Two weeks ago, I shared photos from my childhood and asked everyone to submit their own throwback photos for a contest sponsored by Munchkin. I wanted to contrast how different parenting is today from how parenting was back in the 70s and 80s. Not only did our parents have to make due without Miracle 360° Cups and Arm & Hammer scented diaper pails, most of them didn’t even have car seats or a respectable fashion sense!
Looking through the photo submissions, it became more and more clear. All our parents should be in jail.
Here are 30 things our parents did that should have been totally illegal:
1) They let us ride bikes without helmets
2) They let us ride bikes without helmets naked
3) They used us to improve their television reception
4) They didn’t care if we lost our fingers
5) They sent us into alligator infested swamps with nothing but a tube and a paddle
6) They forced us to all wear coordinating t-shirts
7) They made us ride in the trunk with guns and dead animals
8) They carted our high chairs around the house with a dolly
9) They dressed us in Underoos like it was outerwear
10) They forced us to go to Brownies against our will
11) They stuffed our play pens with bears large enough to suffocate us
12) They trapped us in walkers on wheels and let us loose in split level homes
13) They let us go roller skating in rainbow colored latex onesies
14) They propped our bottles with pillows so they wouldn’t actually have to hold us
15) They filled our bottles with apple juice
16) They let us drink soda
17) They let us relax with a beer
18) They let us drink beer straight from a keg while wearing nothing but a diaper
19) They cloaked us in dead animals
20) They made us get matching bowl cuts
21) They bought us toys that doubled as fire hazards
22) They let us swing so long we lost circulation in our legs
23) They called this a car seat
24) They attached our car seats with rope
25) They threw those “car seats” in the front seat
25) Car seats? WHO NEEDS CAR SEATS???
27) They thought four kids hanging out the back window of a station wagon was a great idea
28) They piled us all in the back of a pick-up
29) They didn’t use bouncer straps correctly
30) They didn’t Use bike seat straps at all!
31) They gave us Ogilvy Home Perms
32) When they weren’t giving us mullets
33) They let us pet real life lions
34) They smoked while they were holding us
35) They let us smoke
36) They dressed us like retired kindergarten teachers
37) They took us on boats without life jackets
38) They filled our cribs with every flammable object imaginable
39) They thought introducing solids meant a slice of pizza
40) They let our older siblings drag us from their bicycles by a long rope down a main road
41) They put us in outfits like this and called it easter
Seriously— How the hell are we all alive and well today??? Luck, I think. Pure luck. That, and probably our parents did a few things right. Like love us and make sure we didn’t starve.
Thanks, Mom and Dad!
For 57 more photos that would get our parents arrested if they were taken today, click here.
If you’d like to submit a throwback photo that might get your parents in trouble, post them on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page or tag @mommyshorts and @munchkininc on Instagram with the hashtag #whenweweremunchkins.
Throughout this contest, I am randomly awarding six parents who post Throwback photos with $100 gift cards from Munchkin.
You can read the full rules here.
You can use those $100 Munchkin gift cards to purchase innovative products for your kids like plates that turn white when your baby’s food is too hot and pacifiers that beat like Mom’s heart. Below are 17 products from Munchkin that make parenting easier, safer, cleaner and less likely to land you in jail.
1) White Hot® Infant Spoons 2) Day & Night Light Musical Auto Mirror 3) Click Lock® Bite Proof Sippy Cup 4) Arm & Hammer™ Diaper Pail by Munchkin 5) Mist™ Wipe Warmer 6) Miracle 360° Cup 7) Click Lock® Weighted Flexi-Straw Cup 8) Lulla-Vibe™ Vibrating Pad 9) Click Lock® Super Suction Bowl 10) Grippy Dots 11) White Hot® Sun Safety Shades 12) LATCH™ 4oz Bottle 13) Deluxe Fresh Food Feeder 14) LATCH™ Heartbeat Pacifier with Clip 15) Click Lock® Deluxe Snack Catcher® 16) Auto Close Designer Gate 17) White Hot® Bowls.
