10 Childhood Rules Boomers Hated At The Time But Actually Appreciate Now
Klochkov SCS | ShutterstockBaby boomers grew up to become pretty successful, but their parents raised them with a fairly strict set of common rules.
Like any kid, boomers resented the rules they had to follow when they were young. However, these rules taught them a lot about how they wanted to live their lives and the people they wanted to become, so they actually feel pretty lucky to have had them now.
Boomers hated these rules from childhood, but they’ve come to appreciate them now:
1. Save money for later
Carolin Voelker from corelens via Canva
Boomers were raised by frugal parents whose financial philosophy was shaped by living through devastating historical events like the Great Depression and World War II, so they were taught that they needed to save money from the time they were old enough to understand what that meant.
They found this really frustrating, especially when the money they were instructed to save was just the $20 they got from their aunt for their birthday, but it prepared them for a life of financial literacy. Getting into the habit of saving as a kid helped them stay out of debt and build a solid emergency fund later. It clearly paid off since boomers are now the wealthiest generation in American history.
2. Take care of your things
It’s not like this generation had some strange desire to ruin all of their belongings, but kids aren’t known for being the most careful. If they thought their parents would swoop in and save the day by replacing anything they broke, they would have had even less incentive to treat the things they owned well.
Their parents never did that, though, and expected them to take care of what they had instead. It must have felt pretty inconvenient at the time, but it showed them how important it is to take care of their possessions. This is helping them out a lot now, since many things are cheaper to repair than to replace, and the lowest-cost option is never to reach the point where they break in the first place.
3. Respect your elders
These days, it would be hard to teach a child to respect their elders when they’re used to laughing at them and even mocking them on social media. But boomers had a different experience. They were told to treat all adults with a sense of deference, and it showed them that being kind is both important and easy.
Showing respect to those who are older than you is one of the best ways to build stronger communities and to let them know that the changes that come with age don’t diminish their worth. Unfortunately, now that boomers are older, they don’t always receive that same kind of respect.
4. Come home when it gets dark
These kids had free rein over their neighborhoods in a way that modern youngsters could never understand. They were frequently sent outside to play with their friends who lived nearby and told not to come home until it started to get dark or they knew it was time for dinner.
This might sound like it was just an excuse for parents to get their kids out of the house for a while, and that probably was true in some cases. But it also forced them to be responsible and get through life without an adult by their side every step of the way. It served as a crash course in time management too, which helped them excel in school and work.
5. Eat what’s on your plate
Yuganov Konstantin via Canva
Boomers weren’t allowed to be picky eaters. Meals were planned with little to no input from them, and they were expected to finish whatever was put in front of them. Many members of this generation probably have some distressing memories of having to eat vegetables they didn’t like, but it was for their own good.
Being a picky eater usually isn’t a big deal, but it can be serious and even require medical treatment in some cases. Boomers didn’t have to worry about that, and they also didn’t contribute to the enormous amount of food that is wasted in the U.S.
6. Always send thank-you notes
Writing thank-you notes has turned into a lost art in a world where kids rarely write much of anything, but boomers could never get away with not sending a note of gratitude when someone gave them a gift or showed them kindness. They didn’t enjoy sitting down and writing out their thanks, though, especially when their parents made them include details.
Research has shown that writing thank-you notes makes both the sender and the receiver happier, but even if boomers got out of the habit as they got older, taking time to write each note would have taught them to reflect on their gratitude and take it seriously.
7. Go to bed on time
Being reminded that it’s time to go to bed is one of the worst feelings for any kid. Parents aren’t quite as strict about this as they once were, especially now that they have a hard time keeping their kids off of phones and tablets after going to bed, but this is how boomers established a lifelong healthy habit.
No matter how old someone is, a solid bedtime routine will regulate their circadian rhythm in a way that is good for their cardiovascular health and mood. It’s a lot easier to stick to a routine when it’s been a part of your life since childhood, so boomers must be particularly well-rested.
8. Don’t watch TV all day
Back in the days before pretty much everything had a screen, the only screen time that boomers had to think about was the time they spent watching TV. Even then, their parents knew they needed to set limits about how often they could watch and during what times of day it was acceptable.
A study published in Brain Imaging and Behavior found that people who spent more time watching TV actually had less gray matter in their brains. That can accelerate the speed at which someone’s cognitive skills decline. Boomers are thankful for this protection now, and happy that they never felt the need to spend an endless amount of time on every other device that came along.
9. Do your chores
DGLimages from Getty Images via Canva
It seems like today’s kids aren’t as familiar with chore charts and not being allowed to play until they took care of whatever they were responsible for around the house. Boomers definitely didn’t enjoy being reminded that it was their turn to do the dishes or take the trash out, but those chores benefited them later in life.
Doing chores obviously teaches kids about responsibility and working together, but it also makes them more empathetic and confident. Plus, it’s hard to know how to keep your own house in order if you never had experience doing so on a smaller scale. No boomer moved out of their home and realized they didn’t know how to do their own laundry, which is something young people from every generation can’t claim.
10. Keep yourself entertained
Nowadays, kids usually know that all they have to do to be given an iPad is complain about being bored. Things were different several decades ago, though. Boomers learned as children that they were responsible for keeping themselves entertained unless they wanted to just sit around doing nothing.
Although they were used to it, it’s doubtful that they loved always being told to work out their boredom themselves. But it gave them valuable experience with skills like emotional regulation, problem-solving, creativity, and confidence. These are things they benefited from in other areas of their lives, and learning not to rely on an adult for everything was an added bonus.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
