Dangerous Things Kids Used to Do, . . .

34. Being able to say "Merry Christmas" and sing Christmas songs without creating an incident because we might offend someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas.

Bucky Covington sang about this danger in 2007. You might have a short promo before Bucky.
And for those at home keeping score he reached #6 in the Country charts.

#6 ? He was no Bobby Vinton then was he?

I like it JM, never heard of Bucky, but songs really cool.

GREAT THREAD MR. DON


Some of the dangereous things that Rock'n Rick did in the streets of Boston was;

Shooting BB Guns

Shooting Spud Guns

Throwing Stickyburrs at each other

Making Sling shots and using those U-Shaped nails as ammo

Slidding down steep snowy hills on sheets of cardboard or plywood

Going to the local dump and checking out all the "cool stuff" while we threw bottles at the rats

We also pitched pennies and baseball cards against stairs and curbs.
This is probably where I first started gambling.

...... and a comment about the
"Oh, and he doubts punishing a child by compelling him to write something 500 times would no longer embarrass a kid".

Rock'n Rick well remembers that he did have to do that once.
I was not doing well in English, and studied VERY hard for an upcoming test in "Figures of Speech".
I had retained so much information and was so eager to get it all down on my test paper,
but when the good Sister said "Pass in Your Test Papers", I just passed them forward and continued to write until finished.
I then proceeded to put my paper on top just as they were given to the good Sister.

"Mr. Rock'n Rick, where did this test paper come from?" I was asked.
I told her that I just finished it.
She told me to stay after school and write 500 times "I Must Pass My Test Paper in on Time".
Not only that, but I was also told to throw it in the trash and take a ZERO for the test.

Rick

Sliding down steep snowy hills on sheets of cardboard or plywood. No snow in California. We used to do this on hillsides where the long dead brush was. Of course there was a chance that a snake could have been there.

Hmmmmm, . . .

Sure. And there was a chance that there really was a monster in the ramshackle garage across the alley behind Granny Clark's house. After all she was a witch, . . . or so some folks said.

This is off topic a little, but regarding kid raising:

At a certain point, the kid-raising culture changed from "because I said so" to "OK, but can we talk about why it would be nicer if your room is clean?"

The overarching thought is "I want my kids to have it better than I did growing up."
[I doubt my parents ever thought about it this way]

"My kids having it better" is fine if you didn't have indoor plumbing growing up. Indoor plumbing IS better.

Fine if you grew up in a depression and truly went hungry. Food on the table IS better.

Or fine if your parent was truly abusive...drunk, abusive, etc. Sober and loving IS better.

NOT fine just because you didn't have a car until you saved up for one, but you want your kid to have one as soon as possible. Fine if kid saves up for it, or pays for gas and insurance, takes care of it. NOT fine if kid repeatedly totals cars and dad keep buying new one. Few kids in my sr. hi class had cars. Those who did were mostly of necessity and they weren't new cars.

NOT fine just because your clothes were hand me downs from brother/sister or made from flour sacks. You want to give your boy Air Jordans or your girl the latest name brand clothing. You believe this makes YOU look more successful, even though you are working 3 jobs to afford it. NOT FINE if you can't pay other bills on time.

NOT fine if YOU can't stand to see your kid pout, or tear up, or throw a tantrum when you oppose something they want or something they want to do. YOu can't stand up to your own kid? NOT fine. It only makes you feel better, doesn't grow a kid into a responsible adult.

How does a kid learn to stand on his own? By figuring out that "I want what I want, but I won't get it living under these stupid (or so they think--ha ha) parents. I must graduate, get an education and/or job, get my own place, spend my own money. Otherwise I'm stuck here forever."

Some, a few, come by this easily. Most have to learn by being expected to contribute to the family well-being (chores, respect), understand finances and why we don't have the biggest house in town, manage an allowance (and not given more until the next allowance time).

Who has perfect kids? NOBODY. I did my fair share of pouting, stomping, whining.
Never worked. Often backfired (added chores, grounding, writing something 500 times, etc.). Most often just ignored until I was worn down.

Hell, I COULDN'T WAIT to graduate, get outta there and have an occupation, have my own place. They paid for my nursing education, and beyond that it was all up to me. And, looking back, my raising was darn fine. Wasn't pampered, wasn't entitled, but knew my home was safe and secure. We had plenty, but not overly so. "Because I said so" was used often! My mom did not function is my best friend, she functioned as my parent. Now I know why.

Rant over. Sorry.

Man do I agree with that best friend thing. Everytime I see some mom dressed like their teenage daughter or see some celebrity mom/daughter on TV say she's not just my daughter/mom, she's my best friend! I want to puke. Grow the eff up mom. I honestly think if you're a good parent during most teenagers stressful maturing years, at some point they will likely hate you. But that is part of being a "grown-up", life isn't always fair and EVERYONE needs to understand that.

Thread wouldn't be complete w/o this pic



I remember some of the really,really cheesy makeshift ramps we used to make, a few cinder blocks, bricks or whatever we could find along with a flimsy piece of plywood. It's wonder there weren't more broken bones in my neighborhood.