Are you ready for the first three winners?
This kid with the baby wearing dad— talk about forward thinking!
These children about to be attacked by a monkey in a diaper:
And these twins sleeping comfortably in their molded plastic carseats:
Congrats all! Please contact abby@mommyshorts.com to claim your prizes.
We’ve got three more winners to announce next week so keep those questionable throwback photos coming!
I promise not to report anybody’s parents.
If you like this post, follow Mommy Shorts on Facebook. Want Mommy Shorts delivered daily or weekly to your inbox?
———————————————-
This post was sponsored by Munchkin but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Munchkin rids the world of the mundane by developing clever, innovative solutions that make family life safer, easier, and more fun. You can find Munchkin products at Munchkin.com, Target, Babies’R’Us, Walmart and Amazon. It’s the little things!
Not to point fingers or anything, but look at that cross-eyed drunk baby in #15! That is CLEARLY not apple juice in that bottle!
Do you have kids? That just looks like a tired baby to me.
Who is the guy in 34, he looks like me but I don’t smoke or have a kid. At least not back then.
#25 The string on the hood of the coat….now a days there aren’t any children’s coats or jackets with a string….choking/hanging hazard.
picture **41** i don’t think needs to be made fun of, it’s not me nor anyone i know, but my father had died and besides 2 toys each at Christmas and if we were lucky enough hand me down clothes…When we got those clothes we thought we were so lucky to have been chosen, now back to **41** when we got to pick our on outfit at ñichols with hat,shoes,pursé we ẃere on cloud 9 we didn’t knoẃ who the ladies were but we thank them and wrote them a nice little card..
[…] Following her interview, Wiles asked readers to submit childhood throwback pictures and expected an influx of cute vintage baby pictures. Instead, the mom was surprised to receive tons of photos of kids riding in the beds of pickup trucks, playing with firecrackers and biking without helmets. "It was so interesting to look at nostalgic photos that most of us can totally identify with our childhoods and realize what extreme danger we now consider most of these things," she said. Wiles compiled some of the images into a post called "41 Photos That Would Get Our Parents Arrested If They Were Taken Today," that later went viral. […]
On the other hand the Gov. has control of your life …..next they will force you to feed their food to your kids like Medicine F.D.A. approved…..That kills …OOOOPS not again………..I grew up like the pics you see and I’m fine as are all i know and I’m 70 now sooooo’
Proving any clueless asshole can use Word on a fucking computer. What a crock of utter horseshit , every fucking picture!
[…] Following her interview, Wiles asked readers to submit childhood throwback pictures and expected an influx of cute vintage baby pictures. Instead, the mom was surprised to receive tons of photos of kids riding in the beds of pickup trucks, playing with firecrackers and biking without helmets. “It was so interesting to look at nostalgic photos that most of us can totally identify with our childhoods and realize what extreme danger we now consider most of these things,” she said. Wiles compiled some of the images into a post called “41 Photos That Would Get Our Parents Arrested If They Were Taken Today,” that later wen… […]
11) I’d be more concerned about that baby pulling the pen down on herself along with its contents, one of which is a toy vehicle that looked like it could hurt her if it ever landed on her with force.
21) Lite-Brite was a fire hazard?
31) I faill to see what’s wrong with her hairdo.
33) That cat must have been heavily sedated. Or stuffed.
I know this is an old post, but Lite-Brite used to catch on fire when it first came out. So did Easy Bake Ovens. That’s why my mom wouldn’t buy them for me. It took a while, but they corrected the problems.
11) I’d be more concerned about that baby pulling the pen down on herself along with its contents, one of which is a toy vehicle that looked like it could hurt her if it ever landed on her with force.
21) Lite-Brite was a fire hazard?
31) I fail to see what’s wrong with her hairdo.
33) That cat must have been heavily sedated. Or stuffed.
And now we raise a nation of wimpy children. Call a wahmbulance.
