We was brung up proper!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat and even tuna from a can. They didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips. We had no Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nando’s.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We would collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner shop to buy Toffee, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers with which to blow up frogs.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in them, but we weren't overweight because... WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

Although nobody was able to reach us all day, we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts from old prams and then ride down a hill - only to find we had forgotten the brakes!

We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

We had no Playstations, Nintendo Wii, X-boxes, video games, 999 channels on SKY, video/DVD films, no mobile phones, personal computers, Internet, or Internet chat rooms...WE HAD FRIENDS and what's more? - we went outside to find them!

We fell out of trees, got cuts, broken bones, and teeth. There were no lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies - the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

Rugby and cricket had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that - getting into the team was based on MERIT!

Our teachers used to hit us with canes or gym shoes, and bullies always ruled the playground.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of - they actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Blade', 'Ridge' or 'Vanilla.'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility. We learned to DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If you are one of them,
CONGRATULATIONS!