20090430

13 Things I Did As a Kid that Kids Don't Do Anymore


I was watching my neighbors children playing outside yesterday and it made me think of when I was a kid and the activities I enjoyed that seem to have gone by the wayside in the "play" repertoire of today's youngsters. So, here's my list of 13 THINGS I DID AS A KID:
  1. I played in the dirt and mud all the time! I made mud pies, I sculpted and I got messy, covered in dirt and enjoyed every minute of it. Today everyone is so freaked out about dirt - hey, I think all that dirt I bathed in and managed to get in my mouth may have given me my great immune system. I have had only one cold-virus-bug in over 30 years.
  2. I spent hours on our swing set. The higher the swing went the happier I was and I loved flinging myself off the seat at the highest moment.
  3. I played "hide and seek" indoors and out. I was the youngest and smallest in my family so I could crawl into places that my older siblings couldn't and therefore they never thought to look in my hiding places. If I could get out before they saw me I could use the hiding place again and again. I was lucky and never got locked in anywhere.
  4. I played Tag - I was fast so I wasn't "it" too often!
  5. I played Hop Scotch - I was lousy at it but it was an organized way to jump around and be goofy and get out all that kid energy I had.
  6. I played Jacks and Marbles. I sucked at both.
  7. I played Cowboys and Indians - I loved being the Indian because that meant I could dig into my Mom's make-up and paint my face like a "wild Indian". I would spend several days after getting my faced scrubbed to get the indelible lipstick streaks off my cheeks and forehead.
  8. Yes, I played "Doctor". It was what was considered sex education in the fifties. Hehehe.
  9. I watched violent cartoons. In my day almost all the cartoons would probably be considered "violent" nowadays. Mice bonked cats over the head, cats ate mice, goofy dogs fell off tall buildings, road runners watched as wil-e coyotes blew themselves up with dy-no-mite from Acme. I laughed my little butt off and yelled for more.
  10. I ate really sugary cereal without guilt, hyped myself up on sugar and then had to go outside and do all the other stuff on this list to blow off all the energy.
  11. I went Trick or Treating to strange houses that were dark and scary and full of people I didn't know giving out candy and goodies that could have contained all sorts of dangers.
  12. I rode my bike like a wild animal as fast as I could all over the streets of my neighborhood and I did it without a helmet.
  13. I got picked on by my older brother and sister. I hated it but it made me tough and taught me how to stand up for myself. It also taught me how to avoid trouble whenever possible!
Kids don't try any of these at home. Your moms will probably freak out because they're all considered "dangerous" in this day and age. I take no responsibility for any of you being this stupid or daredevil or "kid-like". But I'm sorry most of you won't ever experience some of these activities because to me they were the best part of childhood.

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