What I think about being a kid today is but mere speculation and a good dose of opinion. When it comes to this question, we all have a frame of reference, and that frame of reference comes from our past experiences of being younger. It’s the old saying ,“When I was your age….” that does apply.   Let’s walk down memory lane for a bit and see how it was being a kid 50 years ago.

We walked or rode our bikes to and from school. Sometimes we were lucky enough to get a ride. I do remember that in the winter, the car had to be heated up before it would actually run properly. Mom or Dad would go start up the car and let it run to heat up before we jumped in it for the ride to school.

Our bagged lunches wouldn’t make the grade today because they probably contained food such as potato chips, candy and other goodies like Tastykakes. And yes, those lunches were in brown bags or metal lunch boxes.

We played outside a lot of the time, regardless of the weather.

Organized sports were mainly for the boys, and there was no problem with that. The feminists weren’t even getting started.

We had one pair of school shoes, one pair of “good” shoes for church, and a pair of sneakers. The sneakers were Keds, Converse or PF Flyers.

We had a school coat and a “good” coat. I remember ripping my “good” coat when I climbed a pear tree in my Grandmother’s yard. Not good!

If you got in trouble in school, you were in trouble again when you arrived home.

Punishment usually came in the form of a stern warning and a good, swift swat. I was fortunate enough to avoid this.

Our television was black and white. (We did eventually get a color TV.) There was no cable TV, but there was an antenna on top of the house that determined what you watched. TV stations went off at midnight with the playing of the National Anthem.

Going out to eat was a treat, because it didn’t happen on a regular basis. My mom said that’s because no matter where they took us we always wanted to order grilled cheese. I don’t remember that one, but I trust her on it!

We had Measles, Mumps, Chicken Pox, German Measles, and Scarlet Fever, to name a few diseases. I think we only were immunized against Polio (in the form of a “special” sugar cube administered at school) and Small Pox.

Our big vacation was a trip to the Shore, that lasted a week or less. We had fun!

Of course I could go on and on, but these are memories that readily surfaced for me.

So back to the main question of “What Is It Like To Be A Kid In Today’s World?”

The answer is short and simple…Very different than it was 50 years ago. And that’s for sure!