We were also able to walk through the neighborhood and play outside in creeks and built forts in the woods with our friends.
We were active..not fat lazy spoiled little shits.
We had respect and manners. Now rude and disrespectful..
exactly
Correcto Mundo
Agreed, other than the smoking and beer one. What was spose to be wrong with the pictures? My mom and dad turned out fine and so did I.
I totally agree that everyone is a bit overly safety concious. Some people dont let their kids be independent at all. Anything they whine for is given to them. Not very gd results i think our parents had a better idea cuz they might have fucked us up a lil bit but i think we r doin worse. Obesity wasnt a common thing during childhood like it is now. Ive also been told by a 7yr old at my kids bus stop to shut the fuck up. Omg my mom woulda killed me if i said that!
You also need to realize, the parents that are raising these wimpy kids are some of the parents that were raised like this.
I would have shown the kid what f–k means, girl or boy it is still a nice tight hole
Wish I had photos of us riding on running boards, lol. And when my kids were born we had car beds not seats. The only thing holding them in were the blankets tucked around them. Loved all the pics, no fault from me. Ty.
Ahhh, the good old days! I laughed and laughed at these pictures. I had a great childhood, wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Ditto
Who posted photo 17 of the 41 that would get parents arrested today? That kid looks like my son!!!
He looks identical to my brother too!
38) they put us to sleep on our stomachs
Well, if you saw how your grandparents raised your parents, you’d be wondering how it was even possible you were born!
We are still alive!!!!!
I thought one was Harlow drinking beer!
I do remember looking at the photos and wondering the cause of death for each of my Grandparents .2 I knew the exact cause of death. Sent for coy of death certificates to how get official certified. I see that I will need additional information.
[…] 41 things parents used to do that would get them arrested if they did them today. LOVE these photos. Kids today are missing out. […]
Immediately after reading the article on this page, the following article popped up on FB… showing what can happen when we parent the way our parents did… 🙁 This mom let her guard down when going back to her home town to visit family and…….. then the police became involved.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/03/the_day_i_left_my_son_in_the_car/
Most of these are pure stupidity. All except a couple, I would never had done and I raised my kids in the 70’s!
That baby is not drunk. For heavens sake he was most likely mid closing his eyes. Get a grip folks.
You can make fun of all this stuff if you want, but it was all in style at the moment. 30-40 years from now, your kids will laugh at you..
People worked hard back in the day to get what they could. I do not appreciate some of your comments.
Miss Pernickity, it’s all in good fun. Get a sense of humor. Stop crying.
Literally NONE of these things will get you arrested today. Good grief.
Picture 14, parents may not prop bottles today to feed kids but they certainly do not cuddle them when they carry them everywhere in plastic buckets and in 16, at least the kid with the soda is capable of using a straw, not using the insipid cups that so many put the Kool aid in. As to #9, when these underoo things were popular, I put them under my sons clothes and when I picked hi.m up from the nursery each day, they were always on the outside, mysteriously migrated during the day. He also thought that somehow, the addition of a towel tucked in the shoulders would gve hm the power to fly like Superman or scale walls like Spiderman.
Hey at least our parents were obviously keeping an eye on us to take these pictures and I thank them for that! Our parents cared enough to take pictures of these fun times and it’s sad that so many people think this stuff is sooo dangerous and not plain hysterical! I like to think I’m raising my kids like my parents raised me and based on the reactions from my 20, 16, and 15 year old daughters, I’m doing a good job. They thought the pics were all hysterical too! BTW There weren’t ANY obese kids or kids with “issues” where I grew up., unlike today where you see them EVERYWHERE…just stating some facts that my kids pointed out to me….
what’s wrong with Apple juice in a bottle or watered down aj
I wouldn’t think too far into this one. I understand that wearing a fancy outfit for Easter made you feel special. I don’t think the intent here was to take away from how special any of these memories are. I think #41 was intended to poke fun at the fashion era and not at any memories associated with the clothes. You were indeed lucky to have someone to make your day so special as many of us were. Unfortunately at that age, I hated dresses and hats and couldn’t wait to change into shorts to climb a tree, but even so, you are absolutely right….it was nice to know someone cared.
