Jazzy1
Member
- Location
- Adirondack Region NY
What type of activities did you do as a latchkey kid (free to roam around outside unsupervised all day) that would less likely happen with kids these days?
Growing up a latchkey kid
- Thread starter Jazzy1
- Start date
CallMeKate
Well-known Member
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic US
I have always understood "latchkey kid" to be defined as a child whose parents both work and are not home at the end of a school day, letting the child to his/her own devices... so I never was that. For the question you're asking, one big thing would be to take off on my bike in the morning and not have to "report in" with where I was or what I was doing until late afternoon when my bike travels were finished. That would never fly these days.
That Lady in PA
Member
That IS the definition of a latchkey kid.
What we did depended on the season of the year.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Agreed Latchekey kid meaning is as defined by @CallMeKate
I was never a latchkey kid, in that my parents both worked at various times, but they would ever give us a key to get into the house if they weren't there.. so we had to hang around until they got home.
However if you mean the second definition... then we just went everywhere , we could . We'd go out in the morning a soon as we were allowed and not return until the time we were told... and there was no boundaries for us.. we would go eveywhere , even if we weren't supposed to...
We'd climb trees , high walls, inverstigate abandoned houses, and mansions, , we'd ride bikes miles... ( I didn't have a bike but my friend had 2 so I got to borrow hers )... we'd go to the huge park nearby fish for tadpoles... we'd go to the swing park .. and they were real swings in those days... slides, and witches hat, roundabous etc..
We'd go to the cinema, sneak in wthout paying.. we had no money... we'd go swimming in the local baths in winter , ice cold indoor pool... and then club all our pennies together when we left with chattering teeth,.. to buy a Bag of hot chips ( french fries) from the Italian chip shop next door to share amongst s all....
I was never a latchkey kid, in that my parents both worked at various times, but they would ever give us a key to get into the house if they weren't there.. so we had to hang around until they got home.
However if you mean the second definition... then we just went everywhere , we could . We'd go out in the morning a soon as we were allowed and not return until the time we were told... and there was no boundaries for us.. we would go eveywhere , even if we weren't supposed to...
We'd climb trees , high walls, inverstigate abandoned houses, and mansions, , we'd ride bikes miles... ( I didn't have a bike but my friend had 2 so I got to borrow hers )... we'd go to the huge park nearby fish for tadpoles... we'd go to the swing park .. and they were real swings in those days... slides, and witches hat, roundabous etc..
We'd go to the cinema, sneak in wthout paying.. we had no money... we'd go swimming in the local baths in winter , ice cold indoor pool... and then club all our pennies together when we left with chattering teeth,.. to buy a Bag of hot chips ( french fries) from the Italian chip shop next door to share amongst s all....
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Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
Ya do what ya gotta do! 
My sister and I were latchkey kids from the time that I was 9 and she was 12.
We got ourselves ready for school and had chores and homework after school.
Our lives weren’t any different than other kids our age.
We did enjoy a great deal of freedom but it came with responsibility and accountability.
IMO the lack of responsibility is the thing missing from many young peoples lives these days.
My sister and I were latchkey kids from the time that I was 9 and she was 12.
We got ourselves ready for school and had chores and homework after school.
Our lives weren’t any different than other kids our age.
We did enjoy a great deal of freedom but it came with responsibility and accountability.
IMO the lack of responsibility is the thing missing from many young peoples lives these days.
Michael Z
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern Wisconsin
Way back just about all kids were unsupervised when out playing. And depending on whose house you were at determined the danger level of your activity. For example, at my good friend’s house, his mother or father would not fret if they happened to look out the window and see us kids running around on rooftops.
But true latchkey kids? I can say that as a kid I never knew there was such a thing.
But true latchkey kids? I can say that as a kid I never knew there was such a thing.
Happyflowerlady
Vagabond Flowerchild
- Location
- Northern Alabama
Both of my parents worked when I was growing up, but my mother worked in our small neighborhood grocery store, and we lived next door, so I was never left alone and unsupervised. The neighborhood kids all played outside in almost all kinds of weather, and we would be at different houses or yards, depending on what we were playing.
There was an empty lot across the street from the store, and many times we all played there because it was perfect for games in the summer and building snow forts in the winter months.
As I grew older, and had my horse, I was usually out riding with my friends who also had a horse, and we did ride all over the whole area and up into the mountain trails near town. We usually packed a lunch and enjoyed our sandwiches somewhere up in the hills around Sandpoint, the town where i grew up.
We also lived near a large lake, so in the summer most of us spent time swimming at the city beach, which was in walking distance for kids who lived in town.
There was an empty lot across the street from the store, and many times we all played there because it was perfect for games in the summer and building snow forts in the winter months.
As I grew older, and had my horse, I was usually out riding with my friends who also had a horse, and we did ride all over the whole area and up into the mountain trails near town. We usually packed a lunch and enjoyed our sandwiches somewhere up in the hills around Sandpoint, the town where i grew up.
