@cherokeepatti I'm kind of sad people don't even seem to want to do things like canning fruit and vegetables or raking leaves into those pumpkin halloween bags like we used to. Kids aren't allowed to make mud pies or even get dirty. kids don't have "play clothes" anymore just clothes. They don't go looking for caterpillars and butterflies or lightning bugs(fireflies) i was just sitting here yesterday talking to my brother about how we used to go climb the old apple trees to get the best crab apples so my grandma could make apple butter and kids really don't do things like that anymore. Now people call the police if you're offering to shovel the sidewalk and driveway for elderly folks and they pay you a couple bucks and we used to earn spending money like that.

@DancingStarGoddess Those kinds of things helped their imaginations and creativity while their brains were still developing. When we’d have visitors with children on our farm back in the late 50’s-60’s and they had children we’d take them on walks around the farm so they would see the wildlife, the creek, the farm animals, and we’d forage for things if they were in season or collect wildflowers or whatever. City kids especially got a big kick out of doing that all afternoon.

@cherokeepatti When i was really young. bc we lived on top of a big hill and there was only a couple houses. my grandmother had a small farm and a couple acres. we didn't go outside immediately and play or have cable or anything. we had a note that said to, go pick tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, shovel the barn out, feed the rabbits, pick grapes, blackberries etc or cut grass and that our plates were in the oven. And when we would tell people what we did when we got home from school they thought it was so strange, but it was the most normal thing to us. I don't even have or drive a car to this day, but we all learned to drive a tractor before we even got near a car.

We knew how to identify plants that are good and safe to eat etc. and i think those kinds of things are really important for people to learn. My grand mother got us after we were left alone and starving and she said she made us learn and do these things(learn to garden and grow etc) so that if there ever was a time in our lives where there wasn't money or food was scarce, we could survive and would know how. even if it was in the woods alone. my siblings friends would come over, and we'd take them right on with us, picking blackberries up in the field lol. they thought it was wild, but to us, it was the most normal thing ever.

My Twin 🤣

@PatientlyWaiting25 Knock Down Ginger (ringing peoples' bells and running off) is less fun now people have cameras on their doors 🥺

@SunshineGirl and cctv. The most we worried about in those days was Mavis the dinner lady at number 32 because if she spotted you, she knew where we all lived 🫣

@Mamapolo2016 We learned to never complain about being bored unless we wanted to get assigned some chores. I liked to stay busy though and didn’t mind helping around the house and in the garden. I loved gardening and started helping pick green beans and other veggies when I was two and a half years old. Massive amounts of green beans. I liked helping anyone who was older and said it hurt their back to bend over to do such things.

@cherokeepatti Yes! I forgot gardening and taking care of neighbors. We were lucky!

I also forgot weekly family trips to the library. Neighborhood days not organized by parents, just kids calling each other to meet at somebody’s field to play ball. Wiener and marshmallow roasts. Making hobo stew around a campfire. (Ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions) wrapped in foil and cooked on the coals.

@Justmeraeagain Even in the winter with snow on the ground. Didn’t last as long out there back then though.

@cherokeepatti I know that especially in the summer if we were inside too long our parents would tell us we needed to go outside

@Justmeraeagain On the farm we had a little wading pool and would splash around in it and stayed cool that way. It was in the shade. Had a gray cat that loved to jump in with us.

@gregloa we used to have kite fights (dog fights with kites). We would also use them to drop bottles on various targets. Just wrap the kite string around the neck of the bottle and send it up until the bottle was over the target, then reach up and pinch the kite string to pull that part back towards you, then release it. That sends that whiplash up the line and releases the bottle. Bombs away!

@CrazyMusicLover I used to make cocktails too lol. We used to put Worcestershire sauce in there, tooth paste and all kinds of other dreadful stuff. 😂

@PatientlyWaiting25 I remember we tried to make it normal but later it always went downhill. 😆 The worst was pressed grape that already started fermenting. It was one of those that was meant to be normal so I drank it as juice but it was far from that. Omg, I was so sick... 😆

@CrazyMusicLover my parents went out on new years eve, my older brother was supposed to be baby sitting but didn't so we made our own home made "Bailey's" from leftovers in the fridge. Coffee, a little bit of everything in the drinks cabinet (they won't know) and cream. The cream was probably gone off. There was a puking contest in the street 🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮 I still question how I am alive today with all the naughty stuff I did.

@SunshineGirl I'm glad to hear it. Those are important core memories for children to have.