30 Traumatic But Nostalgic Images From The 60s, 70s, And 80s

PTSD (Playground Traumatic Stress Disorder) is real. One look at a metal slide in July and my fight-or-flight kicks in.

If you grew up in the ‘60s, ‘70s, or ‘80s, these pictures might stir up fond memories and repressed trauma. From boiling-hot play equipment to toys that doubled as lawsuits-in-waiting, childhood back then wasn’t just wild—it was borderline negligent.

Good times.

1. And it would mess you up.

2. This thing would burn you so bad it’d leave a mark.

3.

4. Being thrown from this with such force and coming back for more. How did any of us survive?

5.

Related: 45 Old School Parenting Fails From A Nostalgic Time When ‘Safety’ Hadn’t Been Invented Yet

6. Stepping on these were worse than Legos.

7. This would mess you up too though.

8.

9. Hurts to even look at these.

10. We all learned an important lesson about curiosity from this little guy.

11. The knockers of pain.

12. The leg breaking machine.

13. This would open your foot right up.

14. The horrors.

15. Everyone broke a bone in this. Obviously.

16. Yet another thing we would leave everywhere and destroy our feet.

17. Suffocating in these.

18. Pain. So much pain.

19. The most pain.

20. These were such a bad idea.

21.

22.

23. Jumping this but not quite clearing it.

24. Sitting on this with shorts on.

25. When your hand would freeze to these.

26. A specific pain tool.

27. Again, bad idea. Like, why?

28. How we used to get vaccinated.

29. The most painful whip on the market.

30. Whoever invented this hated children.