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Post-War Childhood: Growing up in the not-so-friendly ‘Baby Boomer’ Years
Many British baby boomers are very nostalgic about a supposed golden age; a vanished world when children were generally freer, happier and healthier than they are now. They wandered about all day; only returning home at teatime when they were hungry. Nobody worried about health and safety or 'stranger danger' in those days and no serious harm ever befell children as a result.
In Post-War Childhood, Simon Webb examines the facts and figures behind the myth of children's carefree lives in the postwar years, finding that such things as the freedom to roam the streets and fields came at a terrible price. In 1965, for example, despite there being far fewer cars in Britain, 45 times as many children were knocked down and killed on the roads as now die in this way each year.
Simon Webb presents a 'warts and all' portrait of British childhood in the years following the end of the Second World War. He demonstrates that contrary to popular belief, it was by any measure a far more hazardous and less pleasant time to be a child, than is the case in the twenty-first century.
In Post-War Childhood, Simon Webb examines the facts and figures behind the myth of children's carefree lives in the postwar years, finding that such things as the freedom to roam the streets and fields came at a terrible price. In 1965, for example, despite there being far fewer cars in Britain, 45 times as many children were knocked down and killed on the roads as now die in this way each year.
Simon Webb presents a 'warts and all' portrait of British childhood in the years following the end of the Second World War. He demonstrates that contrary to popular belief, it was by any measure a far more hazardous and less pleasant time to be a child, than is the case in the twenty-first century.
- GenresHistory
192 pages, Paperback
Published June 12, 2017
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 17, 2019
Picked this up at random from the library and am pleased I did.
I've always felt a bit annoyed at the claims by "boomers" that their life in childhood was so much better than current childhood life (which of course, is built on THEIR parenting, so if their childhood was so awesome, why did they raised their kids so differently??)
This book picks apart some of the main arguments made about why life was better when the boomers were kids, with some useful stats and anecdotes. These are all british, but I suspect they could be largely translated to nearly any anglo-centric country.
The idealisation of childhood and the past is a common theme throughout history. I'm somewhat looking forward to a similar book being released detailing why the era I grew up in wasn't as awesome as I dream it was.
I've always felt a bit annoyed at the claims by "boomers" that their life in childhood was so much better than current childhood life (which of course, is built on THEIR parenting, so if their childhood was so awesome, why did they raised their kids so differently??)
This book picks apart some of the main arguments made about why life was better when the boomers were kids, with some useful stats and anecdotes. These are all british, but I suspect they could be largely translated to nearly any anglo-centric country.
The idealisation of childhood and the past is a common theme throughout history. I'm somewhat looking forward to a similar book being released detailing why the era I grew up in wasn't as awesome as I dream it was.
Displaying 1 of 1 review