Gen X childhoods have become legendary, and for good reason. So many things that were “normal” for ’70s and ’80s kids are unheard of now. Today’s youth would be shocked. Heck, a lot of us are shocked when we look back at those days.
Artist and coach Rick Osborn shared a video with some wild memories from his own Gen X childhood. He then asked his audience, “What did you grow up Gen X thinking was completely normal that would be crazy today?” And hoo boy, did people deliver.
Things that were normal in Gen X childhood that would never fly today
Osborn started with, “Being left in the car while your parents went into the store. Sometimes they even left the keys in it, and it running.” Yep. Parents today would be arrested.
“Getting sent into the store to buy cigarettes for your parents,” he added. “I remember my mom always wanted me to buy, I think, Vantage Ultra Lights. And you know, they actually sold them to us.” Can you imagine?
Osborn talked about kids getting paddled at school, only to get home and get whipped again, “because obviously you’ve done something to deserve it.” He shared how Gen X kids were put in charge of younger siblings when we were barely old enough to take care of ourselves.
“We could leave the house for hours, and there was literally no way for our parents to contact us,” he added. “No phone. No tracking. Nothing.”
And none of it struck us as strange. As Osborn said, “It was just our childhood.”
People chimed in with their own memories of things that sound baffling today, most of which fell under a handful of categories:
So. Much. Smoking.
One of the most drastic changes in society over the past few generations is the drop in smoking. I’ve tried to explain to my Gen Z kids how ubiquitous smoking was, and these comments illustrate it perfectly:
“Making an ashtray in art class!”
“There was smoking areas in high school.”
“Teachers and students would smoke together in my school’s smoking section.”
“Parent smoking in the car with the windows up.”
“They had cigarette machines back then so everyone could buy them. Everyone smoked. Ashtrays everywhere.”
“The amount of secondhand smoke that I breathed during the late 70s and early 80s was wild and nobody even cared.”
“My entire childhood was lived in a smoke cloud. Especially during a holiday!! We literally had nicotine coming down the walls! Had no idea I smelled like a cigarette until I moved out.”
We had so much responsibility so very young
Not sure what the adults were thinking, but apparently they believed we were capable and responsible at shockingly young ages.
“Dropped off at an outdoor pool at age 7 and left there all day with money to buy junk food there with.”
“Age 6 at the roller rink for the day.”
“Selling cookies door to door alone on my bike at 8. Also babysitting at 9.”
“Paper routes. I had 52 papers to deliver everyday by myself at age 10.”
“Running the whole house at 11 years old. Cooking, cleaning, laundry.”
“Babysitting for money at age 11…it was 3 kids that lived 5 blocks over, walked there and back at night.”
Car and bike safety, say what?
We were lucky if we had a lap belt. There were no 5-point harnesses, no backward car seats, no booster seats. And bike helmets? Ha.
“Not wearing a seatbelt.”
“I used to lay in the back windshield when we were going 60-70 on the interstate.”
“Holding my dad’s beer while he drove.”
“Drunk dads driving you home after babysitting.”
“No seatbelt, even let you steer if they were in a good mood.”
“Being really little and sitting in the front seat of the car. No seatbelt only Mom or Dad’s arm to keep us from hitting the dash when they slammed on the breaks.”
“Holding the baby while riding in the back seat. No car seats or seat belts. It wasn’t a newborn—Mom held the newborn in the front seat because we weren’t crazy.”
“Riding in the back of a pickup was completely normal.”
“No helmets when riding bikes. I still can’t wear one.”
So much freedom to roam unsupervised
Did Boomers even parent Gen Xers at all? They did, but supervision was not really part of the parenting plan.
“Being dropped off at the mall when it opened and picked up when it closed. I was 10.”
“Running all over neighborhood & woods all day. Parents had no idea where we were.”
“Drinking from the water hose outside because we weren’t allowed in the house til dark and the street lights came on.”
“Not even asking if I could, just shouting, ‘going to ride my bike’ and leaving the house not even knowing if mom or dad heard me. Free to roam wherever I wanted and for as long as I wanted.”
“I remember leaving all day on my bike, riding to the next city in fact. No lunch bag, no water bottle, going to the city pool for the entire day it was open, ALONE, lol. Sounds unspeakable now. Gen X is definitely the last of the best problem solvers.”
“Yes the ‘It’s 10 o’clock, do U know where Ur children are?’ probably saved a few of us.”
Ah, the nostalgia of it all. Of course, we would never parent our own children this way. We’re far too aware and wise for that. But there is something to be said for the skills and qualities we gained from our wild Gen X childhoods.
Follow Rick Osborn on TikTok for more Gen X content.