And I’m like HARLOWS DRINKING A FUCKING BEER ?!? She’s only 2?!?
And I’m like HARLOWS DRINKING A FUCKING BEER ?!? She’s only 2?!? Ugh who is that kid
And none of these kids are pussy liberals…
Yea, just cock sucking right wing nut jobs. Fuck off jason.
bahahahaha, so true. I remember my mom telling me that we sat in cardboard boxes in the car on the way home from the hospital cause she had to hold my baby sister who was just born.
So VERY true!
[…] 41 PHOTOS THAT WOULD GET OUR PARENTS ARRESTED IF THEY WERE TAKEN TODAY […]
How the hell did we EVER survive? LOL!
its funny these days how much people over protect not just kids, but everyone… This is unsafe, and that is inappropriate… Kids from the 80’s are still alive and kicking, and had a hell of a lot of fun growing up… Because we got out there and did things, not just looked everything up on a computer or tablet… There’s reality and virtual reality… Everyone needs to unplug and live… Just saying…
I laughed and laughed! So many good memories. 🙂
Gotta say that nearly all of these pictures are of situations neither my grandparents 1895-1965 nor my own parents 1920-2005 nor I 1946-present nor my own children 1981-present would ever have been part of. Awfully stupid. Jeez.
Jeez people, for any of you who don’t find these photos in the least bit funny – can you please remove that large stick up your a$$? It’s obviously obstructing your judgement.
I’m with you….my gosh….everything has to be so “protected” now a days…but, those bumps, bruises made us stronger…and….we grew up fine!! Maybe if we toughened up our kids today, they wouldn’t be so sick and overweight…
***Kids left in car (or home) while parents went for
“A Few” in the local watering hole.
Kids playing and looking out of pickup
camper window while driving.
Kids playing and lying down on back
seat window in a car while driving.
But yes… Yaz have to have a bit of
humour while reminiscing…
Some kids from the 70s and 80s are alive, some were injured or died as a result of some of the things pictured here. It’s ridiculous to say that we all ran around with no consequences, and that somehow, out of the blue, people just decided to make things safer for their kids.
Are our kids any safer today? No. Now there are other things for them to get into. Kids today still get injured or die for reasons we trust. Often times, car seats are not strapped in right, (or the child isn’t) A lot of our children are allowed out until all hours of the night, some “mature” girls walk around half naked, and yes, the overweight kids. The list goes on and on. There will never be a perfect world, but there will always be something to laugh at in just pure innocence.
all girls should be nkd 24/7 until 16
Oh come on!! if these comments cannot be read with the intention in which they were posted….to make a point that we were not surrounded by cotton our entire childhood for protection….then they shouldn’t be red or commented on. why do people have to take this crap so seriously and PERSONALLY. which is part of the point…I believe anyway…people should stop trying to be so dang politically correctand others should stop expecting it
Guilty of #14, and maybe #15 :p
[…] via mommyshorts […]
[…] via mommyshorts […]
[…] via mommyshorts […]
This article seems disrespectful. It’s not amusing to me at all. It was a different time back then, and we all did the best we could for our kids.
[…] Zahvaljujući vašim roditeljima vi ste baš ono što jeste danas i na tome im veliko hvala! Moći ćete videti još ovih slika i primera na blogu Mommyshorts. […]
I mean seriously it that all you people ever do is pick apart everything. No not everything back then nor now is safe but guess what people they lived heck way back in the day there were no car seats seatbelts and guess what they lived to tell us stories. Less crime n such back then …those were awesome days not Like today…I would much rather still be living like that than what society and living is today !!!!
