It’s hard to imagine a time when seat belts were optional and kids roamed neighborhoods unsupervised until dinnertime.
Growing up in the 1960s meant dealing with everyday risks that younger generations now find almost unbelievable.
Some of these hazards came from the era’s technology or lack thereof, while others were simply a sign of the times — when people believed children were resilient enough to handle a few scrapes (or worse).
Yet for many who lived through it, those years were filled with freedom, creativity, and a certain ruggedness you can’t fully replicate today.
Below, we’ll explore 9 commonplace dangers that ‘60s kids shrugged off but would raise alarms for today’s youth.
1. No seat belts or car seats
In the ‘60s, it wasn’t unusual to see a bunch of kids piled into the backseat — maybe even the front seat — without a belt in sight.
Cars often lacked full seat belt systems, and child car seats (if you had one) were more about keeping the kid in one place than actual crash safety.
Parents didn’t intend to be reckless; safety standards simply weren’t as developed, and technology hadn’t caught up.
Today’s younger generations know seat belts as non-negotiables, and the idea of letting a baby ride on a lap at highway speeds sounds unthinkable.
But back then, if you could grip the seat and not slide off, that was “safety” enough.
It’s a stark reminder of how far auto safety has come in just a few decades.
2. Lead-based paint in the home
Homes built in the ‘60s often had walls covered in lead-based paint, a standard material for decades.
Kids might have grown up teething on crib rails coated with lead paint or living in rooms whose chipping paint flakes contained neurotoxic substances.
Nobody realized how harmful it was — it was just the paint that came with the house.
In recent years, the dangers of lead exposure — especially to brain development — are well-documented, prompting strict regulations and widespread abatement efforts.
Younger generations, who’ve seen lead paint lawsuits or recall notices for toys with even trace amounts of lead, would be astonished that it was once everywhere.
For many ‘60s kids, though, ignorance was bliss—until science caught up with reality.
3. Riding bikes without helmets
Helmets?
That was for professional racers, not the neighborhood kid cruising around on a banana-seat bike.
In the ‘60s, it was perfectly normal to speed down a hill with the wind in your hair, no protective gear in sight. I
f you took a bad spill, you rinsed off the road rash, slapped on a bandage, and got back on. Younger folks today might cringe at the thought of a serious head injury waiting to happen.
But in that era, the concept of mandatory helmets was barely on the radar. The freedom felt exhilarating, though it certainly carried risks we’d deem too high nowadays.
Seeing a kid riding helmetless on a busy street back then raised hardly an eyebrow — times have changed.
4. Smoking around children, pretty much everywhere
Cigarettes were the norm — people smoked in airplanes, restaurants, homes, and yes, even around children with no second thought.
The idea of secondhand smoke didn’t really register. In the ‘60s, parents could light up in the living room while the kids watched TV, or a teacher might puff away in the teachers’ lounge as if that was the most natural thing in the world.
Today, anti-smoking measures are so pervasive that seeing someone light a cigarette near a child is practically scandalous. Younger folks hear stories of smoke-filled family cars and can’t believe it was tolerated.
Yet it was part of everyday life, one more example of how public health awareness has shifted drastically over the decades.
5. Asbestos lurking in ceilings and floors
Asbestos was the wonder material of the mid-20th century — cheap, fire-resistant, and found in everything from insulation to tile flooring.
Kids played in basements or public buildings lined with asbestos, completely unaware of any hidden dangers.
Over time, medical research revealed that asbestos fibers, when inhaled, can cause serious respiratory diseases.
Younger generations who grow up hearing about asbestos abatement projects in old schools might be shocked to learn how widespread it once was. For a ‘60s kid, it was just part of the environment — nothing to question.
Companies didn’t warn parents, and parents themselves had no clue.
Only years later did the world realize the scope of the health risks that had been literally underfoot.
6. Climbing high on playgrounds with concrete below
School playgrounds in the ‘60s were often decorated with towering metal slides, monkey bars, and jungle gyms — frequently set over solid concrete or asphalt.
The notion of a cushioned surface was unheard of.
If you fell from the top, you might end up with a fractured arm or a head injury. Kids learned to be cautious, or they learned the hard way.
Today’s playgrounds are mandated to have mulch, rubber mats, or other shock-absorbing materials to prevent serious harm.
Younger visitors would be horrified at the idea of a simple slip resulting in major damage.
Yet for ‘60s kids, that was part of the thrill: pushing the limits of bravery with only luck and reflexes to break a potentially nasty fall.
7. Hitchhiking as a normal mode of travel
Imagine just sticking your thumb out on a road trip and waiting for a stranger to pick you up.
In the ‘60s, hitchhiking wasn’t considered nearly as risky as it is now.
Teens (and even younger kids, occasionally) might catch a ride from a friendly passerby to get across town or even cross state lines.
The culture around “stranger danger” wasn’t established yet — people assumed kindness was the norm, and sinister motives were the exception.
Flash forward to now, and the idea of kids hitchhiking is downright alarming.
Younger generations might only see it in old movies or hear about it in stories, finding it both surreal and terrifying that it was once an everyday means of transportation.
8. No SPF or UVA/UVB protection
Sunscreen existed, but many families viewed it as optional —
a way to avoid immediate sunburn rather than a shield against long-term skin damage. Tanning oils were all the rage, encouraging a deep bronze that also meant extended UV exposure.
Kids might spend entire summers outside with no more than a sun hat—if that.
Today, awareness of skin cancer risks and the importance of broad-spectrum sunscreen is drilled into kids from a young age.
Younger folks who constantly check UV indexes can’t fathom how casually ‘60s families treated the sun’s rays. But back then, turning a bit red was a sign of a fun day, not a health hazard.
Only later did we realize the hidden toll of cumulative sun damage over the years.
9. Toxic toys and zero safety labels
From lawn darts with metal tips to science kits containing real chemicals, toys in the ‘60s could be surprisingly hazardous by modern standards.
Kids had “creepy crawlers” sets that involved heating liquid plastic, or they hurled metal darts across the yard with minimal supervision.
The concept of child safety labels was still in its infancy, meaning many items on toy store shelves could cause genuine harm if misused.
Younger generations are used to toy recalls at the first sign of choking hazards, flame risks, or toxic paint.
But for ‘60s kids, the only real test was whether you got injured enough to need stitches.
In a lot of ways, these toys built a sense of independence—but they also carried risks that seem wild now.
Final thoughts
The ‘60s might conjure up nostalgic images of neighborhood block parties, free-roaming kids, and simpler times.
But woven into those memories are everyday dangers we’d likely never accept now.
From secondhand smoke to hitchhiking, lead paint to seat-belt-free rides, these were just the norms — ways people lived without much second thought.
Younger generations look back, often with equal parts fascination and horror, at how relaxed things seemed. Yet many who grew up then remember it fondly, chalking up the era’s hazards to a certain raw, unfiltered freedom.
Whether it was reckless or just “the way it was,” one thing’s clear: times have changed, and so have our standards for keeping kids safe.
