ed
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That would have been quite a trick in the 70s and 80s, since Netflix wasn't even founded until mid-1997.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.