For the oldies (including me!) (Definitely me!)

Those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, probably shouldn't have survived.

Me - ready for anything!

Our cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paint, the slats were apparently too far apart, and there were no bumper pads.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. 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. Horrors!

We sampled cake batter with raw eggs in it, and survived.

We ate cakes, bread and butter, ice cream, and drank pop with sugar in it, but we were not overweight because we were always outside playing.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we had forgotten the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

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

No one was able to reach us all day. No mobile phones. Unthinkable!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 TV channels,  personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them.

We played cricket and football and rounders, and sometimes the ball would really hurt.

We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door.

Not everyone was picked for the school football or netball team. Those who weren't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Some pupils weren't as bright as others but tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

And you're one of them! Congratulations.

(I've had this on my computer for years and have no idea of the source.)