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Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thinkalot
I did not want to take another thread off topic.
Why do people say the Leave It To Beaver family life wasn't real? In my neighborhood many families were like that. I don't mean wearing pearls when cleaning the house or keeping a suit on after work but most of it was the way most of my friends and I were raised.
We had stay at home moms. They quit working when they had the first kid and went back when that kid started college. We lived in nice neighborhoods where everyone knew each other. Our fathers came home after work. Don't think any ever stopped at a bar on the way home. As kids we were socially active and had many things like scouts, YMCA, dancing lessons, music lessons. Only 1 kid in my entire grade school had divorced parents. I could give more examples, but you get the idea.
I wonder why some people think that lifestyle didn't exist?
Nice little humblebrag there.
For most us millennials, both parents working was just a norm. Even my next door neighbor from Southeastern VA who closely had the Leave It To Beaver dynamic, the mom had a small part time job as well as opening a side business. This was in one of (at the time) the areas that had one of the best wage to COL relationships before things went nuts.
I don’t doubt the LITB lifestyle was common at one time. Just today it is impossible with the COL for 98% of families.
For most us millennials, both parents working was just a norm. Even my next door neighbor from Southeastern VA who closely had the Leave It To Beaver dynamic, the mom had a small part time job as well as opening a side business. This was in one of (at the time) the areas that had one of the best wage to COL relationships before things went nuts.
I don’t doubt the LITB lifestyle was common at one time. Just today it is impossible with the COL for 98% of families.
No one is talking about that lifestyle being lived today. LITB was on from 1957 until 1963.
The whole point of this thread is because of posts where people say that lifestyle never happened. In that time period it was very common where I lived.
Why do people say the Leave It To Beaver family life wasn't real? In my neighborhood many families were like that. I don't mean wearing pearls when cleaning the house or keeping a suit on after work but most of it was the way most of my friends and I were raised.
I have to use Father Knows Best because that was shown in re-runs on NYC TV during the 60's but LITB wasn't. I was born in 1960.
That suburban lifestyle was really pretty similar to our own, though my father was a working man who only wore suits to church. Kids running around all the time, riding bicycles, talking to strangers, going to the candy store by ourselves, that was real. Moms staying home, (almost) nobody divorced, everyone going to church/synagogue/Catechism/Hebrew school, that was real.
TV wasn't all fantasy. The Honeymooners showed working class people, and shows like the Twilight Zone dealt with themes like prejudice, injustice, crime, and poverty.
Back then divorce wasn't at all common. We only knew a few people who were divorced. One was a woman who attended our church. The other was an older cousin who divorced her husband due to his gambling problem. It was more common to find families headed up by a widowed parent---and even that was something that one didn't see very often.
We didn't know anyone who was divorced, but we did know two couples who should have been. They lived side-by-side in rowhouses (common in Baltimore suburbs). The wife in the one family was an utter shrew who ran her household like an Army sergeant and never had a kind word for anyone, including her own family. The husband of the other family was an out-and-out drunk who abused his tiny wife and all his kids. However, both families were staunch Catholics, so divorce was out of the question.
Well, it came to pass that after decades the mean wife and the drunk husband died. After the appropriate amount of time, the remaining spouses married each other; knocked down the wall between the two rowhouses, and combined their families. They were very happy for their remaining lives. True story. I was friends with the kids in both families, and the entire neighborhood was thrilled when they got married.
This was also my experience growing up in suburban Utah in the 80s where 99.9% of our neighbors were Mormon (we were not). There were no broken homes and all of the women were full time housewives - with 6-10 kids on average they had to be. The husbands financially supported their families. A few of the moms may have had small side gigs, maybe babysitting, piano lessons, or hosting Tupperware parties. Back then, I think divorce was pretty much unheard of in the Mormon church. I think their rules have since changed with the times. The worst crime or mischief in our neighborhood was probably me, luring some friends to sneak out and toilet paper some boys houses overnight. LOL
When I tell people about my childhood I say it was like living in the movie Pleasantville. Pretty sure the only time I ever heard swearing or foul language was within my own home.
I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah in the '50s. I've often compared my growing up years to "Leave it to Beaver." My childhood was absolutely idyllic. Our neighborhood was not 99.9 Mormon, though. All of the neighbors were friendly with each other and the kids of all religions played and hung out together. I grew up in a two-parent household, and my parents never fought. My dad was a professor at the University of Utah and my mom was a stay-at-home mom. I had only one sibling. The only thing that was not Leave-it to-Beaverish was the fact that my parents did not sleep in twin beds separated by a nightstand!
We didn't know anyone who was divorced, but we did know two couples who should have been. They lived side-by-side in rowhouses (common in Baltimore suburbs). The wife in the one family was an utter shrew who ran her household like an Army sergeant and never had a kind word for anyone, including her own family. The husband of the other family was an out-and-out drunk who abused his tiny wife and all his kids. However, both families were staunch Catholics, so divorce was out of the question.
Well, it came to pass that after decades the mean wife and the drunk husband died. After the appropriate amount of time, the remaining spouses married each other; knocked down the wall between the two rowhouses, and combined their families. They were very happy for their remaining lives. True story. I was friends with the kids in both families, and the entire neighborhood was thrilled when they got married.
Divorce was not typical (and I didn't know any Mormons until high school). I was reading the other day that California had the first no fault divorce laws in 1969. I don't know why people think everything was always like it is today. The number of divorces went up dramatically in the 70s. None of my friends growing up had divorced parents, although there were probably a few around in my classes. My grandfather did have a previous wife and child.
Definitely. Much more realistic arguing and dealing with issues.
I also that Malcolm in the Middle was a more accurate portrayal of the American household. The mean angry mom constantly worrying about money, misbehaving children, stressed out father trying to keep children from ssiping off momy.
GREAT show! But I hope most people's lives weren't like that! In any event, that was the 90s/00s, not the 60s.
No one is talking about that lifestyle being lived today. LITB was on from 1957 until 1963.
The whole point of this thread is because of posts where people say that lifestyle never happened. In that time period it was very common where I lived.
Where YOU lived. That certainly wasn’t the norm or reality for many.
And for nice rep comment someone left , I’m a boomer just so ya know.
I grew up in the 80's, 90's/early 2000s and I can't say my life was necessarily like Leave it to Beaver...but my parents had a good marriage and got along (still do today). Both my parents also worked so we didn't have family dinners together often plus my brother and I often had activities/sports.
My dad I think kind of grew up in a Leave it Beaver type house. His mom didn't work, had a cute relationship with my granddad, did the cooking, always made a big fuss over her kids..so i just picture his household to be leave it to beaver-ish lol.
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Originally Posted by thinkalot View Post
No one is talking about that lifestyle being lived today. LITB was on from 1957 until 1963.
The whole point of this thread is because of posts where people say that lifestyle never happened. In that time period it was very common where I lived.
That was the lifestyle when I was growing up on Long Island. In fact , the Cleaver's house was a lot smaller than the homes I knew. Moms stayed home & Dads went to work. Kids were on their own a lot and could walk to town without being accompanied by a grown up.
I was right in between Wally and Beaver in age & they were very much like kids I knew. I don't remember boys dressing up in suits , though , as Wally often does.
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just so ya know.