We also lived near a large lake, so in the summer most of us spent time swimming at the city beach, which was in walking distance for kids who lived in town.
Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
I was never a 'latchkey kid' as my mother was a 'stay at home mum'. but I did a lot of those things. I didn't have a bike at first, but my mates taught me how to ride one. One pal had two bikes and let me use one. One day we had just set off when an obnoxious cop stopped us and accused me of stealing the bike. Fortunately my pal's father owned a large car repair business, so was well known and grudgingly the cop accepted the situation.
Loved a 'poke' of chips - not Italian, but there was an Italian ice cream parlour. Ah, such fun and games.
Tommy
Senior Member
- Location
- New Hampshire
We seem to have cleared up the definition of "latchkey" but not "kid". Although I'd always had plenty of freedom to roam (relative to my age), I only became a true latchkey kid at age 12. For the first year or so, I took to hanging out at a small, family owned pet store. The owners would give me small jobs to do (e.g., stocking shelves, cleaning aquariums) or we'd just visit when business was slow. They'd compensate me with a few animals and supplies. (My mother drew the line at the boa constrictor 
.) All in all it was a great learning experience.
.) All in all it was a great learning experience.
Tommy
Senior Member
- Location
- New Hampshire
I suspect that my "kid-dom" ended around the time a drivers license and interest in the opposite sex entered the picture. Prior to that, my freedom was a positive and important part of growing up. I feel sorry for today's children, with their helicopter parents, who are never given a chance to fully develop as they should.
dobielvr
Well-known Member
- Location
- California
The word 'latchkey' wasn't even around when I was a kid. My parents both worked, but I had an older brother and sister at home to try to maintain the peace in the house. We were free to do what we wanted around the neighborhood with the rest of the kids and there was never any trouble.
jujube
SF VIP
I remember kids who had a key hanging around their necks on a piece of string. I guess those were latch-key kids. Another thing that people did was to hang a key inside the door, just in reach of a small arm reaching through the mail slot. That's how the kids got into the house. Why they thought that burglars could get the key, too, is beyond me. Of course, we seldom locked our doors so anybody could just sashay in at will.
We weren't latchkey kids until I was in high school and mom went back to work. I had an hour after highschool let out to start picking up my younger sisters at elementary school and deliver them to various places/pick them back up (dance lessons, music lessons, girl scouts, etc.).
We weren't latchkey kids until I was in high school and mom went back to work. I had an hour after highschool let out to start picking up my younger sisters at elementary school and deliver them to various places/pick them back up (dance lessons, music lessons, girl scouts, etc.).
Tom52
Member
- Location
- The Villages, Florida
From the time my sister was 9 and I was 7 we were what is now known as latch key kids. Both our parents worked which was unusual. I think we were the only kids in our neighborhood that had a mother that worked. We always had plenty of chores to do, so we had limited time to get into trouble before the parents got home.
We never locked the doors when we were away from home so we never really carried a "latch key"
We never locked the doors when we were away from home so we never really carried a "latch key"
We must not have locked our door because I don't remember ever needing a key. What we did depended on the weather and our ages, in elementary school I can remember climbing trees, playing with the dog, being led astray by older brother into jumping off the shed (ok) and house (hurt a lot). In middle school I remember being at a neighbor kid's house and we were wearing 'run proof' hosiery and we shredded them trying to get them to run.
Also remember with a couple friends climbing into someone else's tree house to experiment with smoking cigarettes but then the boys whose tree house it was showed up and they yelled at us, which (probably because I had an older brother) didn't scare me but my friend was so scared she jumped out of the tree house and broke her arm.
Sometimes we walked along the train tracks, played with little snakes that the neighbor boys had, etc.
We spent time at the local strip mall doing things like buying a piece or candy, or an ice cream, or playing the nickel games -- I only remember the one that had a little gun to shoot at little targets (bad guys I think) at the bowling alley.
Considered dropping little rocks on cars driving below a bridge but luckily for all a police car drove by and used their loudspeaker to yell at us to get off the bridge.
In early High School I would mostly go for long walks but it was kind of a pain because the police stopped me so often to run my name through the runaway database (or whatever they had back in the late 60's). Later in High School I just spent time at friends' houses.
Oh and sex.
Also remember with a couple friends climbing into someone else's tree house to experiment with smoking cigarettes but then the boys whose tree house it was showed up and they yelled at us, which (probably because I had an older brother) didn't scare me but my friend was so scared she jumped out of the tree house and broke her arm.
Sometimes we walked along the train tracks, played with little snakes that the neighbor boys had, etc.
We spent time at the local strip mall doing things like buying a piece or candy, or an ice cream, or playing the nickel games -- I only remember the one that had a little gun to shoot at little targets (bad guys I think) at the bowling alley.
Considered dropping little rocks on cars driving below a bridge but luckily for all a police car drove by and used their loudspeaker to yell at us to get off the bridge.
