To ask for your 80s/90s childhood memories

I remember playing in the back garden with siblings. We used to make ramps and yse my dads wheel barrow to ride up and down them.

Used to ride my bike up and down when my dad was out the front /gardening.

Around the age of 10/11 me and friends used to go over the sports club and get chased of by the grounds man in his car . We used to hide under weeping willows . Climb trees. Play tennis in the tennis court . Till we got caught by the groundsman. Sneak past my house with friends to ride scramblers up the green.

Home when the lights came on. Or in a friends house. And then the parents would watch me up the risk to make sure i got in the house.

Doing paper round for older siblings. Car washing for a few pounds.

Oh and when parents were at work and we were looked after by older siblings. We would play games where we would climb in the downstairs window. Jump on the arm chair and tip it backwards run up stairs . Climb out the window into the balcony thingy . And jump down.

Oh and nattress ot sleeping bag and pulled down the stairs.

Also going to a common to play rounders/cricket with cousins in their car and sitting in the boot.

In the early 90's I lived on a kind of big cul de sac with a large green in the middle. There were more than 100 houses and a group of around 20 of us kids aged between 10 and 16 who all hung out together. I remember huge water fights, playing manhunt and hiding in bushes, giggling for hours, camping out overnight on the green in sight of our parents front windows (but with just enough privacy for spin the bottle!) and spending whole days in the local woods building dens.

I'm so glad I grew up in the 80's and 90's and didn't get a mobile till I was 18, I dread to think of all the embarrassing photos or videos that would be floating around the internet if I'd been born even a few years later.

Police visiting our primary school, demonstrating the police dog catching a robber, handcuffing the teacher, and passing round the truncheon for us to have a feel.

@PineappleChicken I remember games like that. There was also a game at home I remember fondly, for which I was sat in a chair outside, which was lifted into the air and I was told I was flying, with the tiny scenery below described. I was only a few inches up, but I was blindfolded, so it felt like I was a long way up. A book would be gently lowered on to my head, and I was told it was the sky. If I was feeling really brave, the adults would get me to stand on the chair before it was lifted, then to jump off, on to the lawn: and it would feel like I was jumping miles.

There was a squicky game that sometimes came up at parties: each child was blindfolded in turn, and taken into a room to feel Nelson's coat and hat, and then Nelson's eye... which would be poking their finger into jelly, or the centre of a cucumber.

Less light hearted, and I mentioned it on the other thread: going on a residential trip with a youth group when I was six, and my dad went as a helper, and slept in one of the boys' dormitories (unthinkable now). We left after only one night; and many years later, he told me that the teenage helpers were having sex with each other in the children's dormitories in the daytime, and some of the children knew this.

Not knowing that there was telly on Saturday mornings until I was 8 (1978). We were out and it was raining, so a couple of kids asked us back to theirs; I mean I'd heard of colour telly!

Roaming the streets, woody areas, playing fields from about 6 or 7. Everyone smoking and feeling sick in the car from it. I remember my dad getting a new car and my mam moaning because she had to wear a seat belt - 1975.

Getting belted for minor things.

Asking my mother if we could watch telly the next Saturday and being told,

"Ah, no. You can't get Saturday morning telly on a black and white." It made perfect sense, because ours was a dial tuner, but the Kilby's colour set had buttons!

Cycled or walked everywhere even though we lived rurally but the buses were crap. Parents never knew where we were but we roamed the fields and common as a group getting up to no good from about 9 years onwards.

watched Baywatch and The Goonies on repeat (vhs)

got the train to the nearest big city to go swimming on Saturdays of roller skating. My friend and I caused as whole city bomb scare there once because we couldn’t be bothered to carry our swim kits around the shops so ‘hid’ them in a car park and the bomb squad was dispatched

when our parents went out they’d get a load of us kids (maybe 3/4 families worth of kids) to sleep in one house and only pay for ONE babysitter between them all. They’d be 10 kids going bananas all night
it was a lot of fun but I cannot believe my parents thought it was ok for some poor 16 yr old babysitter to look after us.

no one smoked but my parents were vegetarian and all my friends thought it was the weirdest thing and teased me about it

Born early 80s. Lived in a village surrounded by woods. Roamed everywhere, often a few miles from home deep into the woods. Made bow and arrows out of sticks, made walking sticks and varnished them, built things, dens, go karts, played imaginary games pretending to be in different worlds (inspired by dungeons and dragons cartoon), took all the cushions off the sofa to play, slid down the stairs on them, stacked them and ran and jumped on them, watching Crossroads in the afternoons with my dad when he was on late shift, being home alone with my brother, Saturday night television - gladiators, Baywatch, blind date, Sunday roast at the table every Sunday, had the BEST headteacher at primary school. If it was sunny he would always abandon lessons and take us outside for games/sports, he would start a snowball fight on the rare occasion it snowed, he would pretend to be a terrible loser and would always try and cheat in games. When we had school discos the games would involve things like rolled up newspaper batons, one person blind folded sat in the middle of the room, the school bell underneath. Everyone else had to try and ring the bell while they were wildly smashing the shit out of us with the newspaper baton. Trying to eat a chocolate bar with a knife and fork whilst wearing gloves, hat and scarf, paper fish trying to get them across the floor with out touching them. Indoor hockey, with all the tables pushed back. Outdoor toilets at school, in stormy weather and older kid had to escort a younger kid outside and round to the toilet ‘block’, tracing paper toilet paper.

