13 Childhood Memories That Reminded Us How Our Lives Have Changed

Back in the day, things were much simpler. Before the rise of social media and tech, life moved at a slower pace and everyone enjoyed the little things. From going to the toy store and finding your favorite action figure to going outside to play with the neighborhood kids, these experiences are truly a blast from the past.

1. Wacky pencils

Pencils in the past seemed to carry more personality than modern options these days. You could find all sorts of wacky designs with cool-looking eraser tops. Someone even mentions, “Golly, I loved these things, we used to trade for them.”

2. Fast food toys

There’s nothing like going to your favorite fast food chain and getting a kid’s meal and finding a mini toy gift. The toys were always themed to popular kid’s TV shows, like Inspector Gadget, and kids would go crazy for them.

3. Old game consoles

Before all the complicated gaming tech and specs, kids used to play with simple gaming consoles like the humble Game Boy, complete with a handful of button controls and a small square screen. One commenter reminisces, “My eldest brother bought me one of these when I was a kid, and it was one of my most prized possessions.”

4. Going to a toy store.

Do you remember the feeling of entering a toy store and being overwhelmed with the amount of dolls, toys, and colors all surrounding you? Children used to run around the aisles searching for their favorite action figure or doll to keep for years to come.

5. Reading teen magazines.

If you’re a millennial, then you might remember sifting through dozens of magazines as a teenager. Bonus points if you used to cut out the pictures and stick them on your wall, making a collage. Back then, these magazines were the trend guide, rather than today’s Instagram feed.

6. Flip phones

Out of all the best nostalgic gadgets of the past, the flip phone takes the cake. Even though it didn’t have all the fancy tools we have now, it was all about the experience of closing and flipping the phone open. One commenter recounts, “I really miss being able to dial by feel, instead of having to look at the screen!”

7. Old TV shows

You come back home after a long day at school. What’s one of the first things you needed to do? Turn on the TV and enjoy your favorite shows. Whether it was “Hey, Arnold!” or “The Powerpuff Girls,” every kid loved this time of day.

8. Radio and cassette tapes

Before music streaming apps, people used to use radios and cassettes to enjoy a tune. A commenter remembers, “I used to spend hours close to my tape deck and catch my fav tunes on the radio and record them to tape!”

9. Arcade games

While arcades still do exist today, they aren’t as popular as back in the day. Kids used to enjoy stopping by the arcade on a weekend or before a movie. They’d love playing all sorts of games, like air hockey and the claw machine, trying to win a cute stuffed animal.

10. Playground games

From your childhood memories, you probably remember the playground being alive. All the children would be playing classic games like hopscotch, Simon Says, Tag, or hide and seek. Those games created a lot of childhood friends and bonds.

11. iPods

Remember iPods? They had these tiny screens, and you’d scroll through your music with that satisfying click wheel, trying not to overshoot the song you wanted. The battery lasted forever. Someone mentioned, “I just had flashbacks to watching the first Twilight movie on that tiny screen.”

12. Stick-on earrings

Your mom may not have been so keen on getting your ears pierced, so the next best thing were stick-on earrings.

One person shares a heartfelt story, saying, “Must have been...5th grade. There was a girl I had a crush on, I remember her saying her parents wouldn’t let her pierce her ears so she wanted these but said her parents wouldn’t get them for her, either. So I did. I bought a pack at the 7-11 on my way to school one morning and when she wasn’t looking I slipped them into her backpack.”

13. Heelys

Heelys were a very “cool” shoe back in the day. There were several first wobbly attempts, but once you got the hang of it, you were gliding like you were on top of the world. A commenter mentioned, “This kind of shoes and the ones with the colored lights were the ‘cool kids’ shoes back in elementary school.”

Our old-school experiences were truly a fun time to look back to. Lots of fond memories were made that are worth treasuring. These people share some of their most unforgettable childhood memories that lasted a lifetime.