Community Parents
Everyone has a set of parents or a guardian of some kind, but it used to be the norm that an entire community would be looking after the kids of the area. That meant any and every adult was the authority over every and any kid they came across. For obvious reasons, this isn't the way things are done now...
Science Sets
Science is the way of the future, but it was also the way of the past. Back in the good old days, these kits were sold in stores just like everything else. The issue was that these things were often able to create explosions and hazardous chemicals. But sure, let your little boy play with them!