I grew up in South Africa and never thought I was raised by lower-income parents during a time when everyone treated each other with respect.
Johannesburg, South Africa (15 August 2022) – A post talking about the “old days” is going viral on social media for all the right reasons.
We’re not sure who originally wrote the post, although we can only assume it was originally an American with the language (we have updated words like neighbors to neighbours) and talk of the flag. But the post is rapidly being shared across social media with South African references like biltong, oros and that wooden spoon.
Read the full piece below:
I grew up in South Africa and never thought I was raised by lower-income parents during a time when everyone treated each other with respect.
We didn’t eat a lot of fast food because it was considered a treat, not a food group. We drank Oros made from water that came from our kitchen tap. We ate mince meat lamb, sausages, toasted cheese sandwiches, but mostly homemade meals consisting of salads, meat, potatoes, vegetables, bread, butter, and homemade dessert.
And a biltong snack every now and then, if we were lucky enough.
We grew up during a time when we mowed lawns, pulled weeds, babysat, helped neighbours with chores to be able to earn our own money.
We went outside a lot to play hopscotch, football, netball, hockey, tag, fish, swim, ride bikes, run with friends and played hide and seek.
We drank tap water from the water hose outside… bottled water was unheard of. If we had a coke – it was in a glass bottle.. and we didn’t break the bottle when finished.
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The Gentle Hands Healing Abandoned Newborns at New Somerset HospitalAfter school, we came home and did homework and chores, before going outside or having friends over. We would ride our bikes for hours. We had to tell our parents where we were going, who we were going with, and be home when the street lights came on!
You LEARNED from your parents instead of disrespecting them and treating them as if they knew absolutely nothing. What they said was LAW, and you did not question it, and you had better know it!!!
In school, we stood for the National Anthem and listened to our teachers.
We watched what we said around our elders because we knew if we DISRESPECTED any grown-up we would get smacked with a wooden spoon; it wasn’t called abuse, it was called discipline!
We held doors, carried groceries, and gave up our seats for an older person without being asked. You didn’t hear curse words on the radio in songs or on TV, and if you cursed and got caught you had a bar of soap stuck in your mouth.
“Please, Thank you, yes please, no thank you, yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, and no sir” were part of our daily vocabulary!
You grew up to respect the Nation and the flag.
The world we live in now is just so full of crooked people, hate and disrespect for others.
I will never forget where I came from and only wish children nowadays had half the chance at the fun and respect for real life we grew up with!
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