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Hekate

(97,568 posts)

123. Getting a full-time babysitting job at the age of 12. This was in the early 1960s...

Thu Apr 17, 2025, 05:09 AM

Apr 17

The kids were about 8 and 10, and their mom was available by phone any time, as she was secretary in a Realtor’s office. I was already very experienced and highly responsible.

I was saving up for a trip from O’ahu to SoCal, as I’d been invited by family friends, and my mom said if I saved up for my ticket I could go. The family budget didn’t include things like travel and I knew it.

Now, I was raised to believe this was character-building, but after a few scuffles at DU many years ago in which it was made abundantly clear that in some people’s minds it was totally illegal and possibly abusive — well, this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned it since.

I did save up enough over that summer and thru the year, researched cheap flights (there was a non-scheduled charter outfit) and the summer I was 13 away I went. It was grand.

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debm55

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Can you remember anything normal for a kid to do in the 60's-80's that parents would not allow today? Mine is sitting [View all] debm55 Apr 15 OP

Ride a bike without a helmet Sanity Claws Apr 15 #1

Thank you very much Sanity Claws. I never used in the 60"/70's. debm55 Apr 15 #2

I used to ride my minibike (small motorcycle) up in the woods without a helmet. Good times! beaglelover Apr 15 #33

Thank you very much beaglelover. debm55 Apr 16 #75

That's mine, too. Aristus Apr 15 #37

Very good advice to offer, Aristus. debm55 Apr 16 #76

No bike helmets when I was a a kid/tween/teen... electric_blue68 Apr 16 #67

Same here, Thank you, electric_blue68 debm55 Apr 16 #77

Riding in the back of a station wagon. Ocelot II Apr 15 #3

Thank you very much Ocelot II. I remember all of them. debm55 Apr 15 #4

Oh the wayback! In the Boston area in the late yorkster Apr 15 #8

I remember riding in the back of a station wagon once or twice sakabatou Apr 15 #45

Thank you sakabatou. Same here. debm55 Apr 16 #97

Ok... like if I remember myself... a few of us would be in the bigger back section of the station wagon.... electric_blue68 Apr 16 #69

'Riding in the back of a station wagon.' AKA the TAILGUNNER position! nt kelly1mm Apr 16 #101

HAHAHAHAHAH. Thank you kelly1mm. debm55 Apr 16 #114

I used to play deep in the woods by myself. Climbed to the tops of the tallest trees there. Mister Ed Apr 15 #5

Thank you Mister Ed. I like that term free range kids. debm55 Apr 15 #6

Yes. We used to climb big pine trees. yorkster Apr 15 #11

Same here. We spent quite a lot of our summers at Grandma's house Ocelot II Apr 15 #13

Blow the whole allowance on Lik-M-Aid RoadRunner Apr 15 #7

Thank you RoadRunner. I did not get a chance to blow my allowance as I didn't get one. What is Lik-M-Aid? debm55 Apr 15 #9

A powdered sugary candy thing that kids like RoadRunner Apr 15 #14

I collected empty bottles of the side of the road to get my money. debm55 Apr 15 #17

Allow kids to run and ride their bikes behind... Buckeye_Democrat Apr 15 #10

Oh, my. That does look dangerous. debm55 Apr 15 #12

Oh gosh, I forgot about that one. Mister Ed Apr 15 #24

Going anywhere alone... especially out in the woods.. FirstLight Apr 15 #15

Thank you so much. I used to walk 7 blocks to kindergarten by myself. Now kids get dropped off and picked up at the debm55 Apr 15 #16

Whuuutt? awesomerwb1 Apr 15 #20

Yep. but we did have crossing guards. I went during the afternoon session. I just looked at a map and it was the debm55 Apr 15 #21

Did other little kids walk the same route that you did? awesomerwb1 Apr 15 #22

No , I was not given any money to buy anything. It was the same route I followed through out the year. I had friends to debm55 Apr 15 #36

Same, It was 9/10 of a mile from home to the elementary school.. bottomofthehill Apr 15 #38

