18. Despite the fact that Ann was portrayed as a fairly strict parent, Julie and Barbara, as teenagers in the 1970s, had freedom that seems unusual to people who watch the show in reruns in later decades. What is an example of this?
From Quiz One Quiz at a Time: "One Day at a Time"
Answer:
When Ann goes out of town for work, she leaves the girls by themselves overnight
In the 1990s, many jurisdictions in the US passed statutes against leaving children under 18 alone overnight, even in their own homes. A conscientious parent like Ann would doubtfully take these the trips if the show were made just 20 years later.
In one episode, where the girls are alone overnight, they learn a lesson about calling home, as they stay up waiting anxiously for Ann to call and let them know she has arrived at her hotel, because she's been delayed in getting to it when she is on a business trip.
The girls sneak the beer into a party once after Ann has forbade it. The drinking age was 21 in Indiana in the 70s, but it was 18 in some neighboring states, and many people considered Indiana backward and Puritan. Also, the producers may not have bothered to look up the Hoosier drinking age, and assumed it was 18, or at least 18 for beer, as it was in most places. The changes came in the late 1980s, when the national age of 21 arrived. Also, providing alcohol to underage people in a private home was not a crime; later, it would become one. Ann was is a strict parent, relative to the girls' friends' parents, because she wouldn't allow beer at the party. This episode may shock the senses of later audiences, but it conforms to 1970s norms.
Julie doesn't drop out of high school; she simply chooses not to go to college. Later, she goes to clothing design school, and drops out of that. Ann was not happy with either choice, but as Julie was an adult, there was nothing she can do.
Barbara went to Chicago without Ann's permission, and got in a lot of trouble for doing so.