New all time low in fashion

[loveallthingsitalian]

Clear plastic high heels - my favourite even though they were rubbish and really weren’t intended for a chubby child to clop around in.

We did have annuals but I wasn’t too fussed as I had them read in half an hour but we did get weekly comics which we shared between us and swapped.

My father had to go away for work a couple of times a year and occasionally (certainly not every time) would bring back a present. because he wasn’t constrained by my practical mother he would bring unusual things like gyroscopes. I loved kaleidoscopes and roller skates.

Equally I spent hours with a skipping rope, hop scotch (really cheap old polish tin and chalk) bouncing 2 balls off a wall singing rhymes and doing fancy turns and catches, none of which cost more than pennies.

 

[Twirl58]

Clear plastic high heels - my favourite even though they were rubbish and really weren’t intended for a chubby child to clop around in.

We did have annuals but I wasn’t too fussed as I had them read in half an hour but we did get weekly comics which we shared between us and swapped.

My father had to go away for work a couple of times a year and occasionally (certainly not every time) would bring back a present. because he wasn’t constrained by my practical mother he would bring unusual things like gyroscopes. I loved kaleidoscopes and roller skates.

Equally I spent hours with a skipping rope, hop scotch (really cheap old polish tin and chalk) bouncing 2 balls off a wall singing rhymes and doing fancy turns and catches, none of which cost more than pennies.

Oh I always wanted those plastic shoes! I was born with flat feet and had to visit the hospital chiropractic department for years and only allowed Clarkes lace up shoes that had to be adapted by the hospital so those plastic heels were not for me
My Mum favoured comfort over style so I couldn't even trot around in her shoes like the other girls.
Actually after listing all my ailments the other day I sound like Quasimodo!

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

My mum was a unfussy practical person but she had a weakness for very very high heels but wouldn’t let us use them to play.

My uncle married later and his wife was the most laid back person on the planet and let us dress up in her wedding dress to play weddings!

 

[Vienna]

Oh I loved the plastic play shoes I had and Mum bought them from Woolworth for me.
When my oldest granddaughter was little she had one of those plastic play houses and loved dressing up. I bought her a shoe wardrobe of play shoes similar to these in the link and she loved them.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8373014?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=ixilqpixq&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59130%7cacid:289-152-2757%7ccid:599609992%7cagid:24126986217%7ctid:aud-641224040337:pla-1079432869632%7ccrid:94168542777%7cnw:g%7crnd:16705482189511234605%7cdvc:c%7cadp:%7cmt:%7cloc:9046518&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=599609992&utm_term=&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=24126986217&utm_custom2=289-152-2757&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkcGutJDM8AIVRoXVCh3XEQXZEAQYASABEgKoa_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Twilight]

I am an only child too. Many hours drawing and reading on my own. My favourite was my teddy bear too, and I still have him, although he is now completely bald, loved to death! He lives in the overhead cupboard above my bed.

All teddies should to be loved that much. I have always loved bears & one of my most important charities is one dedicated to rescuing bears from bile farms & other horrors. I have a Wendy Boston bear, he was Big Ted, my sister's was, no imagination wasted, Little Ted & they arrived one Christmas in the most wonderful black, pink & white puppet theatre type boxes. BT sits on the settle in the hall along with Teddy Apricot who belonged to my granny; he got packed away during a house move & spent three years in a bin bag, I didn't like the house & probably had much the same experience so when I found him I said that whenever we went away, even if only for one night, he'd come with us. 33 years later he's a well travelled bear.

 

[Twirl58]

All teddies should to be loved that much. I have always loved bears & one of my most important charities is one dedicated to rescuing bears from bile farms & other horrors. I have a Wendy Boston bear, he was Big Ted, my sister's was, no imagination wasted, Little Ted & they arrived one Christmas in the most wonderful black, pink & white puppet theatre type boxes. BT sits on the settle in the hall along with Teddy Apricot who belonged to my granny; he got packed away during a house move & spent three years in a bin bag, I didn't like the house & probably had much the same experience so when I found him I said that whenever we went away, even if only for one night, he'd come with us. 33 years later he's a well travelled bear.

