Podcast Summary: Juvenile Jury (1949.06.19) – "Wants to Change Birthday"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: February 13, 2026 (re-broadcast)
Original Air Date: June 19, 1949
Host: Jack Barry
Format: Classic panel Q&A with children as "jurors"

Episode Overview

This episode of Juvenile Jury features a panel of children, aged 5 to 11, offering candid, humorous, and occasionally insightful answers to problems submitted by young listeners during America’s “Golden Age of Radio.” As always, adults present the questions, the kids weigh in, and the charm comes from their logic and honesty. In this episode, questions range from wanting to change one’s birthday, dealing with uncomfortable dance school attire, to classic sibling rivalry and neighborly garden woes.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Changing Your Birthday Because of Income Tax Season

[01:44 – 05:25]

• Problem: An 11-year-old girl’s birthday falls near income tax time, making her father grumpy and birthday celebrations less than festive. She wonders if she can simply "move" her birthday.
• Children's Responses:
  • Charlie: "Nobody can change their birthday. But there's something else she can do...Ask the government to change income tax day." ([02:32])
    Jack Barry quickly points out the impracticality, but appreciates the creative thinking.
  • Elizabeth: Points out her own birthday is perfectly timed: “My birthday's at a good time because then income tax day is gone...So my birthday's the right way.” ([04:20])
  • Dickie: Wonders if moving your birthday makes you younger: “Well, if she changes her birthday, how old will it make her?” ([03:53])
  • Johnny: Jokes about how moving the birthday earlier could keep making her younger: "At this rate, by the time she gets to be 20, she'll only be 15." ([04:01])
  • General Consensus: Celebrate early or late; it's the thought that counts, but—jokes Dickie—“You can keep the thoughts. Just give me the gift.” ([05:16])

Memorable Quote:

"It ain't the gift that counts. It's the thought. And I always say you can keep the thoughts. Just give me the gift." – Dickie ([05:16])

2. Wearing Embarrassing Clothes to Dancing School

[05:25 – 09:38]

• Problem: 8-year-old Master PH must wear velvet pants and shiny shoes with bows to dance school, but there’s nowhere to change, and he’s afraid of being teased.
• Children's Responses:
  • Several kids suggest the teasing is unfair; it’s just part of dancing, and “there’s nothing wrong with being a dancer. Ask Rita Hayworth.” – Peggy ([08:16])
  • Charlie: Connects to tough cowboys: “Look at cowboys. They have scissors and they wear high heels.” ([08:11])
  • Dickie: Shares a cautionary tale: "Once I wore velvet pants and shiny black shoes in my neighborhood. And you know what happened?...Shiny black eyes." ([09:16])
  • General Consensus: Try going with friends, ignore teasing, and remember kids tease for all sorts of reasons.

Memorable Quote:

"Well, boys don't need dancing schools. They just have to be sure that they're strong enough to hold girls up." – Unknown juror ([09:32])

3. Dog of the Week: Breed Identification

[09:56 – 11:14]

• Game: The children are presented with an actual English Toy Spaniel; they guess the breed, with lots of wrong and funny answers before Peggy solves it.

  • “I think it's an English toy spaniel. The Blenheim type.” – Peggy ([11:05])

• Dog Trivia: The host shares the breed’s history, including that Mary Queen of Scots had one and how the breed may have originated in China.

4. Sibling Bed-Sharing

[14:49 – 19:22]

• Problem: Four-year-old Joyce asks whether she should let her little brother sleep in her bed since he cries every night.
• Children's Responses:
  • Discussion: Covers comfort, shared sleeping, the challenges of twins, and humorous takes on being the “filling in a sandwich.” ([15:56])
  • Johnny: “I think the little brother should learn to sleep in his own bed. Because that's what I have to try to do now too.” ([17:59])
  • Charlie: Warns of lost sleep and “bags under your eyes and you'll look like an old hag.” ([18:54])
  • General Consensus: Empathizes with Joyce, suggests compromise, and highlights every family’s bedtime struggles.

Memorable Quote:

"If your brother would sleep in your bed, then where would you sleep? ...you're lucky that he's not twins. Otherwise when both got in your bed, you feel like a sandwich." – Dickie ([15:56])

5. Neighbors Climbing (and Crushing) the Garden Fence

[19:39 – 22:57]

• Problem: Kids next door keep climbing over the garden fence, get stuck, and now sit and wait rather than yell for help—the fence is collapsing.
• Children's Responses:
  • Charlie: Suggests putting cactus on the fence: “That won't tickle him.” ([22:24])
  • Suggestion: Use reverse psychology, more secure gates, or simply let the fence fall.
  • Host's advice: Emphasizes children’s safety and proper entry: “Otherwise, you'll have to ask them not to play in the garden.” ([22:57])

6. Too Many Recitations in the School Play

[24:51 – 27:45]

• Problem: Joseph, 6, complains he “always has a part to say” in school plays and wants to “save his voice.”
• Q&A:
  • Joseph’s rationale: “Because when my father asks me questions, I won't be able to answer him back.” ([25:33])
  • Advice: “Why don’t you go ahead and recite and lose your voice, then you won’t have any more problems.” ([26:42])
  • Encouragement: Several jurors suggest he should cooperate and participate, using up his young voice while he can.

Memorable Quote:

"When you get a little older your voice is going to change anyway. So why should you save it? You might as well use it all up now." – Peggy ([27:10])

7. Juvenile Jury Art Contest Winners Announced

[27:45 – 29:44]

• Announcement: Winners and runners-up for the children’s art contest are named, with prizes for students and their schools. Judges include Norman Rockwell.
• Host’s Reflection: “These children make us feel ever so confident of our country’s future. For only with creative people can a country progress and grow.” ([29:20])

Additional Notable Moments & Quotes

• On gift-giving vs. thoughts:

  “It ain't the gift that counts. It's the thought. And I always say you can keep the thoughts. Just give me the gift.” – Dickie ([05:16])

• On being teased for ballet:

  “They used to make fun of me because of the kind of dancing I took. But I didn't mind it. I still took dancing.” – Elizabeth ([08:52])

• On mothers and tiredness:

  “She should just let the fence collapse because otherwise she's just gonna get exhausted from picking them all up and she'll collapse first.” – Peggy ([22:34])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:44 – Question about changing birthday
• 05:25 – Velvet pants and dance school embarrassment
• 09:56 – "Dog Guest of the Week" breed guessing game
• 14:49 – Bed-sharing with little brother
• 19:39 – Neighbor kids and the collapsing garden fence
• 24:51 – Too many recitations at school
• 27:45 – Announcement of art contest winners

Tone and Style

The tone is genuine, witty, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, showcasing the frankness and imagination of children when confronting everyday dilemmas. Jack Barry, the affable host, keeps the conversation moving with gentle teasing and keeps the atmosphere supportive and light-hearted.

Closing Thought

"Out of the mouths of babes oft times come gems." – Jack Barry ([30:05])

This episode is a window to mid-century American family life, with timeless childhood themes on birthdays, teasing, fairness, and the joys and struggles of growing up. The kids’ responses are both a product of their era and refreshingly universal.