Thread: How tough were we

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Yes, I think that is a factor as well. But of course the reason for so many single child families is that there IS a pretty good expectation that the single child will survive.

John

That's probably true, but I think there are other reasons that are more important.
It didn't cost my parent six times as much to raise six kids as it would have cost for one because almost everything was passed down from one kid to the next; prams, clothes, school uniforms, books, trikes, bikes, toys. Today every child expects to have everything new.
Feeding six of us didn't cost six times as much because our two house cows gave more than enough free milk for all of us and the vegie garden grew more than we could eat.
Because the world was a different place, having six kids didn't mean having to buy a 7 seater Disco 3 or a people mover. No cars had seat belts, so we just crammed two adults and half a dozen kids into the '36 Plymouth or the FJ and on one occasion we did the trip from Coffs to Grafton with five adults and five kids. Half of us sat on someone's lap.

I have to chuckle at the fact that my parents are amongst those generations...and the SUCKERS ended up with a kid like me!

Originally Posted by vnx205

That's probably true, but I think there are other reasons that are more important.
It didn't cost my parent six times as much to raise six kids as it would have cost for one because almost everything was passed down from one kid to the next; prams, clothes, school uniforms, books, trikes, bikes, toys. Today every child expects to have everything new.
Feeding six of us didn't cost six times as much because our two house cows gave more than enough free milk for all of us and the vegie garden grew more than we could eat.
Because the world was a different place, having six kids didn't mean having to buy a 7 seater Disco 3 or a people mover. No cars had seat belts, so we just crammed two adults and half a dozen kids into the '36 Plymouth or the FJ and on one occasion we did the trip from Coffs to Grafton with five adults and five kids. Half of us sat on someone's lap.

I can't agree that these factors are MORE important - certainly they are part of it, but the voting population only stood for these restrictions and changes, because most people no longer had large families.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I can't agree that these factors are MORE important - certainly they are part of it, but the voting population only stood for these restrictions and changes, because most people no longer had large families.

John

Fair enough.
I suppose what I really meant was, "Here are a couple of other factors that occured to me."
Not much point in getting into a discussion about which came first; the egg or the chicken.
Often these things happen concurrently, with each factor adding more momentum to the other things which are changing.

Originally Posted by vnx205

Fair enough.
I suppose what I really meant was, "Here are a couple of other factors that occured to me."
Not much point in getting into a discussion about which came first; the egg or the chicken.
Often these things happen concurrently, with each factor adding more momentum to the other things which are changing.

Yes, I think that is a very good way of putting it.

John

Originally Posted by Quiggers

"do one thing every day that scares you" - mary smich circa 1951

btw, they're billy carts - with ball race type wheels of course

you forgot the line about pocket money, or lack thereof

And shanghais, not slingshots!

But it's true!

When we lived on Norfolk Island (1990-1993) my wife overheard a woman berating her very young child "When someone offers you a lift home, you take it!"

Imagine that in Oz!

Does anyone remember the spud gun?
good fun but I suppose considered highly dangerous today

My billy cart had lawnmower wheels on it. Then I remember having a tin billycart with peddles that were pushed to make it go.

Originally Posted by antvc

Does anyone remember the spud gun?
good fun but I suppose considered highly dangerous today

My billy cart had lawnmower wheels on it. Then I remember having a tin billycart with peddles that were pushed to make it go.

THe Spud gun, now there's a blast from the past We used to be able to fire almost a whole potatoe fast enough to badly dent a garage door....great fun