October is National Safe Work Month – a time to commit to building a safe and healthy workplace, but perhaps also a time to reflect on how far we have come in our accepted safety practices and awareness!
So we asked some of our residents, “Tell me about something you used to do back in the day, which would be considered unsafe now…”
Some responses were to be expected, others will make you chuckle, but some will make your spine tingle with fear! One thing is for certain – we are all just lucky to be alive right now!
“Mum used to put my baby bassinet on the back seat of the car without a seat belt”
“We used to go for family drives with all 6 of us kids squished in the back seat without seatbelts”
“We all used to ride our bikes with no helmets”
“Everyone used to smoke indoors – hospitals, restaurants, shopping centres, airplanes”
“Grandma would cook stews and leave on the stove for days – adding new ingredients each day for dinner”
“We would sleep on the front lawn at night when it was hot watching the black and white TV”
“I used to go alone to the park or shops as a child“
“We always left the house unlocked when we went out“
“My Dad worked as a guard for Armaguard and he would bring his guns home and put them in the unlocked wardrobe”
“Dad worked as a rigger would climb scaffolding without any safety harness”
“I remember at Christmas time standing on the back of a truck and driving around singing Christmas carols”
“I used to play with fire with no regard for danger”
“I used to sleep in the back window of our family car on road trips”
“I worked in a factory where a normal workday was 12 hours and we worked 6 days a week”
“I would use a very hot clothing iron to straighten my hair before going out at night!”
“Drinking and driving was totally acceptable – even with us kids in the car”
“My brothers and I used to eat ice-cream for breakfast”
What did you or your parents used to do back in the day that is a total ‘no no’ today?
