Stuff from a 90's childhood your kids don't understand:

[TheGhostsOfMeAndYou]

After reading CandidFruit's amazing thread about weird stuff from a 80's childhood, it got me thinking about things from my childhood and when telling my 10 year old DD about them she didn't get at all.

I was born mid 80's so although a lot of the 80's thread rang a bell I definitely remember kore 90's stuff.

My daughter couldn't grasp children's TV only being on for a set amount of time each day and if you weren't home to watch a programme when it was aired you missed it!

I was also explaining 10p mix ups to her and it blew her mind!

So pleased they still do Crucial Crew! I still have my t-shirt from the 90s and now my daughter has her version from last year.

Yes! Crucial crew, we went too. Failed at every exercise and came home with a plastic firemans hat and trauma! It was held at a local holiday park and a man asked if I wanted to go and see his owl, of course I obliged!
@TinselTarTars

So funny to think back on, I remember going into a smoked filled house in pairs with a fireman, they took us upstairs and turned all of the lights off and we had to try and get out. Half way down the stairs they told us.. Your grandad is in his bedroom sleeping through the fire what are you going to do girls? We went to go back up to save him but was stopped by the fireman screaming... WRONG!!! YOU'D BOTH BE DEAD BY NOW!
We were literally about 8 years old 😂

Born in 85.

My secondary school had a separate smaller staff room as the "smoking staff room". Teachers smoking inside on school grounds, in a designated area for it.

It was standard to take crisps, biscuits, chocolate, juice to school in your school lunch. Crisps might have a little prize or toy or something inside the packet. As did breakfast cereal for that matter, hunting through Frosties to find the bike reflector!

Going to Blockbusters to rent a video at the weekend was a treat. There were empty display boxes with the artwork on, and behind them were the blank boxes that held the actual tapes. You returned the videos after you watched them by posting them through a slot by the door. Better have rewound them first!

Everything was done in cash, or cheques. If you got birthday money, you had to take it to the building society with your account book and see someone at the counter. They would pay it in for you and stamp in your account book the amount you had. If you wanted to buy something and take money out, same in reverse. I didn't get a cash card until I was 16.

I've just remembered another one, when I was 16 I worked in a Primark Store.. Everyone paid with Cheque guarantee cards.

Going to Blockbusters on a Friday night to rent a VHS.
Making sure you watched it in time to return it.
And making sure you rewound it before returning it.

Purple Ronnie poems

Take me to your dealer

I remember phone trees for school trips! One person would call home from services to say we were en route and ETA and then that parent called the next on the list and so on to pass the message on.

TV that isn't on demand. The way I said it was the TV decides. He's baffled.

They don't have toys in cereal now?!? What the fuck is the point of cereal then?

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/26/cereal-thriller-the-fans-in-search-of-cereal-box-toys

I am also still sad that Ricicles stopped being made, just because they were 40% sugar.

Your trainers being so valuable that there was a danger of them being stolen from your feet, as in About a Boy.

Also wearing trainers without socks in summer, and I mean genuinely sockless, no invisible socks. Some of us even did this for PE.

As for the fire escape drills, I remember an activity where we took turns to escape from a room by feeling about, and to mimic not being able to see through the smoke, we were blindfolded.

@CJ0374 There's an advert on a bus stop near me for yogurt with a Magic Eye background, but sadly it doesn't reveal anything! In the 90s, I once had a pack of cards where the reverse side was magic eye, so you could see what cards your opponent was holding, if you knew how to do the Magic Eye.

As well as teletext itself, there were "Backchat" and "Zine", aimed at teenagers, where you could send in comments by phone, post, fax or email, and hope that they would be published. I had quite a few comments shown. 😉 It was a forerunner of social media. I remember one comment from somebody else, which is hilarious in hindsight: "I love Backchat, and seeing the stupid things you all write about. Keep up the good work everybody, it's so funny!" I think that sums up the whole of social media (including Mumsnet).

It was standard to take crisps, biscuits, chocolate, juice to school in your school lunch. Crisps might have a little prize or toy or something inside the packet. As did breakfast cereal for that matter, hunting through Frosties to find the bike reflector!

Remember when Walkers put actual money in crisp packets?? £5, £10, £20 and even £50 notes if I recall?

I remember! Never won any cash though sadly. :(

And Street fighter! Then they made a film with kylie in it

Zip zap machines for credit cards with carbon paper. You had to sign it and it didn't appear on your statement for 3 weeks or so because the shop had to post them off for processing. If you were really lucky the raised numbers on the cards hadn't imprinted properly and it never appeared.

My DS was in an old car the other day, looked at the handle to wind the window down and said "what's this for?"

Spending weekends traipsing around shops. Whole weekends filled with trying to find a new coffee table / carpet / lamp and collecting heavy catalogues to take home- we went to collectables as a treat (I remember the store was always very, very busy)

Softplay at Asda and McDonald's (and the birthday parties at mcdonalds!).

Oh and being dropped off at the school gate (or near it) - now I have my own dc it seems bizarre that our parents would walk us to the school gate and leave us to make our own way in / play in the playground before lessons.

The "train transmission" girl on tv - where they had a picture of a girl on tv when there werent any programs on. Im sure thats not the right word for it, though!

Everyone talking about the same tv show watched at the same time - Grange Hill, Scott & Charleene in neighbours, etc. I guess some people wouldve had vcr by then, but not that I remember!

Cars didnt have central locking or electric windows, phones with a dial rather than buttons.

Pipe smoking! Noone seems to smoke a pipe now!! Grandfathers with waistcoats and pocket watches.

It feels like it must've been the 1880's, not the 1980's.

The thought that I just had a little lap belt in the car. I remember sneering at a friend of mine who had a high back booster asking her why she had a baby seat, as I'd never heard of that before. With hindsight I realise a lap belt is basically a death sentence in a big collision. Now I'm all about extended rear facing and the best car seats money can buy.

I don’t recognise any of that. Certainly not from the 90’s

my mum put a blanket inside the car bonnet overnight to keep it warm in winter.

I think this was a common practice.

Wimpys. Burgers and chips on plates with knives and forks.

Going to town with your mates every weekend, head to HMV to buy the latest chart singles on tape or CD if you were fancy. Off to Bodyshop to spritz head to toe in dewberry body mist then Boots for rimmel heather shimmer lipstick.

I miss Little Chef, those Olympic breakfasts were food of the gods.

Mcdonald's that has Ronald McDonalds plastered everywhere and the Hamburglar. They used to offer coupons on the back of bus tickets for free fries or hamburgers, I don't think they still do that?

I was 14 when this was out so it was the noughties but I tried to show my kids (13, 14, 15) “The Mighty Boosh” last weekend…totally unimpressed 😮

I’m old greeeeggggg!

Ohhhhh I misread the thread…thought it was specifically about tv shows we watched…ignore me.