Manifesto for a Child

What if you child is an aboriginal? Would the same attitude apply? Or would one's cultural shame place it in ceramic jar in the back yard like the Spartans once did?

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with saucepans. When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent clakers on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same. We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one actually died from this. We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded. We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms. We had real friends.... we went outside and found them. We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt! We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no lawsuits only accidents. We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other parents. We played chap-the-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners catching us. We walked to friends' homes. We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls. We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of...They actually sided with the law. This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And if you're one of them. Congratulations! For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like to read about us. This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face: The majority of students in universities today were born in about 1986........ They are called youth. They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel. They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry or Belinda Carlisle. For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam. AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they were born. Michael Jackson has always been white. To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance. They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are films from last year. They can never imagine life before computers. They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five. They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone. My Childhood..... Happier times than today methinks.

Hahaha yes true, but then who produced them?

Jesus...how old are you Jude? Are you a bloke in femme-fatale? Sheila's - I mean - ladies, had full on fist fights with each other when my Mum was like 30! And she can still go toe to toe with me..lol!

who produced them? God and the love and trust of good parentfolk

Are you weaseling or outboard motoring here, Jude? Been laughing about that one all day!

What's scary is that I now tell my kids those, "When I was your age..." stories, usually about the stuff you've just mentioned, jude! I feel a certain amount of sadness for my kids, whom I'm afraid to let walk to school (even though it's only two blocks away). I'm afraid to let them go out and play unsupervised in the playground in the rec area that is, literally, right behind our house. I got to do all these things when I was a kid; I had what now would be considered an unsurpassable amount of freedom. My husband and I talk about this frequently. I was a latchkey kid: I walked to and from school (which was about a mile away), usually alone, along isolated irrigation canals. Only had a problem once. I wouldn't dare let my kids do the same thing now. Sad. Really sad. I agree with all the values you are setting out for your child, Rachel. They're good ones. But the values they'll get are the ones you actually show them; much harder if you don't live them yourself! They'll learn, also, that people, even Mummy or Daddy, are flawed, and that being flawed is also okay.

I think you're going to do a wonderful job. Children also teach us a damn lot too. Look out for the lessons :))

..and the rainbows ;)

I agree, Maxwell. There is no better mirror for your own life than the face of your child. Truly humbling.

Funny head with odd shape: doughy chicken legs: no teeth: no hair: tips plates on head: no balance: slobbers over everthing..... *sniff sniff*...is Sludge doing sperm donations again...oh my*