Did you watch the soaps on TV when you were a child?

[CosyJanuary]

I was having a conversation with someone and I wondered if my experience was normal/typical of the times.

I was born in a he 80s and I always watched the soaps on TV in the evening right from when I was a young child probably age 6-7 and carried on until my teens.

It was a normal thing in my house to put the soaps on if an evening from 7.30pm and he allowed to sit and watch them with mum and dad.

They weren’t really suitable for children and my friend was horrified that I was allowed.

I was born early 60s and used to watch the soaps in the afternoon in school holidays like the original Emmerdale Farm, The Sullivans and Cedar tree.My Nan lived on the borders of Wales and used to get several different regional iITV stations and was ahead of London by a couple of weeks for Coronation Street and HTV was behind Midlands by a day . We also used to watch Crossroads when we visited her, though not sure if we did at home.

Me too , when I was 18-19 , I'd have a shower , wash my hair then spend all the Brookie Omnibus putting on my make-up, doing my hair , then getting dressed (probably in the break) then going out .
Those were the days

Born in the 80s and watched Neighbours and Home and Away every day (twice a day in the holidays!) since I was young. I remember the storyline in Neighbours when Sky was a baby and she was bitten by the red back spider. Living in England I had little knowledge of Australian wildlife so it scared me when my dad explained what it was. I went abroad for a year in my 20s and when I came back I couldn’t seem to get into it again because the characters had all changed. Same with Corrie. Never watched Eastenders.

No. My parents never watched them, so it wasn’t a ‘thing’.

Yes, Crossroads, Coronation Street, Emmerdale farm. I don't remember anything racy. This was the 70s though. I think EastEnders and brookside changed the game.

Yes because we only had 3 channels at first until channel four started ,I just watched, what my mum and dad were watching most people only had 1 tv
Also the storyline, s were generally alot tamer ,not many ridiculously over the top huge budget story lines .

Oh yes! Neighbours at tea time (obsessed!). I dipped in and out of Home and Away. Definitely Corrie - everything stopped for Corrie in my house. I also loved Brookside (Brookie) and would watch the omnibus on a Saturday teatime.

DH's parents didn't allow ITV and only 'tried out' Eastenders when it started because it was event tv that the BBC was doing a soap.

My parents were not really soap watchers. My mum took to Coronation Street for a while in the 80s and I do remember watching Eastenders for a bit. Generally, the story lines were ok for kids and much tamer than they are today. Other than that the only soapy tv I saw as a younger child was on wet school holiday days. Emmerdale Farm, which was tame to the point of tedious and made me wish it was the day for Crown Court or a cookery show.

During the uni years Neighbours as a lunchtime thing was popular with mates, but never my thing.

Used to watch EastEnders with my mum when I was younger. The storylines didn't seem so outrageously unrealistic back then, I maybe wrong though. I don't watch it anymore though or any soap for that matter.

Yes, neighbours and home and away, Corrie and eastenders, although my dad always commented on how depressing everyone was in eastenders and told us we should read a book instead!!

Coronation Street being on and no one being allowed to talk is a core memory of my childhood (born in 1979). It was definitely "suitable for children" because it was on prime time telly before 9pm watershed!

Remember watching Brookside. Also watched Minder -that was a treat. I was allowed to stay up late😅. 1 telly household

lol scroll on then - plenty people responding to the OP so it must be a you problem.

I loved all the soaps as a kid - loved watching them with my Mum - Corrie, Brookside, home & Away, Neighbours and the Spanish one Eldorado. Also loved Dallas too. We were gutted it didn’t make a second series 😂

Soaps were definitely more of an escape in the 70s/80s and into the 90s. I don’t watch any now.

Yes! I remember doing the same 😂

There was only Coronation Street when I was a child and my parents didn't watch it, so nor did I. Some of my classmates did though.

Neighbours, Home and Away, Emmerdale, Corrie. Hated the theme tune to Corrie as it meant bed time. We weren't allowed Eastenders because of the gay HIV bloke 🙄
Never watched them as an adult.

Yep, 80s child here! Watched all the soaps and thought it was normal until I had mine. I vaguely remember watching some inappropriate things in them! I have the tv off a lot now as I prefer not to be glued to the tv. Kids think it weird when friends ask if they’re watching a series on tv, as they just watch children’s films through Netflix! They never watch normal tv. Husband puts it on for the news and football, and they think it’s super boring waiting for something to come on! 😂

Oh I watched them when I was wee in the 80s. (Born 81). I remember when neighbours was on twice a day I even got to come home at dinner time from school to watch Scott and Charlene’s wedding. I remember getting to watch all the American soaps such as Dallas dynasty and falcon crest. The Australian soaps were great too flying doctors and country practice. I’m really showing my age now 😂

No. We didn't have a TV.

I also remember watching this unfold. Just googled when those episodes aired, wondering how old I must have been…I was 7!😱
To answer your original question, we were also a soap family and would religiously sit and watch them together every night (and from a young age)

All of them inc brookside. Never liked home and away though. I also remember watching heartbeat, London burning, the bill and bad girls. Mum said I also like bergerac.

No. I had an unusual childhood and I couldn’t identify with the characters or anything going on in the soaps.

Yes, absolutely! The only rules in my house were if it was on after 9 I couldn’t watch it because anything after that time was inappropriate. My dad calling it ‘the watershed’ rings a bell?

No, we wouldn't have been allowed to. Mum listened to the Archers if that counts.
But, from age 7 to 13ish I walked home after school and went to an elderly neighbours house, walked her dog then got to watch such quality TV as the Young Doctors, Take the High Road and Sons and Daughters while drinking milky coffee and dunking biscuits (which my mum wouldn't have approved of)

i dont remember, perhaps coronation street with dm, but not so i can really recall.