Coronavirus - My argument to close all schools - I was sometimes a "latch key kid" at 8 YO

History of the term
Refers to the latchkey of a door to a house. ... In general, the term latchkey designates "those children between the ages of five and thirteen who care for themselves after the school day until their parents or guardians return home"

A few decades ago, it used be fairly common for parents to leave their kids home alone after school and until they got home from work. The "latchkey kid" phenomenon peaked in the '80s, along with the divorce rate and maternal participation in the work force. Plenty of kids came home from school, did chores and homework, and got dinner started all on their own.

The way things are going, every kid is going to go to school wearing bubble wrap and a helmet. Back in the 1970s (and earlier), parents didn’t stress about our health and safety as much as they do today. It’s not that they cared less – they just didn’t worry compulsively about it.

Parents of 2014 need to be reminded of how less restricted, less supervised, less obsessively safety-conscious things were… and it was just fine.
1. JARTS: IMPALING ARROWS OF DEATH



Can your mind comprehend a more deadly toy than a weighted spear that kids hurl through the air like a missile? No one ever obeyed the actual manufacturer’s rules, we just flung these damn things everywhere. We threw them. They stuck where they landed. If they happened to land in your skull, well, then you should have moved.

After roughly 6,700 emergency-room visits and the deaths of three children between 1978 and 1988, they finally outlawed Jarts on December 19, 1988. I suppose it needed to be banned, but a part of me is sad that kids today won’t have the battle scars and Jart survival stories we had. Goodbye Jart – you were an impaling arrow of death, but I loved you anyway.

2. LOST AND NOT FOUND: SEAT BELTS



Cars came with seat belts in the 1970s, but no one used them except maybe out of curiosity to see what it was like to wear one. Of course, you’d have to fish them out of the deep crevice of the backseat cushion where they often came to rest, unwanted and ignored.

The only “click” heard in the 1970s automobile was your dad’s Bic lighting up a smoke with the windows rolled up. (cough!)

I should also mention that, not only were there no seat belts, child seats were nowhere to be found. Whether it was the front seat of your mom’s station wagon or her bicycle, chances are, you were entirely untethered.

3. SEMI-LETHAL PLAYGROUNDS OF HOT METAL



Remember when playgrounds were fun? Sure, there was a pretty good chance you’d be scalded by a hot metal slide, or walk away with tetanus, but that’s what memories are made of.

The ground wasn’t coated with soft recycled rubber or sand as most are today – they were asphalt. Remember being hurled from a spinning merry-go-round, then skidding across the gravel at full speed? Good times.

I remember my school playground had a metal ladder “wall” that I swear went up three stories – it didn’t connect to a slide or anything. It was literally a ladder to the sky. I remember fully believing the oxygen was thinner at the top. One false move and I’d have been a flesh colored stain on the asphalt.

According to the New York Times we are making playgrounds so safe that they actually stunt our kids’ development. So, while blood was spilt and concussions were dealt on the playgrounds of the 1970s, we were at least in a developmentally rich environment – and we had the bruises and scabs to prove it.

4. PRECIOUS LITTLE SUN PROTECTION






“Tanfastic lets the sunshine in. It’s not loaded up with sunburn protection like old folks and kids want. Tanfastic’s for you 15-to-25 year olds who can take the sun. Especially if you want to get superdark. Superfast.”

Back in the 70s, your goal was to get as brown as your skin would permit. Sun BLOCK or sun SCREEN was basically nonexistent. You wanted to AMPLIFY your rays, so women typically lathered on Crisco and baby oil to get that deep baked look.

For the kids, SPF numbers hovered around 2, 4 and 8. The idea that you would spray an SPF of 50 or even 30 wasn’t even an option, except perhaps from medical ointments prescribed for albinos.

5. HELMETS: FOR THOSE WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS ONLY




Whether you were riding a bike, roller skating, or skateboarding, one thing was for certain: you were not wearing a head protection. You would have been looked at as a sideshow freak by other kids, and parents would assume you had some kind of medical condition.



6. IGNORED AND UNATTENDED ON THE REGULAR







Hey, who’s watching the kid in the stroller? YOU MUST HAVE YOUR EYES ON THE KID AT ALL TIMES OR ELSE HE WILL DIE!