Born very early 80s. I sat in the middle seat without a seatbelt so I could lean into the front and see out better. I remember when seatbelts started being used in the back. Late 80s? I was desperate for a boggle. Had a cabbage patch kid and later loved garbage pail kids cards. Roamed freely around neighbouring villages. Got smacked a lot. In the 90s, used to get a babycham in my xmas stocking. Spent hours on the landline. Parents never knew where I was (and I mostly didn't know where they were either).

Born in the early 90s. Always played out with friends, went home to eat, no phones, walked to and from school from a young age. Parents smoked, I used to get sent to the shop to buy them! Smacked if I was naughty. Vivid memories of going on holiday and sitting in the footwell of the car! I have extremely fond memories of my childhood and would love to go back and do it all again.

Home from school and switching on the broom cupboard. Watched all the programmes and then when the Flintstines finished we played out. Tea was crispy pancakes, grill steaks or shepherds pie. Chips made in the chip pan until mum upgraded to the deep fat fryer. Instant whip was a popular pudding or arctic roll. Special occasions we had vianetta or Sarah Lee.
We played out and just had a set time to be home by. We could use the phone but had to put 10p in a tin. The phone was on a special telephone table in the hall.
Sunday could be quite boring. Not much on TV so I read a lot or did crafts.
On a Saturday we’d go to town and spend all day there. We would go to Etam, Tammy girl, C and A etc and Athena for posters.
Most people in my family smoked. Teachers definitely did. I was smacked occasionally and as a consequence never smacked my own.
We had no child car seats and didn’t really think anything of that. We didn’t have seatbelts in the back of the car at all.
Mum got most of our clothes from the Grattan catalogue. When a new one arrived we would be very excited to look through it.
School was rubbish. Never did practice questions for our exams or extra revision sessions - you just got on with it. Many teachers couldn’t care less. Lessons were mainly read a textbook then answer the questions.
Summer holidays my parents worked so we were left on our own with a plate of sandwiches and a jug of squash and strict instructions to not answer door or phone. This was from a very young age and would most definitely be a problem today.

I was born late 80s and didn't know any close adults who smoked.

We always wore seatbelts, i could play on my road but not cross it.

My grandad would come into school to tell wwii stories.

My mum was very chill and i would watch satc age 14 with her as my tv in my room only played videos. But at some point i got a signal and watched eurotrash.

Ordering practical jokes from catalogues.
A young Rik Mayall reading out George’s Marvellous Medicine, with lots of energy, imitating Grandma’s screeching voice.
The Crystal Maze.

Grew up in the eighties too - born in 81.

• My parents smoked but v rarely smacked me, did happen a few times but not so often.

think the biggest differences to how my kids are growing up are:

• more freedom to roam - grew up in a village and we roamed all over the village and surrounding forest, parents didn’t know where we were, had cats and a dog too and they roamed freely too!

• No mobile phones! Again, freedom! But also, so much more confusion and missed appointments, right? Calling someone’s house and not getting hold of them, leaving a message and family members forgetting to pass it on. Meeting someone somewhere and if they didn’t turn up or were late, no way to contact them. But also, remember how in a way we were more involved in each others lives? People would call and kids would pick up the phone and take messages for their parents and vice versa.

• no social media, flow tv and no streaming services, so everyone watched the same things so more sense of community

• people traveling less abroad - most people has holidays in counties closer to home or even didn’t go abroad - so less awareness of the wider world but less pressure to keep up too!

• less awareness of mental health/psychology. This was a bad thing! Adults didn’t usually consider kids feelings a lot.

• more stereotypical gender roles and NO awareness of sexual harassment! All the stuff we girls event through that girls today thankfully wouldn’t put up with.

• a more relaxed approach to academic performance than what is the case today. More space for kids to be kids and not already aspiring for a career from primary school.

so on balance, some things were better and some things worse.

I think my kids have a great childhood in some aspects and some aspects less so. And was same for me!
no time is better than another. Just different. (Expect if there is war or natural catastrophe etc of course).

I was born late 70s. I didn't play outside much except for the garden though would sometimes have neighbouring kids play in our garden. I spent most of my time reading or playing barbies in my room.

Birthday parties were usually held at home and involved party games, jelly and ice cream, cheese and pineapple sticks made into a "hedgehog".