Yes back then our kids could play with match box cars and other toys and they weren’t toxic! Now we have safer carseats and cribs. We don’t let kids do things that we did but everything is toxic! Our food, toys our air and environments
[…] Credit to: MommyShorts […]
[…] quieres reírte un rato, aquí hay muchas más fotos antiguas de cosas que solían hacer habitualmente con los niños y los bebés que violan todo tipo de […]
I grew up with this kind of stuff and I grew up okay! My mother was one of 7 kids who all turned out fine… now there’s a plethora of pregnancy books out there to explain to young clueless mothers how to deal with just one child. My grandparents (AND parents) didn’t have or need something so silly to raise their children.
These corporations and the media love to put the fear of god into the public these days with their fear mongering over every little thing being “dangerous” to them and their children. It’s turned us into a society of hypochondriacs controlled by phobias on top of being too lazy and complacent with life and luxury. Young people today are soft and too sheltered.
[…] Fonte: Mommy Shorts […]
[…] Fonte: Mommy Shorts […]
[…] Image: Mommy Shorts […]
Yeah, Facebook thinks you Mommies are full of shit, too.
https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodLordAbove/posts/1452378474849851?notif_t=notify_me
Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your
website, how could i subscribe for a weblog web site?
The account helped me a acceptable deal.
I were a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered brilliant clear idea
[…] via […]
#13 is a spandex unitard not a latex onesie
I suspect they were doing the best they could at the time. At some stage in the future we will look back to now and think it just as bizarre.
[…] Fonte: Mommy Shorts […]
[…] Photos That Would Get Our Parents Arrested if They Were Taken Today (by Mommy Shorts) is one of the funniest pictorials I’ve seen in a while. You’ll get a big laugh (and revisit a lot of hilarious childhood memories) when you see all the crazy things our parents did with us that we could never get away with today. Bike helmet? What’s a bike helmet? […]
I feel bad for all the children who sacrificed their lives or lost limbs so that children could live safer lives. Without those children no one would have invested time or money into making safer products. Because of them laws were made. They gave thier lives and in exchange saved millions.
Growing up the way we did was without fear, today we fear everything and take no risk. Accidents back then were less than today. We lived life.
YES!!!! We lived and were happy no matter what was going on.
These pictures show that we have become a paranoid, over reacting people that need laws to keep our kids safe.. Ridiculous.
[…] to our friends at Mommyshorts.com for sharing these hilarious pics with […]
[…] —A publicação original foi feita por Ilana do blog Mommy Shorts. […]
Wow. Relax. Get a life. Very few of the things pictured here were evenly remotely “life-threatening” or arrest worthy. Waste of bandwidth.
I have never seen so many post of being butt hurt over old pics. We all survived and no one is pointing fingers. Geez people get a sense of humor and get the stick out of your butt.
Great collection and quite funny! Please reconsider the use of the word retarded. It’s offensive to many. Thanks!
I love coming back to see this every once in awhile when I need a giggle. Honored to have my submission included! :):) #31 yo!
[…] This link is AMAZING. The author proves that if you grew up in the early ’80s, it’s a miracle you are still alive. I personally relate to numbers 28, 36 and 40. […]
[…] 1. 41 Photos That Would Get Our Parents Arrested if They Were Taken Today […]
[…] Mommyshorts je nedavno objavio fotografije koje prikazuju roditeljstvo sedamdesetih i osamdestih godina prošlog veka. Iako iz današnje perspektive većina njih izgleda potpuno sumanuto, i sami nikada ne bismo uradili ništa slično, kada ih pogledamo, zahvalni smo svojim roditeljima na prelepom i bezbrižnom detinjstvu. […]
[…] las recomendaciones prácticas? – De adolescentes kiska el deleite lesbio New York Magazine 41 fotografía, Que Han recibido las bas Nuestro de adolescentes el coño el deleite por los Padres … Shewanted es más grande, más de cuerda, excitante más, más de momentos culminantes, es más […]
Those were the good ol days, Government get out of out life.
The "for science" thing is pretty overdone by now,
How about climbing tall trees?