My mother routinely left me alone in the car at a young age while she ran errands. Today, this will literally get you arrested. You see, once upon a time it was okay to leave your kids for long periods without supervision (remember the so-called “latch-key kids” of the 70s?), or let them free roam without constant surveillance. Today, parents won’t let their kids go out to get the mail alone, and any fun with friends has to be scheduled, closely monitored “play dates”.

On summer break or weekends in the 1970s, parents kicked their kids out the front door and didn’t let them back in until the sun went down. “Go play,” were their only words, and you were left to your own devices for hours upon hours. Neighborhoods looked like Lord of the Flies.





7. ROUTINELY ALLOWED TO GET SERIOUSLY HURT




This poor kid is about to get rammed in the nuts by a goat, and the nearby adult isn’t the least bit concerned. In fact, he finds this all incredibly amusing! As hard as this is to believe, but when kids got hurt back then, adults didn’t come running with first-aid kits. More than likely you’d be left alone with your pain, with no alternative but to get over it.

In the 70s, parents watched their offspring fall from trees and fall off bikes with a smile.



8. SECONDHAND SMOKE EVERYWHERE




From airplanes to your family car, it seemed the world of the 70s was shrouded in a haze of cigarette smoke. It wasn’t just the fact that many more people smoked, it was the absolute 100% lack of concern for those that didn’t, including children. Teachers smoked, doctors smoked, your parents smoked…. and they didn’t take it to a secluded smoking area, they did it right in your face.

Please don’t interpret this as condoning it. There’s no question that engulfing your child in a thick carcinogenic cloud isn’t a good idea. I’m just stating facts – this is the world we lived in. It was full of adults who didn’t seem to have anxiety attacks over our safety, and we turned out just fine…. right?

 

Yeah, a boomer that didn't die in a playground accident when he was 5


We had one of those rocket ship playground slide things in a park near where I grew up, not like the one pictured, was much bigger, two storeys high and you could easily climb on the outside of it, or fall off the top of the higher slide. Ridiculous things like that were even constructed

 

I had an older friend, he is gone now. Anyways, born in the 40s, grew up in nyc, was a latchkey kid. Probably too young to be one at 3. But was one. He was the most open, the most eccentric, the most adventurist person, generous, funny, accepting person I had ever known.

Was not afraid to try anything. His first business venture was being a troubadour. Lol. Second was buying a beat up fishing boat and taking people out on fishing charters in nyc. He had no clue and often the coast guard had to bring in him and his charter guests, Didn’t know that ny had tides even. Lol.

He then gave up doing charter fishing after sinking the boat. Went back to being a troubadour, was a veteran as well. So while playing guitar on a train he met a man who offered him a job. He ended up becoming president of this company.

One day he quit, sold everything and moved to upstate ny to be a dairy farmer, He did this for a few years, with minimal success, was hard work after being in an office job. he didn’t want his children to grow up in nyc. then decided he didn't want to do that anymore,

started a worm farm. He had tons of worms in beds. One day he went out to check on his worms and all the worms were gone. Just vanished! He said, it is ok, I have really good and rich soil, I can plant vegetables. He went back to office work, programming part time. He dug out his own ponds and stocked them with fish so he could fish. He also would stock rivers with trout for others, just because, all the time remaining a troubadour! . Kindest, most giving and adventurous person I had ever known. His family was lucky to have such a person. Nothing was ever a failure in his eyes.

Yay for latchkey kids.

 

I used to go to the local cinema and help the projectionists after school until my mother got home from work and 15 years later, I ended up giving up my career as a doctor to become the chief engineer of the theater company. I later went on to design 3 award winning London theaters.

Sadly, my father died when I was 10, so my mother had to work, but it ended up having a profound bearing on my future.

Several of my childhood friend were at home for a few hours after school and I don't remember a single case of them coming to any harm

 

no, sorry, I have to disagree with you on that, How is someone born from 1944 - 1964 responsible for millennials? Personally I think 1964 is a big stretch for a baby boomer. But how do you figure millennials born from 1980 - 1994 are to blame for ones unwillingness to rely on themselves and be accountable for their own actions? You make your life how you want it. My parents who were boomers raised me to be independent, speak my mind, take responsibility for my own actions. Look to the positive side, make lemon aid out of lemons. Gen x came from baby boomers. The lost generation. Millennials 1980-1994 seem to have lost sight of being accountable and not looking to themselves and looking to blame others for failures. Life lessons are not failures. Overly coddled by laws passed that should never have been implemented, Extremists in the social conscious view, seeing negative intentions where they don’t exist. Placing the blame on others instead of addressing problems at hand. Just wait until you have children, Got it, millennials are ill equipped to handle things independently or be accountable. What about gen z? They will blame your generation, I suppose.

