For contemporary children, it may be difficult to imagine kids having fun in the 1950s. Not only were there were no video games, even children’s television programming operated at a bare minimum, with the medium still in its infancy at that time.
Yet such limitations frequently forced them to spend more time outdoors and to play creatively. This was much safer, as fewer people owned cars and there was far less traffic. Children also played different types of games, with more simple toys. Instead of computer games, they had footballs, hula hoops, skipping ropes and cards.
Children in the 1950s had very different lives to young people today. Most left school much earlier, with many starting work at 14, and far fewer people had the chance to go on to further education.
These amazing photos from Steve Given show what children used to do for fun during the 1950s.
