In the 1950s children often played games in the streets outside their houses. 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.
The great hobby boom that took place in the 1950s was filled with model planes, trains, and boats, as well as some other pastimes that you might not have thought of.
Growing Up in the 1950s
During the 1950s, kids played together. They talked on the family phone for hours, kept diaries, rode their bikes, played games, watched TV, had sleepovers and dance parties.
Children would share toys such as hoops, marbles and skipping ropes. Other games included tag and hopscotch – which are still played in schools and playgrounds today. In the 1930s, many families were too poor to afford manufactured toys, which meant children would have to find creative ways of making their own fun.
We spent many happy hours playing board games with our friends. Snakes and ladders was a favourite as were Ludo and Tiddlywinks. Dominoes was good fun and we loved card games such as Happy Families and Snap. Scrabble was popular, also Monopoly.
Ludo, Lotto, dominoes, draughts and Snakes and Ladders were played in every home, Two card games we loved were Snap and Happy Families. We (me, my brother and my sister) also played for hours with our toy cars.
Stickball, street hockey, Ringolevio, Marco Polo, and hide-and-seek were just a few of the games that kids played on high-trafficked streets in the '60s. They also played with marbles and aimed them into the small holes in manhole covers, and there were hopscotch boards written with chalk on the asphalt.
The space race and moon landings inspired many space games. Toys like the space hopper were popular. Dolls like Sindy and Barbie were popular toys. Children played with toys and games such as Trolls, Twister and Etch-A-Sketch.
The traditional fun games for families in the 1940s were cards, dice, Pick-up-sticks, Noughts and Crosses, and Jacks. Many of these are still very popular today in the 2020s.
The Idyllic '50s
The standard structure of the family in postwar America consisted of a breadwinner male, his wife who did household chores and looked after the children, and the children themselves. Families ate meals and went on outings together, and lived in sociable neighborhoods.
Most childbearing occurred within marriage and the average age of mothers at birth, for all children, remained at around age 30 until the end of the 1930s. Throughout the 1950s until the late 1970s, the average age at first marriage for women was 23 years or younger.
Before most homes had televisions, people spent their spare time listening to the radio or reading the newspaper; they played board games rather than computer games; and in place of the selection of fast food outlets we have to choose from, they had a takeaway from the local fish and chip shop.
Drama, Dance, and Tournaments
People would entertain themselves with song, dance, music and stories. Wandering entertainers, called minstrels or troubadours, would travel from village to village providing such entertainment – particularly music – for the local people. They were paid in food and sometimes coins.
basket-weaving, raffia, plaster model making, painting by numbers and embroidery.
Children played traditional games, such as hopscotch, rounders or cricket using whatever materials they could find. Five stones and pick-up sticks were also popular along with ball games, battleships, card games and marbles.
In celebration of the Easter Rising 1916, first class children have been learning 'How children played 100 years ago'. We had fantastic fun playing games such as Queenie I-O, Hopscotch, Donkey, The Alley Alley-O and Skipping!
1970's kids didn't have apps, educational or not, to entertain them and fill their days. Instead, they used their imagination to create inventions with recycled trash, build forts with whatever they could find, and cooperate with other kids to create games that could last for hours.
Children worldwide collected the toy figures, wore costumes and played with light sabres and Darth Vader masks. The Space Hopper was still a popular toy for playing outdoors. Raleigh bicycles released the 'Chopper' bicycle, which became very popular. TV was in colour and there were many children's programmes now.
Most children who have an interest in video games have likely played Minecraft, seen their friends play it, or watched a streamer stream it on Twitch or Mixer by now. Minecraft is extremely popular not just with junior gamers but also with many teachers due to its capacity for teaching problem-solving and construction.
Solitary (Independent) Play
Toys for independent play can be anything that babies, toddlers, or preschoolers can play with on their own, such as stuffed animals, blocks, toy figures, dress-up costumes, musical instruments, play tools, dolls, push toys, and books.