Picture #38 focused on flammable objects surrounding the baby in a crib, but ALSO, the danger was the baby sleeping face-down to suffacate on its own spitup or smother to death! (But that IS the way we were taught to lay down our babies back then!) Yes, I look back and wonder how my kids turned out so well, but myself? I wonder how I even lived!!!!
Hi,
Well, this is very strange, but the image: “37) They took us on boats without life jackets”, I thought that the woman in the picture was my mom!!!
And even, I send her the picture and many other people think that yes, that is my mother but the two kids are not recognized…
Maybe, could someone tell me if knows the origin of that pic?
It would be great to know something more about that woman!
Pic #20. The kid With the red t-shirt. He looks like my brother. Does anybody know him or the origin of the pic??
Please help!! Thanks!!
I have been reading out some of your stories and i can state pretty clever stuff. I will make sure to bookmark your site.
nike free run http://www.airmax-2017.co.uk
Some things don’t look that different today.
[…] to our friends at Mommyshorts.com for sharing these hilarious pics with […]
[…] to our friends at Mommyshorts.com for sharing these hilarious pics with […]
If you ask me this is why we have a life of soft ass cry baby’s you have taken that much away they are soft as sht i get the idea of a few like the smoking im a farther of 4 i never smoked round my kids but i never took there life away as well one day these soft ass kids you bring up today need to leave home and your not going to be there to help them kids need to be free too and learn some things the hard way but of course as a parent we control how much they are exposed to stop treating them like they are so defenceless you bring up soft idiots i mean come on a coat with a cord on the hood i had a sht load of them im still here today i sat on the back of motor bikes with my farther had no helmet im still here i stood on the side step of his sharper gas van why he drove me round the corner then watched me go back home im still here today stop taking there existence away no wonder they are fixed on pc s and phones and walk round thinking ever thing on line and the news is truth and struggle to talk to some one with out the saying pmpl lol and so on you have taken away the life of growing up not just the safety
I’m not sure that any of these photos would get parents arrested
[…] —A publicação original foi feita por Ilana do blog Mommy Shorts. […]
Just gonna say that only 5 of these are kind of illegal, these are more just a lot of unsafe things parents did tbh
And we all grew up NOT being a bunch of pussies. The American culture today is insanely sterile, thankfully I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, you learned how to be a man, not a spineless, sniveling little twat of today.
[…] Image: Mommy Shorts […]
google.com – #000999uuquuqyshshshx
[…] En mommyshorts.com hicieron una recopilación de fotos que demuestran que la crianza era algo bastante distinto en los años 70`o 80` y que nuestros padres eran algo más despreocupados que en la actualidad. Con sentido del humor, claro, porque nadie puede dudar que los tiempos han… […]
[…] En mommyshorts.com hicieron una recopilación de fotos que demuestran que la crianza era algo bastante distinto en los años 70`o 80` y que nuestros padres eran algo más despreocupados que en la actualidad. Con sentido del humor, claro, porque nadie puede dudar que los tiempos han cambiado… […]
[…] En mommyshorts.com hicieron una recopilación de fotos que demuestran que la crianza era algo bastante distinto en los años 70`o 80` y que nuestros padres eran algo más despreocupados que en la actualidad. Con sentido del humor, claro, porque nadie puede dudar que los tiempos han cambiado… […]
[…] Fuente: momyshorts.com. […]
[…] Throwbacks | izismile.com | bestride.com | Reddit | momyshorts.com | generations.com | infinitegarage.net | Giphy | The […]
[…] Throwbacks | izismile.com | bestride.com | Reddit | momyshorts.com | generations.com | infinitegarage.net | Giphy | The […]
[…] Throwbacks | Izismile | Bestride | Reddit | Momyshorts | Generations | Infinite Garage | Giphy | The […]
The photos are really Awesome! A trip back in time, I love it!
Duanne Rodrigues
Curso de Retrospectiva Animada
I have to know… Who is the girl in #36? I swear that’s me as a kid!! No lie. Lol