It's a Wonder We Survived: The Wild World of Parenting Through the Decades

Author image for John Summers
John Summers • Contributor
Mar 22, 2024 12:00 AM EDT

Get ready for a hilarious (and slightly terrifying) trip down memory lane with this collection of photos and anecdotes is a testament to the jaw-droppingly reckless, yet somehow endearing, parenting practices of yesteryears. From toddlers riding bears for fun to entire families perched atop a speeding car, the past was a no-holds-barred adventure in child-rearing.

As we journey through these laugh-out-loud examples, you'll marvel at how we made it through childhood with nothing but a few scratches (and maybe a couple of questionable life lessons). Did your parents let you sample beer at the ripe old age of three? Or perhaps they thought seatbelts were just fancy decorations? Whatever the case, this listicle is a tribute to the wild, wacky, and wonderfully carefree days of parenting in the past. So sit back, relax (but not too much, safety first!), and enjoy a nostalgic chuckle at the good old days.

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  • 01

    "Hold on Timmy, it's got quite a kick!"

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  • 02

    Seems safe

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  • 03
    Parents of the 80s
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  • 04

    Pure pleasure!

    Pure pleasure! dali Seven-Up is so pure...so wholesome! For a fact, you can even give thle sparkling drink to babies-and without any quan Lots of mothers do just that! Just read the ingredience on the 7-Up betile and you why. We're proud to be them for your inspection, even though regulation don't require this on a drinks Seven-Up has a special fresh, clean taste that appeals i veryone at months, nine years or ninety. It's the All- Family Drink! Watch "Soldiers of Fertune" TV ey week Exiting 7-U
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  • 05

    This is peak 80s

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  • 06

    Babies LOVE pepperoni

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  • 07

    Smile next to the marijuana plant!

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  • 08
    "My mother-in-law riding a bear at 2 years old."
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  • 09

    I wonder where he leaned it

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  • 10

    Makes sense

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  • 11

    "If he falls i will catch him!"

    300
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  • 12

    So safe

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  • 13

    ok, but why?!

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  • 14

    Just be back before 10PM

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  • 15

    I actually remember this from my childhood

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  • 16

    Start 'em young

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  • 17

    Safety last

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  • 18

    Peace, love, and a cardboard box

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  • 19

    Holding a firework while daddy smokes right on top of you

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  • 20

    smoking, drinking and gambling. or as we call it, Friday

    CHEA ALL MURRICE NO REAL ESTATE
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  • 21

    She would literally get arrested today

    Caki Sándor gyüjtemarye
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  • 22

    "It's fine, i got her!"

    SNOW KING CHAIRLIFT JACKSON WYO JUNE 28.1965
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  • 23

    "Hold my beer Billy"

    Bud
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  • 24

    Perfectly safe

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  • 25

    "Hop in loser, we're going to Toys R Us"

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  • 26

    Sensible place for a gun rack

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  • 27

    What's on the TV? Looks like a baby

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  • 28

    "Hold on sis!"

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  • 29

    "Hold on kids!"

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  • 30

    "Hold on baby!"

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  • 31

    Look... Listen... I.... I have no words

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  • 32

    "Put your hand on him, It's fine honey"

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  • 33

    Watch out for those bumps on the road

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  • 34

    Put the kid on the killer whale, what could go wrong?

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  • 35

    no supervision

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  • 36

    Fireworks for everyone!

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Tags

1990s 90s memes retro nostalgia 80s music Nostalgia Overload 80s 90s kids 90s memory lane nostalgia memes millennial-nostalgia 1980s
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