Born Before 1986

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was regularly chewed and licked.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, no cabinet protection latches and you could play with pots and pans. As children we rode in cars with no seat belt ,airbags or boosters, and could ride in the front seat.

We ate chips, white bread and drank Koolaide with lots of sugar in it, but were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one drink with four friends - from one bottle or can - and no one actually died from it. We drank water from the garden hose ,not from a bottle, and it tasted the same.

We would spend several hours building go-carts out of scraps, then go top speed down the hill, only to find out we'd forgotten the brakes.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back before dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.

We didn't have Playstations or Xboxes - no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape films, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no internet chatrooms.
We had friends - we went outside and found them.

We played jump rope, four squares and dodge ball, and sometimes that ball really hurt!
We fell out of trees, got cuts and broke bones, but there were no law suits.
We played Knock and Run and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.
We walked to friends' homes. We also, believe it or not, walked to school;
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
We rode bikes in packs of seven and wore our coats by only the hood.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of, they actually sided with the law.

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem-solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. Congratulations to all who had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and the government regulated our lives for "our own good".

For those of you who aren't old enough, we thought you might like to read about us:)

article found in favorite London magazine, so I tweeked it to fit in America too!