If you grew up in the 1980s, your childhood probably looked very different from today’s. For instance, you likely roamed the neighborhood freely until the streetlights came on. Back then, parents considered optional car seats and alcohol-laced cough syrup to be standard. It was, after all, the era of latchkey kids and “benign neglect.” While many of us look back on it with nostalgia, the reality is that many common 80s parenting styles would raise serious red flags today. Consequently, modern standards, drawing on decades of child safety research, have changed the game completely.
Here are nine parenting practices from the 80s that would likely trigger a call to Child Protective Services in the present day.
