So there's some interesting things coming out in the age differences thread.
I grew up in a town where 1/4 of the kids didn't have/weren't permitted to watch TV on top of a number of other very strict (religiously based) rules. I recently found out that on Superbowl days the kids would rent a hotel room to watch TV - once the cops were called since they were rowdy. Booze? Drugs? Nope! Just a bunch of local kids watching TV for like the 10th time in their lives.
I was lucky - just "trash tv" was banned, hours on the computer were limited (but I was a nerd and figured out ways around everything), and food was to be healthy and organic. I used to joke that my teenage rebellion was going to be taking shots of Miracle Grow.
So, how were things in your family/town?
Re: s/o Age Difference: Crazy growing up stories...
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a big suburb of Atlanta so I have no idea, I don't think there was anything weird like that. My family wasn't like that, we could watch what we wanted, within reason (no R rated movies or anything).
Well, I'm old, so when I was growing up we had:
four TV channels
No computers (they were around, but not mainstream at all)
No Internet
No mobile phones that weren't the size of a cinder block and cost $$$$
I think VCRs were mainstream but it cost $120 to join the local video store and it cost $20+ to actually rent the movie.
I remember when cable TV was introduced. My mom treated it like it was the work of the devil. But we did eventually get it.
South-west New Hampshire.
That was the great battle in my house. Dad wanted satellite so bad (no cable on my dirt road) but Mom held firm. Everything changed when she went to Russia for the first time - the deal was if she went, Dad could get satellite. The moment she walked out the door dad was on the phone to DirecTV!
My parents weren't strict at all really. I had boundaries and I knew them, but I really did whatever I wanted. I think since I'm the youngest of 3 I got away with a lot more. My brother and sister were kind of wild in their teens and I was an angel compared to them.
I remember my sister and I roller skating around in our driveway when I was probably 8 or so to George Michael's "I want your sex" lol.. How embarrassing. My mom didn't know that's what we were listening to.
I can't remember exactly why mom caved, but it was fairly swift and painless.
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
We didn't have cable at my house until I was 20. My boyfriend and I used to hang out a lot at my house, and we watched a lot of- ready? PBS.
My mom felt that her parents totally smothered her, so she tried really hard to let me do lots of things. Since my parents were divorced, my dad didn't have a lot of input in my growing up.
Elenetxu- I'm really surprised that your community was so strict in NH. My stepmother's sister is in Keene, and I've always seen that area as highly tolerant.
Keene is my big city! I'm from a town in the region where there's a lot of Finnish conservative Christians and that's the region things were so strict. A lot of the younger generation today is getting into the same trouble as the non-Finns so I think the old ways may be out the window.
We must be close in age! Same as the above for me. No remote controls, no computers, even cordless phones were just emerging when I was young. We were one of the first families at my school to have MTV though- that was pretty special!