'He was heaving': 7 things children today won't believe you did growing up in the 70s and 80s

• Younger generations can’t appreciate what it was like growing up in the 70s and 80s
• Life was very different back then, for better and worse
• There are some memories you share, only to be met with a look of disbelief

There are some things almost everyone experienced in the 70s or 80s that it’s hard for younger generations to understand.

Try telling children today what it was like growing up back then, and you‘re often met with a look of slack-jawed disbelief.

They might think you’re pulling their leg, or exaggerating, as people are prone to do about their youth, but you’re simply telling it how it actually was.

Below are just some of the things younger generations will find it hard to believe about growing up in the 70s and 80s.

Got Lucozade from the chemists when you were sick

Lucozade is one of the most popular drinks on the market today, providing an energy boost to millions of gym-goers and sportspeople.

But until the 80s, Lucozade was sold mostly at chemists and pharmacies, and was something children only got to drink when they were poorly.

For many parents, it was the go-to tonic, whatever ailment their child had, and for some children, this was the one upside of getting sick.

One person recalled: “I loved Lucozade when I didn’t feel well, and it really made me feel better.”

Another said ‘you knew you were ill when Mum got the Lucozade out’, while a third told how it ‘made being ill bearable’.

But some people claim Lucozade today tastes ‘nothing like the original’, with one person calling the modern version ‘far too sweet and sickly’.

Looked things up in an encyclopaedia

Yes, in the days before the internet, or, indeed, AI, looking up facts required a little more effort.

An encyclopaedia was a household essential, and how big yours was depended on how posh you were.

Encyclopaedias were a status symbol back then, and in the wealthiest households, the numerous volumes would often take up several shelves.

Scraped ice off the inside of your windows

For many people, the abiding memory of the 70s in particular was of being constantly cold.

Less than a third of UK households had central heating at the start of the decade, and even by 1980 it was below two-thirds.

Even those who were lucky enough to have central heating tended to keep their heating on lower, and, without double glazing and modern insulation, homes tended to lose their heat much more quickly.

Lots of people recall waking up in the morning to find ice had formed on the inside of their bedroom window, something that’s thankfully unimaginable for most children today.

How did people cope back then? One person recalls: “ You had plenty of blankets on the bed, and I remember one morning when I got up and found a frozen cup of coffee from the night before rock solid. You made a run to the only warm room in the house - it was our front room with a log fire.”

Used an ice cube, potato and needle to pierce your ears

When you realise this is something many children did at home, you start to realise the ‘good old days’ weren’t necessarily that good.

Lots of people recall using an ice cube to numb their ear, before sticking a sterile needle through, into a potato on the other side.

It is definitely not something anyone should be trying at home. You should always get piercings done professionally, to prevent the risk of infection.

Many people recall passing out when they had their ears done at home, often without their parents’ knowledge.

And while some were fine, others described how they ended up with a nasty infection, with one person telling how it took their ears ‘many years’ to heal.

Spent hours covering your schoolbooks with brown paper

This was a ritual anyone of a certain age will recall.

Textbooks back in the day were so precious that they had to be covered with either brown paper to protect them from the rigours of school life.

If you didn’t have brown paper to hand, some children used whatever leftover wallpaper their parents had instead, meaning many books ended up being covered in woodchip paper.

If you’re a little younger, you might remember covering your books in sticky-back plastic instead.

However, that meant you missed out on one of the perks of covering your books in paper - the chance to draw cartoons and doodles all over them.

Bought cigarettes for your parents

Believe it or not, many children were still sent to the corner shop by their parents to buy cigarettes in the 70s and, to a lesser extent, the 80s.

Some youngsters were given written notes from their parents to hand over, while others didn’t need one as the shopkeeper knew their family well.

It was already illegal to sell cigarettes to minors back then, but it was not nearly as actively enforced, with none of the regular test purchases you get today.

Had beef dripping on toast for breakfast

Beef dripping remained a staple of the British diet in the 70s, though its popularity, which had boomed in the post-war years, was beginning to dwindle.

Many people who grew up then remember having beef dripping on toast for breakfast, while others preferred pork dripping.

One person called it the ‘best breakfast going’, while another said they ‘absolutely love it’.

But the idea of beef dripping on toast is not so appealing to children today, with one person saying: “I was telling my grandson about this. He was heaving!”

Beef dripping is still enjoyed by many people today, though what was once an affordable food for the masses is fast becoming the preserve of gastropubs and fancy restaurants.