When I was your age……….

After yet another “there is nothing on TV” comment from the kids over the school holidays, they looked dumfounded when I explained there were only 3 channels to choose from when I was their age.

I think they were possibly more shocked by the fact that programs didn’t actually start until 8am and we were greeted by a test page featuring a girl playing noughts and crosses on a blackboard with a slightly odd-looking clown if we switched the TV on early.

TV Test Page

Things improved a bit in the 80’s with the launch of dedicated children’s TV, who can forget Philip Schofield with Gordon the Gopher in the Broom Cupboard, but things were so different then that I get all nostalgic looking back.

It is the silly things I remember:

Then:

Making a call from a phone box and playing russian roulette with not being cut off by putting the money at the last second

Now:

Making sure you have enough credit on your mobile before you make a call

Phone Box

Then:

Having a “ring code” to tell someone you had arrived safely at your destination

Now:

Dropping them a text message

Mobile Phone

Then:

Paying ½p for a Mojo sweet

Now:

You cannot even buy individual sweets!

Mojo Sweets

Then:

That horrible taste you got from licking a stamp

Now:

Peeling it off the card and sticking it straight on the envelope

Licking a stamp

Then:

Playing cat’s cradle

Now:

Playing a handheld games console

Cat's Cradle

Then:

Playing French Elastic in the playground

Now:

Playing on highly regulated play equipment

French Elastic

Then:

Doing the ‘Superman’ dance at the school disco

Now:

It’s all about Gangnam Style

Gangnam Style

Then:

Everyone owned a spider plant (and the macrame hanging baskets to put them in)

Now:

Everyone owns a colourful orchid

Spider Plant

Then:

Recording your favourite songs from the charts on your cassette player

Now:

Downloading your favourite song from iTunes / Google / Amazon

Cassette Tape

Then:

Having all 12 books of the Encyclopædia Britannica and having to search each of them for school projects

Now:

You just Google it

Google

Then:

Philip Schofield and Gordon the Gopher in the Broom Cupboard

Now:

Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby

Phillip-Schofield-Gordon-the-Gopher-

What do you remember from your childhood that really stands out as different now?

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

 

14 thoughts on “When I was your age……….”

  1. Love this!!

    Then: Bendy rollers in your hair if you wanted it curly.
    Now: Getting clever with straighteners or fancy curling sticks.

    Then: Playing marbles on the playground
    Now: Keeping marbles to look at

    Reply
  2. This all brings back a lot of memories, thank you. All stuff I enjoyed in my childhood.

    It is so hard having teenagers these days; and darest I say anything about comparison to my childhood and I’m shot with a death stare of “yeah well, that was then, this is now”. Hah!

    Reply
  3. I still have a spider plant! I was watering it the other day and thinking how good it would look in a macrame pot hanger… I think there’s probably no hope for me!

    Reply
  4. Love the one about recording your favourite songs from the radio, I remember trying to cut out the talking on the BBC Radio chart show so I could create my own Top of The Pops… ha, fun times!

    Reply
  5. My two never believe me about that bloomin’ test page! LOL. I can remember everything on this list. Up until my mum got a smart phone a couple of years ago we still had to ‘give her two rings’ when we got home so she knew we’d arrived safely 😀

    Louise x

    Reply
  6. Things really have changed just in our lifetimes. Kids nowadays have no idea what a youth with no technology was like and sadly are unable to keep themselves occupied without a gadget glued to their hand

    Reply
  7. I remember cassette tapes too, and having to pay at a payphone to call my parents at night. It’s kind of sad that my kids won’t have the same upbringing I did but also kind of amazing how far technology has come in such a short space of time!

    Reply
  8. We used to draw hopscotch on the street outside and make tree houses, we don’t see kids playing down our street very often. Apparently they all play Minecraft instead now…

    Reply

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