THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NOW AND THEN...IN KID WORLD

Life as a kid today is a lot more complicated. The bygone era of a simple childhood has been compromised by many factors.

We decided to have a quick look at the glaring differences.

In yesteryear, we had firecrackers for fun and recreation. Low level explosives and kids were a good fit until we entered a new era of overly protective paranoia. We were not popular with ants and most other insects, but we sure could lay down a nice carpet bomb on their homes. And very few plastic car and plane models managed to survive a good recipe of blockbusters, cherry bombs and lawn mower gasoline.

There was nothing safe about our behavior, but every kid was familiar with the game and most of us got through without skin grafts.

Today all of the explosions occur on a video screen and they are a computer generated replacement for firecrackers. Ants and parents are very happy with this arrangement, even though Junior rarely has to gulp down fresh air in today's world. Instead he can hibernate in a fantasy world where cartoon body counts become a huge part of the daily routine.

We rode bikes everywhere. We set up ramps and took our chances that we would heal fast because we were young. The old style brakes that engaged on our one speed bikes by back pedal pressure rarely worked. We learned defensive riding out of necessity and were confident that Fred Flintstone foot brakes were good enough for every hill in town.

Today a kid is likely to ride a video bike that jumps video canyons and fires video rockets. The only exercise is wrist action and huge econo-sized kids are a byproduct of video bikes instead of real bikes.

We got our first look at nudity from our older brothers' Playboys. We savored the moments even if we didn't quite understand what the actual rules of engagement would be with the centerfold in real life. It was one of life's great mysteries as a kid.

Things are more obvious in today's computer world where even a superficial visit to porno-land will give graphic how-to examples to any kid with access to the 'net.

We came home through a simple communication device in yesteryear: a loud adult voice summoned us from anywhere within earshot. There was no debate about the issue; it was simply the end of play and the start of dinner, homework or bedtime.

Today a kid feels completely disconnected without a cell phone- a real complicated cell phone at that. The beauty of a cell phone for a kid is that he can blame unanswered parent calls on a dead battery.

We got the strap when we were kids. The consequences of bad behavior in school were swift and severe, with possible further repercussions at home.

These days the tie goes to the kid for bad behavior. In fact, teachers and the school system are almost always in the wrong when it comes to a brat in a classroom. Junior may be an evil little b------rd, but not in the eyes of his brain-dead parents.

There are many reasons for us to be nostalgic about our childhood days. Sure the strap wasn't one of them, but it was still a great bygone era to be a kid.

No excessive parental bubble wrap was a big part of that program.

Jim Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com

COMMENTS

DENNIS: "Oh how did we "baby boomers" ever survive? With all cautionary procedures going on these days, my generation should all be dead. We played in trees and often fell out of them, we swam in Polio infested canals with "endangered species" minnows, we played with guns, sometimes real ones! The rest of the time we played with sticks (you could poke your eye out). Our parents all smoked cigarettes, the "second hand smoke" should have killed us all off by now. We never heard of a seat belt, much less a "car seat". The family car put out copious amounts of "smog", there were no catalytic converters, air bags, shoulder harnesses, padded dash boards and all this stuff we can't seem to drive without today. Television was a family treat that went off the air at 11PM, we could actually exist without it, rather than being "out of touch" if we aren't carrying one around in our pocket.Oh, how did my generation survive at all."

SHELLEY:'lol, but boys will be boys my son seems to still find lots to blowup...from multi uses with dry ice to pez & pop to sparkler bombs, stink bombs, and on and on...never an end to what he comes up with...kinda freaky but glad it gets him away from things plugged in!!"

BILLI:"yesteryear???? Ya never met my kids. Come on over!!!!!!"