The good ole days! Thx Janet, brings back memories...

And we didn't need ridilin.

My Ritalin was a smack upside the head from papa.

My ritalin was a smack on behind - the good old days.

I remember trying to get home and beat the street lights. And we had to go get our own hickory switches. We'll get the smallest ones. And if you had something to say in protest of what your parents were saying - you better saying it under your breath and far away from them.

But kids were not on Ritalin when I was going up. It was no such thing as attention deficit disorder.

Actually, this still sounds like the country life to me. My kids have done almost all of these things.   The only exception was I couldn't take aspirin after the first 6 months of pregnancy with my first daughter because I started bleeding from her growing so fast. After that, I could never take an aspirin again. Oddly enough, they can't take aspirin either.

Excellent post!
   Back then, Cracker Jack had REAL prizes inside the box, nearly all of our toys had small parts that would have choked us if we were stupid enough to eat them, and our fathers would have murdered us himself if we even THOUGHT about touching his guns.
   Back then, parents were allowed to discipline their own children to teach them right from wrong. A backhand across the mouth immediately cured any case of attention deficit disorder from which we might suffer, and there was no prescription cost for that remedy. Homework came before television, our families ate the same meals at the same times at the same table and each child was responsible for completing his own daily household chores.
   Today, slapping our teenagers for mouthing off will land us in jail with a felony record. Our kids can't play with toy guns because they're not smart enough to know the difference between a real gun and a toy. We can't buy interactive toys like the ones we played with because the kids today can't help pulling them apart and shoving the tiny parts into their gaping mouths. Most of us got an allowance, but our parents expected us to EARN our own money for the things we wanted to buy, and they showed us different ways to accomplish that. We mowed lawns in the summer and shoveled sidewalks in winter. We washed the neighbor's car or cleaned out his garage - for fifty cents - and we were so proud when we got paid.
   In many ways, things are better today. But when it comes to our children, I believe things are decidedly worse; GENERALLY SPEAKING (I wish I could underline those two words because I can feel an attack coming) we're raising a bumper crop of angry, selfish morons who can't do anything for themselves, don't know how to solve problems without violence and have very few, if any, social skills. There are exceptions, of course. If you're reading this, rest assured that I'm not talking about YOUR children (the little angels!). Specifically, I'm pointing at your neighbor's kids, unless you like them, too, in which case I'm really talking about the ruffians who live down the street, unless they happen to be your nephews. If they are, then I was talking about some kids that you've never seen before.
   Children don't come with an instruction manual (I'd think our government would have done something about that by now). Structure and discipline are very difficult things to learn, especially in this age of instant gratification. However, without those qualities, our kids are doomed to grow up without the ability to deny themselves anything.
   Personally, I don't believe that corporal punishment induces lifelong emotional trauma, and most of us who grew up before the 1980's can attest to that. We took a wrong turn when the courts took Dad's paddle away from him. After that, we could no longer play with cork guns, because the strings can be broken off and the barrel loaded with other objects which could put someone's eye out. Our kids will never know what a Vaccuform is, because they might burn themselves when they glom onto the label which states, in capital letters, "HOT - DO NOT TOUCH." They'll never see a REAL electric train because they'll get shocked when they touch both tracks at the same time. They can't develop the patience required to put together a model airplane or even a jigsaw puzzle because they contain small parts that, for some reason, are irresistibly appetizing to today's children.
    Running through the house with scissors??? Don't you realize what could happen???
   I'm calling the cops ...
   
   Jim

I just love this post. Really hit home, took me back to the days. Remembered things I hadn't thought about in a long time. Can't wait to share this with a few friends. Thanks!

Yeah I remember those days. Makes me sick to my stomach some of the things that goes on in this world today.