I never once questioned my mother's income or my father's!! It was never a discussion. We ate homemade meals consisting of meat, potatoes, and vegetables - (which were not an optional choice). No vegetables, no dessert!!! We didn't talk unless told to, hence we were known as the silent generation. We never touched anything that did not belong to us. We never opened a refrigerator at anyone's house unless asked to do so. We were taught to respect other peoples property. And we were rewarded for acting properly.
We grew up during a time when we mowed lawns, pulled weeds, babysat, helped with all chores. We by no means were given everything we wanted. We went outside a lot to play, run with friends, play hide and seek, or went bike riding. We rarely just sat inside.
Bottled water was unheard of. If we had a Coke, it was in a glass bottle, and we didn’t break the bottle when finished. We saved the bottle for the return money.
We had to tell our parents where we were going, who we were going with, and be home before dark..
You LEARNED from your parents instead of disrespecting them and treating them as if they knew absolutely nothing. What they said was LAW and you did not question it and you had better know it! We watched what we said around our elders and neighbors because we knew if we DISRESPECTED any grown-up, we would get a real good whooping, it wasn't called abuse, it was called discipline!
We held the doors for others and carried the shopping into the house. We gave up our seat for an older person without being asked. You didn't hear swear words on the radio in songs or on TV.
“Please and Thank you", were part of our daily vocabulary! The world we live in now is just so full of people who hate and disrespect others.
Frens, consider Re-posting if you're thankful for your childhood. I will never forget where I came from and only wish children and people nowadays had half the chance at the fun and respect for real life we grew up with! And we were never bored!
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Hey! Are you sure we didn't live next to each other? This sounds like my family too.
Same as how my brother and I were raised in western NY.
Good times I tell ya. How I miss being a child again sometimes. No worries, no cooking meals, no doing laundry, no cleaning the house/Mom did it, no going to work and no paying bills. Everything done for you. But......then we had to grow up.
We did chores around the house and at neighbors. Mowed lawns for a little cash. Pulled weeds, shoveled snow, helped with the garden, cut trees. When old enough worked at the local race track doing everything. And worked all summer full time when I was 16 and up.
My mother was afraid that if we attempted to mow the lawn, we'd cut our arms off. My father did all that. The boys learned when they got older, but Daddy would still do it most of the time. He did teach them how to repair their flat tires on their bikes and how to use a few power tools. And they had a 'paper route.' Us girls helped with the dishes when we got older, set the table, did some laundry and learned how to 'iron' clothes. My mother thought that men should work and women stayed home to raise the kids, so that's what we were taught. However, my second sister, myself, and my baby sister had to go outside the home and work to help raise our families. The oldest sister got married to a man who provided everything for her, so she had a good life. But I still wouldn't have traded mine for anything. It taught me independence and how to work hard for what you want. I worked 10 years at an Automotive parts factory for 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. That was tough.