My Ted came from a Butlins holiday camp. My Nan, Grandad and 2 aunts went to a different one every year back in the 60s. They always brought us home a present and I can remember sitting on the front doorstep waiting for the taxi to bring them home - they lived next door to us.
One year I knitted Ted a little Liverpool football strip and when I was in senior school the boys went to Wembley to watch a football match and one of them brought me back a Liverpool badge that Ted wears proudly.
And yes, he is with Janet in the rocking chair.

All teddies should to be loved that much. I have always loved bears & one of my most important charities is one dedicated to rescuing bears from bile farms & other horrors. I have a Wendy Boston bear, he was Big Ted, my sister's was, no imagination wasted, Little Ted & they arrived one Christmas in the most wonderful black, pink & white puppet theatre type boxes. BT sits on the settle in the hall along with Teddy Apricot who belonged to my granny; he got packed away during a house move & spent three years in a bin bag, I didn't like the house & probably had much the same experience so when I found him I said that whenever we went away, even if only for one night, he'd come with us. 33 years later he's a well travelled bear.

 

[Anna]

You rarely see young children with dolls and prams these days. Right from toddler age they`re glued to a tablet of some kind or their parent`s mobile phone and watching cartoons or something on iplayer or you tube. They do tablets specifically for very young children. Board games are another thing they rarely do, things such as Ludo or Snakes and Ladders.
I remember getting a childs version of a Silver Cross pram one Christmas. It was white with a pink hood and cover and had an oval shaped transfer of pink roses on the side of it. I also got a baby doll which had a pot head, no real hair just pretend curls moulded into the pot head and she came dressed with a matching coat and dress and bootees.
After Christmas dinner my Dad would get out the games compendium which was in a wooden box and the boards were wood too. Snakes and ladders, Ludo, Draughts, Tiddlywinks or we`d play Snap or Happy Families.
Rupert Annual, Beano, Dandy , new pencil crayons and a colouring book or a jigsaw would be played with at the end of the day and just before bedtime when Mum wanted us to quieten down after a very early morning to see if Father Christmas had been.
When I see kids the same age nowadays from toddlers to 7/8 year olds, many of them don`t actually seem to know how to play especially when they`re alone. No imaginary tea parties with plastic tea sets, no dressing their dolly and other toy friends and talking to them or playing teachers and sitting them in rows whilst telling them 2+2 makes 4. No quiet time with pencils, paper, paints, jigsaws and what saddens me most of all is just how many kids don`t love or like books. No playing marbles with a sibling or a parent or rolling ping ping balls into a propped up colander and calling it table football because you didn`t have the real thing.
No fancy dressing up outfits but pretending to be a Princess whilst wearing an old net curtain, your sister`s hairband, Mum`s shoes and some plastic flowers your Mum had got free with Daz washing powder.
Making dens under the big old table and using a clothes maiden and a sheet as the entrance, playing with Mum`s button tin and using different sized buttons to make a necklace or going outside with an old clothes line whilst skipping to your friends singing "one two three O`leary"
And so it goes on and on, memories rarely rekindled nowadays because many kids are old before they`ve been young or their imagination is rarely used because they don`t have to create games, dressing up outfits, pretend kitchens made from cardboard boxes, dens under a table etc etc etc. They have the real McCoy handed to them on a plate and their idea of quiet time is to log onto the internet or 24/7 TV channels. Yes I know kids need to be tech savvy these days but I also think they also need to learn how to play and how to occupy themselves in a creative imaginary way. Call me old fashioned.

Vienna you have just basically described my childhood. Oh, such happy memories.

 

[alter ego]

Mine wasn't. I was nice to all my toys. Friends with grubby My Little Ponies were viewed by me with disdain.