I am just old enough to remember the seatbelt law being introduced. Before that we didn't really wear them in the back. I remember they were uncomfortable when I was smaller. There weren't many booster seats so I used to sit on a cushion on the back seat.

Also, kids tv was great. When I was very little I loved Mr Ben, Pigeon Street, Chockablock, Button Moon. When I was older we had Dogtanian and Willly Fog. And Phillip Schofield in the broom cupboard with Gordon the Gopher.....

You have described my childhood 😊

We played outside and roamed and roamed. Built dens with proper tools, built go karts, played in the local river and up trees. Went swimming and into town on our own as we were expected to be able to catch a bus and know how to get off.
I remember getting 10 penny sweets as a treat and that was our treat for the week not a daily bag of chocolates , chocolate cereal, chocolate spread butties, chocolate milk etc

Yes. All this!

I was born at the end of the 80s. I loved my childhood we walked home from school and stopped at the local park with most of the other kids from school and our parents didn’t worry. The weekends watching live and kicking and then off on our bikes. My mum would give us a pound to get a pack of crisps and Freddy and a bottle of panda pop. you weren’t allowed back in the house all day but had to be back before the street lights came on which was sometimes up to 10pm in the summer. We used to drink from a hosepipe when we got thirsty 😁 if you did go back home you would get one warning to go back out or you had to stay inside. I remember people smoking in restaurants and there being a smoking and no smoking area even though the smoke was everywhere. My dad use to smoke in his chair in the living room next to a window that was opened to let the smoke out.
water balloon fights and knock down ginger.

80s baby here! Grew up in the 90s mainly - used to play outside in the summer holidays from morning until night, it was Scotland and it didn’t get dark until after 10pm! So we just used to pop in now and again for meals or to check in to show we were still alive. Often didn’t go further than our street or next street, but our parents usually didn’t have a clue where we were if we ventured out further like to another side of our town or one of the many forest areas in our town.

Many of my teachers smelled of coffee and cigarettes but they didn’t smoke in front of us - only in the staffroom! No one in my family smoked but many of my friends parents did smoke inside and I felt sorry for their kids as some had asthma and/or hated it.

Didn’t have much supervision in the playground and anyone could walk into the playground /school. We didn’t have those security gates and buzzers all school do now.

Spent a lot of time on my bike cycling to see friends and just getting around. Also had rollerskates and then progressed to roller blades.

I wasn’t allowed sleepovers but most of my friends were and they would always be at each others house and their parents didn’t really know each other and had often not ever spoken!

I loved the library well into my teens and it used to be open until about 9pm when I was in primary school.

They were amazing times! There was a lot wrong with the 90s too but overall I think kids had a better time then than now.

I remember being home alone after school and having jobs to do like prep for tea and walk the dog.

I remember one TV which meant we learnt to share and take turns and kids TV went off at 5:30 with neighbours and then the 6pm news meant we got told to be quiet or go and play elsewhere.

We played outside and roamed and roamed. Built dens with proper tools, built go karts, played in the local river and up trees. Went swimming and into town on our own as we were expected to be able to catch a bus and know how to get off.

I remember getting 10 penny sweets as a treat and that was our treat for the week not a daily bag of chocolates , chocolate cereal, chocolate spread butties, chocolate milk etc.

I remember shell suits, bin bag halloween costumes, parties at home with jelly and ice cream and party games and not being allowed to keep prizes won in party games (as I as the birthday girl had enough so it was rude my mum said).

I got smacked as a kid for being naughty or answering back. I remember my mum being a stickler for table manners - no elbows on the table, no talking with food in your mouth or leaving the table.

I collected wuzzles, keypers, sweet secrets, He-Man, garbage pail kid cards and rubbers!

Boy bands and having a friend being properly in love with a stranger and love sick about it, and top of the pops.

The summer holidays were always sunny for 6 weeks and we’d play out dusk until dawn

I remember spending the whole weekend trying on various outfits in high street shops and buying 1 item only!

Getting £5 from your mum and being able to get the bus to the local town centre, get a McDonald’s, the latest CD single and still having change. God I loved wandering around the shopping centre with my friends as a young teen.

I'm one of 5 siblings. We were born from 1970 up to 1986.

My brother is the youngest born 86.

We found his communion book thing a few years ago so would have been from the early 90s.

He had to draw a picture of his family. In his picture my mum and dad were smoking and he had written 'this is my dad, he smokes superkings, my mum smokes Benson and hedges'

😬😬😬

So that was pretty bad lol

I don't remember any adults not smoking around that time.

Another thing we used to do in the early 90s, was 'rough it'

So a big group of friends would all lie to their parents about who was staying at each others house etc., but we would just stay out all night, walking around. Absolutely fucking crazy when I think about it. I must have been about 14/15 so that will have been 91/92.

My parents didn't have a clue where I was.