Scarborough over 60s share the best things about growing up 50 years ago
New research showed that simple pleasures like playing marbles, playing hide and seek and listening to music on record players are what the over 60’s in Scarborough most treasure about their childhood.
Trips to the sweets shop, climbing trees and collecting shells on the beach were also listed as cherished memories, the poll by the UK’s leading retirement housebuilder, McCarthy and Stone, found.
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Hide AdAccording to the poll, 97% of adults in Scarborough aged 60 and above, said it was better being a child 50 years ago, than it is now.
A total of 99% said children were much better at making their own entertainment years ago. And 98 percent said they learned far more practical skills ‘back in their day’.
Fortunately, 83% of grandparents in Scarborough said they passed on their wealth of knowledge to their grandchildren.
Good table manners, card games and how to ride a bike, were among some of the skills Granny and Granddad share. As were Jigsaw puzzles, how to plant a seed and swimming.
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Hide AdLiz Green, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for McCarthy and Stone, which conducted the poll to mark its 40th anniversary and partnership with older people’s charity, Royal Voluntary Service, said: “These findings illustrate how things have changed in the last 50 years and how grandparents are shaping their grandchildren’s childhoods by sharing their own experiences of growing up.
“They also show that practical skills are being passed down through the generations such as baiting a fishing hook and cooking a traditional Sunday roast.
“By passing on these talents the older generation are ensuring valuable and practical skills won’t die out.”
The findings were released to launch the search for GrandMakers as part of Royal Voluntary Service’s annual GrandFest – a one day festival taking place on June 18 in London.
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Hide AdThe event celebrates talented older people and the heritage skills they can pass on to the younger generation. Individuals aged 70 plus will be invited to volunteer to teach at a GrandFest masterclass or those aged 60 plus at a GrandFest event at a McCarthy & Stone development, where they will be able to share, learn, or brush up on their skills in crafts such as jam making, wood turning, weaving and more.
TV and radio personality, Gloria Hunniford, is lending her support to McCarthy & Stone and Royal Voluntary Service in their search for GrandMakers.
78 percent of those polled were in agreement that young people had a lot to learn from the older generation and 60 percent said part of being a grandparent was passing on your skills.
Nearly 24 percent said their own grandparents taught them invaluable life skills so they want to recreate that with their own grandsons and daughters.
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Hide AdTOP 20 SKILLS GRANDPARENTS IN SCARBOROUGH PASS ON TO GRANDCHILDREN
1. Good table manners
2. Jigsaw puzzle
3. Card games
4. Riding a bike
5. How to plant a seed
6. Swimming
7. Skimming a stone
8. Dominos
9. How to polish shoes
10. Identifying plants and flowers
11. The proper way to lay a table
12. Identifying birds
13. Making a perfect pot of tea
14. Make a daisy chain
15. Sewing buttons on
16. Perfecting a roast dinner
17. Knitting
18. Putting up a tent
19. How to whistle
20. Clicking your fingers
20 BEST THINGS ABOUT BEING A CHILD 50 YEARS AGO IN SCARBOROUGH
1. Playing outside until it got dark
2. Having respect for your elders
3. Knowing all your neighbours
4. Sweets costing a penny
5. Making dens
6. Playing marbles
7. Playing hide and seek
8. Listening to music on record players
9. Trips to the sweet shop
10. Climbing trees
11. Owning a few toys and playing with them for hours
12. Collecting shells on the beach
13. Reading Enid Blyton books
14. Playing conkers
15. Sherbert dips
16. Skipping
17. Playing hopscotch
18. Swinging on ropes in the woods
19. Collecting stamps
20. Playing football in the dark