I was nice to all of mine, too. I once drew something in biro on one of my dolls. I couldn't get it off, neither could my mum. After that, I treated everything like spun glass.

 

[alter ego]

Vienna you have just basically described my childhood. Oh, such happy memories.

Mine, too. I feel so sorry for kids these days.

I was a real tomboy who would never wear skirts or dresses are I wanted to ride my bike and, later, my pony (the joys of living in the middle of nowhere meant our garden was big enough to keep one in!).

I'd play with my older brother's leftover toys and read his leftover annuals (and re-read them over and over, just as I do with favourite books now). I loved Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes but loathed the 'modern' versions (still do).

Then I grew into a teen and discovered boys, makeup, hair and heels. If I'd been born just a few years ago I'd have been trotted off to a trans clinic and fed hormones!

Parents of a two-and-a-half-year-old were on This Morning last week declaring him/her Britain's youngest trans child. WTAF! Toddler declares interest in firefighters and police officers then parents push, sorry, 'encourage' the little girl to be 'trans' by cutting her hair and giving her boys toys and clothes.

They need locking up.

Kids today will never know the joy we all had.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

When I was a child I wanted to be a ballerina which considering ive 2 left feet and was never the right shape was pissing in the wind. i also wanted a horse but we had 3 sq ft garden.

No child of that age has the ability to know what they want. IMHO procedures should not even be talked about until mid teens.

 

[Twilight]

When I was a child I wanted to be a ballerina which considering ive 2 left feet and was never the right shape was pissing in the wind. i also wanted a horse but we had 3 sq ft garden.

No child of that age has the ability to know what they want. IMHO procedures should not even be talked about until mid teens.

You're absolutely right. I was either Anne of Green Gables, Jo from Little Women, Lady Penelope or a girl called Damaris who had fallen from a tree & was thought to be paralysed - my mum was horrified by this! I was also convinced that houses had feelings. I don't know what age we are when we discover our gender, even though adults call us boy or girl it's just a word. We have four grandchildren, one we still haven't met, the three older ones do much the same activities - art, games, outdoor play however, the only boy is really good at complicated jigsaws & his Lego sets are for children much older than him so his thought processes do appear to be different from those of his sister & cousin.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Anne of GG - the best book ever , followed by The Katy books and Little Women. Would kids even consider these books nowadays or is it a case of starting young enough? Still as long as they read it doesn't matter. I’m amazed at how many young well educated colleagues never read at all - a book is taken on holiday and brought back unopened.

I had an imaginary friend “Rosie” which I think I continued with longer than necessary as she was at my grans house and she would give me the odd treat from Rosie!

 

[Vienna]

I loved all of the books people have mentioned and I must mention The Borrowers, I loved those books when I was young.
When I first met Mr V his grand daughters were quite young. One of them was mad about ponies and horses and she was lucky enough to have one. She was about 9 at the time and I asked her had she ever read Black Beauty ? Her answer was and I kid you not, "who?".
I explained the basics about Black Beauty and the following week I bought her a copy. It was a lovely hard backed copy with great illustrations but to this day I don`t think she ever read it.
She left school with poor qualifications, went on to do hair and beauty at college and could never find a job because there were so many doing the same course and not enough vacancies in the area plus to be honest she was only mediocre at it. Her Mum has divorced her Dad and married her boss who owns his own business so Mr V`s granddaughter who`se now 21 "helps out " in the office.
She can text , do selfies, apply her face slap, read her social media and do online shopping from Boo Hoo in her sleep but I doubt she`s ever read a book.

 

[Silver Fox]

Heidi was one of my favourites and gave me the determination to visit Switzerland which was not a disappointment.Noddy when I was younger, are they still around?Girl comic was a weekly treat and the annual at Christmas.We were so lucky not to have social media!

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Oh yes Heidi and of course the ladybird books and Noddy who is now on the naughty step for being too non PC. (I remember when PC was a personal computer!)

