50's and 60's / early
'70s............
First, we survived with mothers who had no maids. They cooked /cleaned while
taking care of us at the same time.
We took aspirin, candies floss,fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrups and
diabetes were rare. Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for fever
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention
as children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles/ motorcycles 2
or 3 of us together. Richer ones in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a private taxi was a special treat.
We drank water from the tap and NOT from the bottle.
We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our kites,
without worrying about the UV ray which never seem to affect us.
We go to jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes.
With mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be a endless game. With a ball (tennis
ball best) we boys would run like crazy for hours.
We catch guppy in drains / canals and when it rain we swim there.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE
actually worry about being unhygienic.
We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies,bread and real butter and
drank very sweet soft drinks, sweet coffee/ tea, ice kacang, but we weren't
overweight because......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!BURNING OFF THE EXCESS CALORIES,
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till streetlights came
on.
No one was able to reach us all day.There were no handphones. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters made out of soap boxes,
scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.
After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, multiple channels on
cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no phones, no personal computers,
no Internet.BUT WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell down from trees, got cuts and bruises, broke bones and teeth and we still continued
the stunts.
We never had birthdays parties till we are 21,
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just yelled for them!no such thing as a phone call or emails.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They
actually sided with the law!
Yet this generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers, inventors and leaders.
The past 40years 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 COPED AND BECAME GOOD MUM AND DAD.JUST ASK YOUR KIDS..INSYAALLAH AND GOD BLESS AND AMEEN.
