Our parents and grandparents grew up in the 1940’s and 1950’s and either lived
though the war or the aftermath left after it. They lived through some of the
worst diseases, Polio, Tuberculosis, Jaundice, Smallpox, Measles, Mumps,
and Rubella, all of which could prove fatal back then. Hundreds of thousands
died of influenza. Cancer diagnosis came late. There was no known cures, no
even then the chances to survive that were extremely slim. How many families
watched their loved ones die in agony despite being dosed up with morphine?
I can’t even imagine the heartbreak of packing my kids off to some complete
Stranger to god knows where during the war, never knowing if I would ever see
Them again.
Mothers struggled to put food on the table, rationing was a weekly occurrence.
You ate what was put in front of you. The alterative was to go hungry.
They sheltered underground during the war until the sirens stopped and many
Would surface to find their homes and possessions completely destroyed.
Kids wouldn’t have a vast array of toys. A piece of wood would suffice as a
Sword or a tommy gun, dolls would be made from stuffed socks.
There was no central heating and they woke to find the same temperature inside
The house as it was outside the house, and the winters were harsher.
They bathed their kids in a tub in front of the downstairs fire, in most households
it was the only warm place in the house.
Pharmacies didn’t exist; they made most of the remedies themselves. Poultices
Would be made with pieces of linen stuffed with herbs and vinegars and placed on
the chest to draw out diseases and infections.
There were no vitamin tablets, inflicting a spoon full of cod liver oil on
their child was the only supplement of the day. Grandparents would often put a
little bit of gin in the milk bottle at night to get babies off to sleep.
Children were MADE to eat and finish school dinners, no matter how vile they
tasted. It was a crime to waste food. You were made to drink your half pint of
milk in the morning at school to build up your calcium level.
Only well-off families possessed a tv in the late fifties. Most families gathered
Around the radio for entertainment. Kids read comics. They played in dumps and
Rubble. Coming home dirty and with bloody knees and scrapes were cured with
a bit of spit on an old hankey.
I listened to many of the hardships experienced by my relatives and despite of it
All they made the best of it. They didn’t want much from life except moments of peace
and happiness.
They instilled a lot of their values into me which have held me in good stead
Throughout my life.
I have tried to be sympathetic, I honestly have, but I cannot get to grips with this
New generation. Perhaps its ‘old Mans’ syndrome?
How can depression, anxiety, ADHD, DMDD, intolerances and other new disorders, many self-diagnosed, or forced to be confirmed to, by some woke GP because it has become fashionable, in a country not at war and everyone living in relative safety, be possible? My Grandparents, sadly long departed now, would be in disbelief Considering what they had endured. We now live in a world where social media is king and at the click of a computer or mobile button some un-qualified 'ne're-to-well will diagnose your family member so that you can attach a specific label to them. No parent wants to feel left out in their circle of friends. If their child has it, then mine must have it too!. It's a great discussion point to smugly agree on during coffee mornings or with work colleagues. Verbally dismissing these conditions has become as much of a taboo as issuing some sort of racial comment, even within your own family. Even though deep down you know its a crock, its better to sit tight-lipped and gaze aimlessly out of the window. I worry that the kids of today will not harden, will not be able to build up the tolerances of my generation and those before me. We're wrapping them up in so much cotton wool I'm sure a light cold will lay them up for weeks on end, or a slight gust of wind will blow them over.
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