In early High School I would mostly go for long walks but it was kind of a pain because the police stopped me so often to run my name through the runaway database (or whatever they had back in the late 60's). Later in High School I just spent time at friends' houses.
Oh and sex.
officerripley
Well-known Member
- Location
- Porlock, Calif
Same here; that's one of my earliest memories, the other kids in school making fun of me because my mom worked, "Ladies don't work after they get married! Only daddies work! Your family's weird!" (It was in an area where almost all the men worked in the defense contracting cold war industry so they made enough money that their wives never had to work. My dad had the same job but too many girlfriends on the side to be able to support even one family.)
My activities were reading and TV; I didn't ride a bike and the nearest thing to walk to (45 min. in ea. direction) was a busy highway with liquor stores, auto repair places, etc. so nowhere I wanted to shop, so I stayed home usually.
rgp
Well-known Member
- Location
- Milford,OH
I too was a latchkey kid, and I agree here !!Ya do what ya gotta do!
My sister and I were latchkey kids from the time that I was 9 and she was 12.
We got ourselves ready for school and had chores and homework after school.
Our lives weren’t any different than other kids our age.
We did enjoy a great deal of freedom but it came with responsibility and accountability.
IMO the lack of responsibility is the thing missing from many young peoples lives these days.
I was a latchkey kid from Grade 3 all the way through high school. I had to make my own lunches even at that young age. It didn't hurt me, and I grew up to be very self-sufficient and independent, but I wish my mom had chosen to stay home. It was vaguely depressing to always come home to an empty house, and in high school, if I wasn't working, I didn't even bother. My best friend and I would catch a city bus and just wander all over the city.
I wanted better than that for my own kids, so I did freelance work out of the home.
I wanted better than that for my own kids, so I did freelance work out of the home.
Nathan
SF VIP
- Location
- High Desert- Calif.
At first I was going to assert that "Latch-key kids" were a 1990s phenomenon, when the term became frequently used. But then I realized, I was a Latch-key kid back in the mid 60s, after reading the Wikipedia definition linked.
" My parents were divorced, I was living with my mom, she worked 35 miles away at in Redondo Beach. I got out of school at 3pm, would usually take 30 minutes to get home. It took my mom 2 hours to drive the 35 miles on the bumper-to-bumper 101 freeway...yep, back in the mid-sixities- bumper2bumper!
I had a paper route to do 7days a week, and usually a Boy Scouts meeting, or maybe just a hike somewhere in the surrounding wilderness.
But, nobody wants to hear about those activities.
We lived in kind of a "hollow",there was myself, and 7 other boys my age, plenty of opportunity to get into trouble. But not always, mostly riding bikes, riding skateboards, horseback riding or hiking. But, we all smoked cigarettes.
One time we got into one of the boy's dad's homemade wine and beer.
<-nuff said. Lol, when my mom came home I was laying on my bed with the spinouts, I remember hearing her answer the phone and telling the caller that I was ill...she had to have known!"
" My parents were divorced, I was living with my mom, she worked 35 miles away at in Redondo Beach. I got out of school at 3pm, would usually take 30 minutes to get home. It took my mom 2 hours to drive the 35 miles on the bumper-to-bumper 101 freeway...yep, back in the mid-sixities- bumper2bumper!
I had a paper route to do 7days a week, and usually a Boy Scouts meeting, or maybe just a hike somewhere in the surrounding wilderness.
But, nobody wants to hear about those activities.
We lived in kind of a "hollow",there was myself, and 7 other boys my age, plenty of opportunity to get into trouble. But not always, mostly riding bikes, riding skateboards, horseback riding or hiking. But, we all smoked cigarettes.
One time we got into one of the boy's dad's homemade wine and beer.
<-nuff said. Lol, when my mom came home I was laying on my bed with the spinouts, I remember hearing her answer the phone and telling the caller that I was ill...she had to have known!"great clips and stories from everyone
Memories
Light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me - Would we? Could we?
Memories
May be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply to choose to forget
So it is the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
So it is the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
Barbra Streisand in "The Way We Where"
Memories
Light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me - Would we? Could we?
Memories
May be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply to choose to forget
So it is the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
So it is the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
Barbra Streisand in "The Way We Where"
Only child of a single parent so definitely a latchkey.
Mom would yell at me to get up as she went out the door for work.
Then I was on my own to get ready for school and get my breakfast and make my lunch.
I walked to school so sometimes I would walk home for lunch.
After school I did my homework and watched TV till Mom came home.
In the summer I slept till noon and read books and rode my bike and did all the other usuals.
Mom would yell at me to get up as she went out the door for work.
Then I was on my own to get ready for school and get my breakfast and make my lunch.
I walked to school so sometimes I would walk home for lunch.
After school I did my homework and watched TV till Mom came home.
In the summer I slept till noon and read books and rode my bike and did all the other usuals.