I did these things as a kid (but my kids won't)

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I think about my own childhood now that I'm a parent. Often. Of course I do, it is my primary frame of reference in all things childhoody. There are things I did that my kids will never do. I could talk about how they will never dial a rotary phone. Or that they won't be enjoying candy cigarettes - remember those paper wrapped gum ones with powdered sugar inside that looked like smoke? So cool. Or how caller ID will prevent them from learning the art of prank calling. But all of that stuff just makes me feel old. Plus, this type of comparison would be way more interesting coming from my grandparents who walked 50 miles barefoot uphill both ways in the snow and all that. Still. Times have changed.

There are some awesome examples in here! And she tells the truth!
I remember walking to the corner store as a kid, maybe 6ish by myself.. Today?Never!

I want my Walkman back!

reply to post by Britx


Haha I think I just missed out on them old phones, they look ridiculously difficult to use. I remember them cigarette candy things though Haha.

reply to post by DAZ21


My grandparents had one and used it till it broke.. I think they finally canned it in 98? It was so cool! I loved using it!

I used to put on my metal skates, on my shoes, tighten them with a key I kept on a cord around my neck, and roller skated to the neighborhood store. Down the middle of the road...no sidewalks....

lol im 22 and theres things I did as a kid that kids today won't. I grew up in the high-tech transition. I grew up with the precursors of all the tech we have today. walkmans, home pc's, videogame consoles, etc.

Originally posted by Britx
reply to post by DAZ21

 

My grandparents had one and used it till it broke.. I think they finally canned it in 98? It was so cool! I loved using it!

SHHhhhhhhhhhhhht, Tic,tic,tic,tic. SHHhhhhhhhhhhhht, Tic,tic,tic,tic. SHHhhhhhhhhhhhht, Tic,tic,tic,tic.

I miss rotary phones.

I also been accused by friends during my tales on my childhood that I am the reason todays kids won't have that kind of fun I had.

How about the typewriter, I had to take a mandatory year of it. Glad I had too. Comes in handy now withe the computer age.
I miss the penny candy stores also. The wax bottles, the saucers with had the dots in them.
Heck, kids are lucky if they know any outside games anymore. When was the last time you see kids at a park playing tag,kickball etc.Your lucky to get them out of the house anymore. We used to invent games when we got bored.
I've been taking my daughter roller skating, still a few rinks around here and I can still skate.lol

Well I just started scanning the list and... not impressed. They have teeter totters at every playground here. And all kids jump out of a swing at high speeds. It's part of the circle of life. Sledding? Really? This article is a waste of time.

Ah, the nostalgia!

I remember when electronics and video games were only for stormy days. Even in moderate rain or snow, outside was the place to be. So many physical activities all day every day until the street lights came on.

We can't just discuss the "good"things. How about:

Buying smokes for your dad from the convenience store
Waiting outside that same convenience store until someone was willing to buy us beer
Learning how to make our own version of explosives

More will come to me, cool topic.

reply to post by Britx


They still make candy cigarrettes, they just call them sticks now.

Originally posted by jjkenobi
Well I just started scanning the list and... not impressed. They have teeter totters at every playground here. And all kids jump out of a swing at high speeds. It's part of the circle of life. Sledding? Really? This article is a waste of time.

See what having an unhappy childhood does to you...grow up to be grumpy old men....

I remember changing the channel really fast and it sounded like a machine gun. If you don't know what I am talking about then you are probably to young.

Originally posted by DAZ21
reply to post by Britx

 

Haha I think I just missed out on them old phones, they look ridiculously difficult to use. I remember them cigarette candy things though Haha.

I remember the cigarette gum! It came in packs like Kool & Marlboro & look liked the real thing.
Oh yes, the big, heavy & ugly rotary phone was something to behold.

Not to mention actually getting up to change the channel.

I remember buying single cigarettes called "loosies" from the corner shop when I was about 11 yrs old....thank god my kids will never do that.

reply to post by TDawgRex


My dad still has the rotary phone in the basement. My 14 year old niece went to make a call and couldn't figure out how to use it.


I don't consider it a big loss though. I don't want my house burned down at 9.1.............

Another thing kids today will never experience is being a remote control for the old tube t.v. And they will never experience the freedoms that we had and roam farrrrrrrrrrrrr away from the house.

I got my first job at age 13, helping farmers haul hay. By age 15 I was making my own money working for a half-dozen of them. Today modern farm equipment means my son has never and probably will never haul hay.

I used to mow yards as well. The local store would pay me five dollars and two bottles of Mountain Dew once a week during the summer. Today, lawn care services take care of that.

My first car was a fixer-upper. It was an old Volkswagon Beetle held together with duct tape, baling wire, and prayer... heavy on the prayer. Today my son is having to wait on getting his license until we can get a vehicle running that isn't held together as such, and until we can afford to buy mandatory insurance. Thank God at least here, today, it doesn't have to be approved for emissions. It just has to be road-worthy.

I remember riding my thumb to town while I was working on my car, usually to either get to a job or buy some parts for the car. My son can't do that; not only is it dangerous now, but it is also illegal!

Carrying a pocketknife is illegal in schools, so he is not able to learn as I did just how handy a small blade is when something breaks and needs fixing. Not to mention he can't even buy one... heck, he had to have his mother buy my Christmas present this year (a very nice machete) because he was 17.

Society has indeed changed, and IMHO not for the better... at least not for those who are not blessed from birth with wealth.

TheRedneck

Originally posted by DAZ21
I remember them cigarette candy things

These were the ones I knew.
They'd never be allowed in these modern times.