Forgot - the Famous 5 and the Secret 7 - loved them!

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Just realised how far this has gone from the original thread!

I love it but one recent poster complained so I hope everyone is ok with it

 

[Clothescloth]

I loved Enid Blyton books. Mallory Towers was my favourite,my children loved the Faraway Tree books, but I fear she is no longer pc.

 

[alter ego]

I loved Enid Blyton books. Mallory Towers was my favourite,my children loved the Faraway Tree books, but I fear she is no longer pc.

I loved EB books, too, especially her fairy tales and re-telling of mythology. I was trying to explain to Mr. AE how her books triggered a love of plants for me because of her tales of fairies hiding their slippers amongst nettles and why primrose leaves are wrinkled.

Sadly, everything is un-pc these days.

I read a book about horses called "King of the Wind" from the school library as a child. The illustrations were beautiful. It took me years to track it down. I managed to get a paperback version without the illustrations but the joy I had when finding a hardback... it was better than I'd imagine winning the lottery!

Children these days don't seem to have books which is a shame. J. K. Rowling did an amazing job of creating readers from children that had never picked a book up. I hope she keeps writing so more children will keep reading. If, of course, parents haven't 'cancelled' her for supporting women (she's written a heartfelt open letter about it on her website if anyone's interested).

Honestly, I wouldn't give many parents a goldfish to bring up! The 'bringing up' is a clue as the current fashion of letting a child dictate the home when they don't even know the Green Cross Code is begging for trouble.

Apologies for going off the thread subject. Again.

 

[SusieSue]

Oh yes Heidi and of course the ladybird books and Noddy who is now on the naughty step for being too non PC. (I remember when PC was a personal computer!)

Forgot - the Famous 5 and the Secret 7 - loved them!

I remember when PC meant a Police Constable!

I loved the Famous Five, I wanted to be George and I'm sure Timmy started my life long love of dogs.

 

[alter ego]

When I was a child I wanted to be a ballerina which considering ive 2 left feet and was never the right shape was pissing in the wind. i also wanted a horse but we had 3 sq ft garden.

No child of that age has the ability to know what they want. IMHO procedures should not even be talked about until mid teens.

I also wanted to be a ballerina. Or a princess. Very much pissing in the wind as sadly, I also have two left feet. I am also the only woman in four generations without a lovely singing voice.

The method behind the madness is parents thinking that going through puberty will 'spoil' the child's chances of getting to be the opposite sex so they feed them puberty blockers. No one actually knows what the long-term effects of these drugs will be, especially on fertility. Many who have gone through this have said they've felt pushed by parents unwilling to accept their child's sexuality. It's more fashionable to have a trans child than a gay child.

When I worked at the GUM clinic some time ago we started seeing young women coming in asking for help. Our attached counsellor was worried about the number of girls coming in desperately trying to be gay simply because they thought identifying as a male was easier than coping with the attention from boys and men and having to cope with demands created by online porn.

I do apologise for the feminist rant again but it's not simply down to that. Where is the parenting these days for boys? Why aren't they being brought up to be respectful (not just to girls)? I understand that porn is freely available and peer pressure pushing them to look at it but why aren't parents (and schools) teaching kids that online porn imagery is as unreal as fairy tales?

If EB and Disney films are being deemed un-pc, why isn't porn? I've seen from my daughter and niece, my job at the GUM, listening to friends and reading online forums that porn has had a huge negative effect on kids of both sexes. Boys that dislike what they see and understand the harm have as rough a time from the 'macho' boys as the girls. No wonder kids are trying to escape reality.

Mental health WILL be a huge problem for the generation growing up now. Not so much because of Covid but because of lazy parents. I love the shared (and old-fashioned apparently) ideas of childhood, parenting and grand-parenting we have here. I just get depressed about the rest of the UK and the world in general.

Again, sorry for the thread hijack but I don't really have anything to add about Q's fashion that hasn't already been said