 

yes there are more fears today. The world doesn’t seem as safe. I, at 10 washed tarps in a boat yard for a dollar a tarp. I had 100 dollars saved. I remember helping my dad pay for gas once. I was so happy that I could help. I was always into movies as well, art, creative things. Went in that direction. Knew it took work and fame was not the goal, recognition was not the goal. Living a life I was content with, enjoying doing what I was doing and doing the best I could. That was the success.

 

Now you have really cheered me up,
Last week we thought that we had a grandchild on the way. We have just found out that it is twins.

 

Did we? If so, how did we become so anxious?

 

As a result of the fears, children sit at the computer playing games and end up with ambitions to own a gun or steal a few cars,
Somehow we call that progress.

 

What it is is a variation on a Dana Carvey Grumpy Old Man comedy routine.dana carvey grumoy old man - Yahoo Video Search Results "When I was a kid, we didn't have no seat belts or safety helmets. We rode around without them, crashed into brick walls, bashed our brains out, and we liked it". "In days of old, when knights were bold, and condoms weren't invented, they tied a ...(CENSORED)." etc.

 

Unfortunately, our grandchildren Won't be able to go to work with our daughter. I am sure that they would love driving around in her car with the blue lights on.

During my medical studies, I had to teach for a while. I chose the 12-16 year olds and needless to say taught them physics, chemistry and biology. During the later, we built a glass bee hive inside the laboratory, connected to the outside with a glass tunnel. You can imagine the number of bees flying around the playground looking for some flowers to pollinate, not to mention the day that a virgin queen hatched and they swarmed. Fortunately the children took my advice and just stood still and watched, so no one was stung.

Last year Christina was called to a swarm in central London and remembering tending hives with me, she stopped her colleagues evacuating all the buildings and the surrounding area, while telling the public to stand still or walk slowly. She ended up with more than 100 people watching the swarm being collected.
The really funny part was when her sergeant said that she should get a bravery award. She could not stop laughing and suggested a new award. One for common sense.

 

congrats on the coming twins. . So exciting. Hopefully two at once will be easy on the parents and their lack of sleep. Love kids, and you will be there to help them juggle them both. .

 

I found this article regarding generations, Gen x is totally me. Lol. It is a good article on boomers, gen x, gen y 1&2 and gen z

Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z Explained

 

It is funny, I remember just running wild on the street, unsupervised, kids playing street hockey, cars always watching for children... kids screaming car, moving the hockey net out of the way. Playing hide n seek in all the neighbours yards, being allowed out alone and you can come in when the street lights come on. Lol. In the summer meant at 9 in the evening, age 5. Walked to kindergarten on my own. Refused the neighbourhood kid who use to walk me because his brother was always hitting me. So I walked on my own from kindergarten on. Winter time it was, why don’t you go do some night tobogganing and don’t be the last to leave, or leave with the last ones. Lol.

my friend all through grade school k-6 , lived over a mile, I walked to her place alone and she to mine. We would walk each other halfway back when one of us were leaving the others area.

Oh how things have changed and my sister is guilty of over protective behaviour, by laws set, Her kids at 10 didn’t know how to cross the street alone. No kid walks to school now, they are driven and grades are staggered for starting times to accommodate drop offs and traffic.

 

Tanfastic marketing. Now they can sell three times as much.​

 

NYC teachers planning ‘mass sickout’ over de Blasio’s refusal to close schools

New York City teachers are calling for a “mass sickout” on Wednesday in response to Mayor de Blasio’s insistence on keeping public schools open amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Twitter postings calling for the sickout started appearing Friday, with nervous teachers consulting colleagues about taking the drastic action to protect themselves and their families.

“We’ve talked about it,” one told The Post on Saturday, adding that his union chapter is holding a meeting on Monday to vote yes or not to join the sickout.

 

Why is my post in "people" ??? Whats going on here ?

 

how do you get boomer out of gen x. Do you have a problem? Seems you are unable to type or say anything beyond boomer. Sad. I do have sympathy for you are your inability to communicate and the Incredibly extensive vocabulary you possess!