Smoking
Do you remember the sight of overflowing ashtrays everywhere you looked when you were a child? There were billboards, magazines, and television ads promoting the great taste and soothing qualities of various brands of smokes.Our children, however, not so much. They’ve grown up in a world that is (relatively) smoke-free. At the least, they’re certainly not bombarded with ads for Chesterfields and Viceroys.
Drinking
If you’re a former 20th century kid, you probably have fond memories of running to the fridge to fetch your dad another Schlitz or Pabst Blue Ribbon! Family parties started with the words “What can I get you?” and they didn’t mean organic iced tea or purified water.
Eating
We all ate everything. Nothing bothered us. I remember making mud pies with my sister and eating some of those with no problem. (Hmmm…..Maybe kids today need to eat a little dirt once in a while. We didn’t have any Purell. We ate with dirty hands most of the time, and we all lived to tell the story.)
Automobiles
21st Century kids don’t know how good they have it! They drive around in flawless automobiles that run for 200,000-300,000 miles with nary an issue. We drove in big snorting beasts that farted and wheezed their way down the road. Wheel covers missing, leaning to one side, dented, assorted colors of smoke emanating from every crack and orifice in the frame. It was a cause for a family celebration when the ’68 Caprice made it to the store and back without a tow truck.
Daily Life
We wore Sears Toughskins, turtlenecks and bell bottoms. Our kids wear cargo shorts and yoga pants. We played board games on the living room floor. They play video games on their phones. We endlessly cruised our neighborhoods on our trusty Stingray bikes. Modern day kids cruise the neighborhood in the backseats of their parents Hondas and Acuras. And the differences between 20th Century and 21st Century kids don’t stop there.