Taking Babies for Walks, in the 1950's.

Yes, I loved it, but one day I undid the baby’s reins so that I could take him out for a cuddle, I’m sure that I wasn’t supposed to to but that never stopped me. I put him back in but never put the reins back on. Then I stopped right up against a shop window and went into the shop As I came out he toppled over the side of the pram between it and the window, I was terrified but I never told his mum what I had done, and to this day I wonder if she found any bruises or scrapes, with hindsight I should of course have told her but I was only about 8 at the time and far to worried that she wouldn’t let me take him again.

I remember doing this in the 1950s. I was probably about 10. Me and my friend would knock on doors where we knew there was a baby. The mothers never hesitated to give us their babies to take for a walk, some of these mothers didn't know us from Adam! We used to only knock on doors where the baby was particularly cute or they had a posh pram. We would take the babies to the park. It's unbelievable to think of it now. These were the days when babies were left outside shops in prams while their mothers went shopping.

God, yes, this thread just brought it back, I loved babies and would beg to take them out in their prams, however, double standards were in operation when I had my own son, I would NEVER allow anyone except us and family to take him out !!!

Yes, my sister was always walking babies in their prams, but I would rather read a book!!!

I remember doing that as well Lyndiloo and prams then were big affairs, no buggies invented. It was a different time but scary when one thinks back to what could have happened.

My brother was born when I was 5,meaning I had to take him with me wherever I went.I was 7,when a friend and I decided to walk into town about 2 miles away over several main busy roads,passing a bomb site on the way,a game of hide and seek with my brother ..who didn't "get it" followed on the bomb site,we couldn't find him so carried on our way,then went home.Mum went absolutely mad and clumped both my ears and sent me back to look for him,he was nowhere to be found so I carried on to the police station where quite a few hours he was sitting waiting to be claimed eating sweets and biscuits, meanwhile dad who was in a night shift got up early to look for us both,fully intending to carry on cuffing my ears where mum had left off but he took one look at my tear stained face and took us and bought us an ice cream each.My brother being the drama queen that he is still likes to dine out on this story of sisterly neglect,and I still had to drag him wherever I went.

Most of the children in our area were the same age as me. The two that had younger siblings were occasionally told to take them for a walk and I would accompany them and get to push the pram which I thought was great. I never asked to take the baby on my own though.
It wasn't so great a few years later when they had to "drag their kid sister" along to the park. We would be about 10 and the younger sister 4, the park was 3 streets away and we'd be gone hours.

There were a lot of babies in our street in the 50s and it was a regular thing for us to push the prams to the local park. I do not recall any accidents even though the coach built prams seemed enormous.
When I was ten my mother had another baby and for some reason pram pushing did not seem quite so attractive.

My mum used to say that if I was 'missing' I could always be found leaning into the nearest pram and admiring the baby. I don't remember taking a baby for a walk, as a child, but when I grew up and had children of our own, I did borrow a neighbour's baby and walk her and the pram into town. My own two were at school and I missed them being around. Then we had our third, and I lost the urge for others babies. Funny that

Oh this brings back memories in the 50s, after asking that very question, I regularly took neighbours babies for walks. I think I was older than 7 but not much as on a wet day I struggled to see where I was going over the pram hood! The workings of the sun canopy on a bright day always defeated me!

I don’t ever remember taking a baby for a walk, although I knew children that did in the fifties, but my friend and I would walk past a large house where a child who used a wheelchair lived and we were allowed to take him for a walk on a Sunday morning. He lived on a relatively steep hill, so we were never allowed to take him down the hill, only up it, but fortunately he lived pretty near the top where it levelled out so it wasn’t too arduous and he was quite small for his age! He seemed to enjoy it enormously and his mother said the fresh air was good for him. Then they moved away, so we never saw him again. I often pass the house and wonder what happened to him.

Would have been early sixties in my case.

Yes, Lyndiloo, I used to take babies out for ‘walks’ in their proms. I think I was probably around 8/10 years old. Neighbouring Mums were glad of the odd half hour.
Can you imagine that these days ?

OldMeg

Hope you get treatment Willow. You shouldn’t still be suffering nightmares from 60+ years ago.

When I was a child we knew the neighbours for several houses along both sides of the street. I don't think I ever asked to take a baby for a walk but I did occasionally ask to be looked after when I came home from school because my mother was a little bit late home from shopping.

However, I do remember that the day my dog died when I was a teenager. The adult friends whom I used sometimes to meet when we were both walking our dogs, never hesitated when I knocked on their door that evening and asked if I could take their dog for a walk. The lady of the house started to ask why, stopped almost immediately because she saw the tears in my eyes and handed over the lead. Sheba and I walked for a very long time but she was safely delivered home. My Spanish homework, however, was not done, but my Spanish teacher also recognised the tears in my eyes when I said why.

Yes - I still have nightmares about it! I was about 7 and was allowed to take a baby from across the street out in her huge (to me) coach built pram. I don't remember where I took her but I ended up in the small derelict school yard at the end of the street which had a high step. Got the pram in just fine but when I tried to come back down the pram tipped backwards as I obviously didn't realise not to put the front wheels down first. It could have ended up in disaster but as luck would have it my dad was just walking past and he caught hold of it before it fell completely and saved the day. I was never allowed to take her out again!!

When I was 12 I got a 'job' taking a 2 year old to ballet class on a Sat morning - no mishaps but we lived in a seaside town which was very busy in the summer and there were several roads to cross. I think my mum volunteered me for it as her mum ran a guest house and Sat was changeover day.