Cassava Films - The List of 9

the list of 9 for october 19, 2005:
NINE THINGS MY WIFE DID AS A CHILD THAT FEW CHILDREN WOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO TODAY

[Note from Mark: I used to give my girlfriend Miki the occasional List of9 to write. Now the honor belongs to my wife, conveniently also named Miki! As a professionalnanny, she's taken care of many different children over the past few years. She found an amusingcontrast between what she got away with when she was little, and what the parents she works forwill allow their own kids to do. I'll let Miki take it from here.] There are manythings that were common occurrences in my childhood which seemed fine at the time. But accordingto 2005 standards, if I ever allowed any of the children I care for to do any of thesethings, I'd be sacked on the spot:

What's Skin Cancer? Between 1976 and 1988, I spentliterally every summer day at the beach. I would run around in my little Sassoon bathing suit andnothing else for a good 6 or 7 hours a day, and never once did I ever have sunscreen applied tome. These days, even olive-skinned kids who tan easily aren't allowed outside for more than 3minutes without being slathered with the stuff (heck, even the African American kids I take careof aren't allowed outside in the sun without a ton of goop on them and hats on). At last count, Idon't have skin cancer, but I suppose that does tend to show up a decade later, so stay tuned...
What's a Healthy Diet? My family mostly ate out or had fastfood. The rare meals that I ate at home always consisted of canned vegetables and some kind offrozen meat. There were no restrictions on how much junk food I could have. The house was alwaysfull of Yodels and Twinkies and Pringles and Chipwiches and soda, and I was always welcome to fillup on an much as I wanted. A normal breakfast when I was a kid was an Entenmann's doughnut, aPop-Tart, or some horribly sugary cereal (sometimes topped with Coffee Rich instead ofmilk... yuck!). I also remember several occasions in which it was seen as reasonable for meto eat ice cream for breakfast. Lunch was processed luncheon meats on Wonder Bread with Fritos andCoke.
Turn That Thing Off! Unlike the kids of today, I also hadno restrictions on how much TV or even what shows I was allowed to watch. I remember myelementary school passed out a list of shows they thought were "inappropriate" for us, and myparents laughed about how I watched all of them. But the sheer quantity of TV that I watched wasalarming... at least 6-8 hours a day. It's no mystery why I'm a whiz at 70's and 80's TV trivia.However, it's rather tragic that I spent most of my childhood staring at an electrical box.
Buckle Up for Safety. In California these days, kids arerequired to be buckled into car seats until they are approximately 15 years old. In New Jersey inthe 70's, there were no such laws, or any seat belt laws at all. As a result, I actuallynever wore a seat belt until I got my own driver's license at age 17. I was particularlyfond of riding in the back of my parents' Lincoln Continental, laying down on that space on top ofthe seats and right by the rear window. If we had ever been in an accident, I would have flownright out of it.
Protective Equipment. Kids in our generation wouldn't havebeen caught DEAD wearing a bike helmet! Although I didn't ride a bike, I did roller skate about asmuch as Tootie did, and of course never had any kind of knee pads or helmet... and I was allowed toskate in the street.
The Toys of War. As a girl child, I was never given a tonof army toys, but they were extremely common and I never heard any opposition to kids playing withguns until I was an adult. I did have my fair share of water pistols and a cowgirl-inspired capgun. These days, I don't know a single child who is allowed to have any kind of toy gun,even a water pistol.
Stay Where I Can See You! Although my mother is apparentlyterrified these days that someone is going to come and get me, that must have never entered hermind when I was a kid. Starting at age 6, I was allowed to walk alone to my friends' houses thatwere many blocks away. By the next year, it was okay for me to walk alone, almost a mile each way,to the neighboring towns to go and spend my allowance buying crap at the 5 and Dime. There wasnever any fear that someone might try and take a 7 year old girl who was wandering alone, a milefrom home. Today, the parents I work with don't even let their 7 year old walk alone to thetownhouse next door.
Lights Out! After kindergarten, I never had an officialbedtime during the school year. But during the summer, it got even crazier. I was allowed up untilall hours of the night. I distinctly recall being very young (8?) and watching reruns of "You BetYour Life," which came on at about 1 AM, with my mother. The fact that I was allowed to stay up aslate as I wanted to was always a big source of envy for all of my little friends. These days, I'musually asleep by 10:30.
That's Not for Children. Although I can't compare to afriend of mine, whose parents dressed him up in a little suit and had him pass out joints on asilver platter at their parties, I can still remember many things that were common in my childhoodthat would be considered inappropriate for kids today. I spent a lot of time at the racetrack withmy mother, who would place bets for me and let me take home my winnings. I started going toR-rated movies with my parents while I was in kindergarten. I watched strippers on TV with mymother when I was 7 or 8. I was responsible for helping my father make the sangria for theirparties when I was about that age (during which he would ALWAYS say, "Come on.... wanna tasteit???"). My parents both cursed like sailors in front of me. And yet I somehow think I managed toturn out just fine. Are parents today too cautious, or do I just happen to know a bunch ofworrywarts? Or were my folks just out of their minds?