Thank you bottomofthehill debm55 Apr 16 #98

My friends and I always walked ourselves to kindergarten womanofthehills Apr 15 #46

Thank you very much, womanofthehills. It sounds fun. debm55 Apr 16 #99

When I was about 6 years old a few of us would pack lunches and hike around the rock bluffs Bev54 Apr 15 #18

Thank you very much Bev54 debm55 Apr 16 #115

I used to climb fences in my backyard kimbutgar Apr 15 #19

Thank you very much, kimbutgar. debm55 Apr 16 #116

Play/hang out in the neighborhood at night (10pm +) awesomerwb1 Apr 15 #23

Oh yeah. Remember these? True Dough Apr 15 #25

"Jarts", as I remember them. Harker Apr 15 #59

Anything True Dough Apr 15 #62

Leave the house at 7:30 am with my best friend Phoenix61 Apr 15 #26

Going downtown by myself on the bus Jilly_in_VA Apr 15 #27

Taking a pocketknife to school. Sneederbunk Apr 15 #28

Play in the street Rachel M at 6 pm Apr 15 #29

Car!!!!! lol. n/t getagrip_already Apr 15 #30

and yell car at the top od your lungs when you saw one coming. bottomofthehill Apr 15 #39

I love being known as a free-range kid. Gone in morning; back in time for supper. Polly Hennessey Apr 15 #31

We had contests about who could hold a bee longest in their hand womanofthehills Apr 15 #48

Good times DUgosh Apr 15 #32

Oh you reminded me of one of my favorite childhood things EverHopeful Apr 15 #54

Rural kids carrying pocket knives TexLaProgressive Apr 15 #34

Go trick or treating alone . . . even when carrying a UNICEF collection box. Vinca Apr 15 #35

ride with no seat belt ofr for that matter, no baby seat. bottomofthehill Apr 15 #40

Not so much what "parents would not allow today"... but mainly school rules and state laws won't allow today Niagara Apr 15 #41

Do you have Sir Walter Raleigh in the can? LuckyCharms Apr 15 #42

No, but I have a Frank Rizzo on the other line Niagara Apr 15 #43

SIZZLE CHEST! LuckyCharms Apr 15 #44

Buying cigarettes Emile Apr 15 #47

Playing with gas powered model airplanes MichMan Apr 15 #49

I too was a free range kid. I also grew up in deserts, and once in fifth grade, we spotted a tarantula in the Dorothy V Apr 15 #50

I am LMAO picturing this. 3catwoman3 Apr 15 #64

Oh yeah! Then he picked on another girl and discovered she could hit like a boy! Dorothy V Apr 15 #66

Ride in a car without a seatbelt Ineedamoment Apr 15 #51

Yes and no car seats for the little ones. Thank you Ineedamoment. debm55 Apr 16 #117

Out for hours on bikes, or down in the creek, or floating on pond IrishBubbaLiberal Apr 15 #52

Sounds great. Thank you very much IrishBubbaLiberal debm55 Apr 16 #113

Lawn Darts bpj62 Apr 15 #53

I never played but watched my cousins play. Thank you bpj62. debm55 Apr 16 #100

Lawn darts, klackers, going out in the morning with no contact with my folks until it started getting dark. catbyte Apr 15 #55

Agree, catbyte debm55 Apr 16 #106

Walk home from school wendyb-NC Apr 15 #56

Thank you very much wendyb-NC. Agree with you. debm55 Apr 16 #96

Roller skating in the street with no helmet or pads in a dress SARose Apr 15 #57

Thank you SARose, I did the skating with no helmet or pads, but not in a dress. Your poor knees. debm55 Apr 16 #81

We used to go to the "thumbing corner" when we were like 10 years old and hitch a ride to town doc03 Apr 15 #58

Thank you doc03, I never thumbed. Always used the busses around Pittsburgh. debm55 Apr 16 #91

