Past glories. . . or just rose-tinted specs?

I read it and it dawned on me that, compared with the way I was as a youngster, my children are little angels who really do lead sheltered lives.

It certainly struck a chord. . .as it will with anyone born in the 50 and 60s.

Of course some things have changed for the better and maybe my friend's email sees the past through rose-tinted spectacles.

See what you think. . .

* First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat.
As babies, our cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We drank water from the garden hose, not from a ludicrously expensive bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips.

Even though shops closed at 6pm and didn't open on weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared a bottle of fizzy pop with four friends and no-one died.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store to buy sweets loaded with E numbers.

We ate cakes, white bread and real, full-fat butter and drank soft drinks full of sugar. . . but we weren't overweight because we were always playing outside.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. We didn't have mobiles so no-one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK!

We built tree houses, dens in the wood, played on building sites after the workers had gone home and got chased away by security guards.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, 99 TV channels, surround sound, mobile phones, personal computers, Internet or Internet chat rooms. . . we had friends and if we wanted more we went outside and found them.

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits as a result.
Only girls had pierced ears.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time. . . and Christmas didn't start in September!

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell. . . or just yelled for them!

Football and rugby teams had trials and not everyone made it onto the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with the disappointment.

Kids didn't have stupid names like Chardonnay, Blade or Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.

Despite all of this, it was a generation which produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!