No bus here. nt doc03 Apr 16 #108

Riding in the back of a truck is a good one. Laffy Kat Apr 15 #60

Thank you Laffy Kat. And do get better. debm55 Apr 16 #74

Sleeping on the shelf behind the rear seat in Dad's Oldsmobile. TomSlick Apr 15 #61

Very true. TomSlick, Thank you. debm55 Apr 16 #73

I used to ride my bike 3 towns away. Golden Raisin Apr 15 #63

Agree. Golden Raisin. Thank you. debm55 Apr 16 #72

Instead of putting the rolls in my toy cap pistol, hitting then with a hammer on a concrete block Ziggysmom Apr 15 #65

Thank you Ziggysmom. I did something similiar. I used a rock to hit the caps. That is until one cap hitting my eye. Then debm55 Apr 16 #71

Wow, all this free range kids stuff in the 'burbs or smalker towns... electric_blue68 Apr 16 #68

Thank you electric_blue68 debm55 Apr 16 #70

Home alone UpInArms Apr 16 #78

During the day I was , but never at night. debm55 Apr 16 #88

We had a wood-burning kit. And we also made gunpowder. Walleye Apr 16 #79

Thank you Walleye. Glad your cousin was okay. debm55 Apr 16 #87

Thankfully it was a habit I never picked up markbark Apr 16 #80

We had one at our school too. Times have changed. Thank you markbark for that memory. debm55 Apr 16 #86

Riding 2 buses for 40mins+ as twelve year olds to go from suburban Chicago to Wrigley Field. NoMoreRepugs Apr 16 #82

Thank you NoMoreRepugs. I rode one bus with my friends in 7th and 8 grade to see the Pirates at Forbes Field. . It was a debm55 Apr 16 #84

Never asking the boys what they did today. Squaredeal Apr 16 #83

Thank you very much Squaredeal. debm55 Apr 16 #85

Had a Chemistry Set if..fish..had..wings Apr 16 #89

Thank you very much, if..fish..had..wings. Glad no one was hurt. debm55 Apr 16 #92

what do you mean IN the bed of the pickup lapfog_1 Apr 16 #90

I lived in a steel mill town. However, people had trucks. Kids would get in the bed --back of the truck . It was filled debm55 Apr 16 #94

In the 60s thru 70s, my parents would have no idea where I was no_hypocrisy Apr 16 #93

Same here. Thank you no_hypocrisy. debm55 Apr 16 #95

Walking through town ( about 5 miles) as an early teen LiberalArkie Apr 16 #102

Wow, Thank you LiberalArkie debm55 Apr 16 #105

Yep, get 2 quarters from my mom. 1 to get into the Boys Club pool and 1 for snacks LiberalArkie Apr 16 #107

Riding our bikes around the entire neighborhood with no helmets, no supervision. lark Apr 16 #103

Thank you very much . lark debm55 Apr 16 #104

Floating Down the Mississippi River on Inner Tubes Two or Three Times a Day in the Summer (two or three miles). waterwatcher123 Apr 16 #109

That sounds wonderful. Thank you very much, waterwatcher123 debm55 Apr 16 #112

cutting the grass with absolutely dangerous machines rurallib Apr 16 #110

Wow two dangerous things to do or witness. Glad you are here with us, rurallib. debm55 Apr 16 #111

My parents pretty much just left us run rurallib Apr 16 #120

Playing near an abandoned slate quarry as deep as a 2 story house, bottom 4th was filled with water Clouds Passing Apr 16 #118

Thank you, Clouds Passing. Glad you are with us. I didn't like snapping turtles when I was a kid either. debm55 Apr 16 #119

The neighbor boys brought home a snapping turtle that stuck out a foot on each side of their red flyer wagon Clouds Passing Apr 16 #121

That's why I don't like them. debm55 Apr 16 #122

Getting a full-time babysitting job at the age of 12. This was in the early 1960s... Hekate Apr 17 #123

Thank you very much, Hekate for sharing your post. You were a very responsible young girl. I admire you for that. debm55 Apr 17 #124