Things my children will never experience

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the things my children find weird, you know those moments when you talk about something and they look at you as if you have just stepped off another planet.  I seem to have more and more of those moments lately but it did get me thinking about things that I experienced growing up, that my children will never experience.  Whilst they will probably sigh loudly with relief, I feel as though they are seriously missing out.

Cassettes.  I loved my cassettes growing up.  Taping my favourite songs off the radio, even if the reception was poor and the recording was crackly, those tapes were played over and over.  Of course, when they had been played to death, there was the fun game of ‘fix the tape’ to play.  Winding a broken cassette back in when it had been chewed up by the tape player using your finger or a pencil, ah there was something very satisfying about doing that (as long as you fixed it of course.)

The Top 40 Countdown.  On the subject of music, do kids really care about music charts anymore? Letting out a gasp of horror a few months ago, when they announced on the radio that the Top 40 was moving to a Friday, my children all looked at me strangely.  They aren’t really bothered by the Top 40 apart from what the number one is, so it had no impact on them.  For me, I felt quite sad.  Sunday afternoon was Top 40 time (with my cassettes, taping my fave songs, of course). I loved he excitement of the countdown and finding out what the number one was going to be.   Friday is just not the same.

Buying their first single.  What was the first single you bought? It was one of those defining moments.  Mine was Holiday by Madonna.  I can still remember going into the local record shop with my £2 in my pocket.  It was a good feeling and such a great memory.  Will our children remember their first digital download?  I doubt it.

Cream on the top of milk bottles.  Milk Bottles.  Milk men.  Where have the milkmen gone?  The sound of the milk float slowly making its way down the road early in the morning, was part of my childhood. It was a sound of morning, time to start thinking about getting up.  The gentle chink of the milk bottles on the doorstep meant fresh milk for breakfast and if I was the first to open it, you had the satisfaction of pressing down on the silver top to reveal a lovely layer of cream (which I am slightly ashamed to say I would often dip my finger in, I couldn’t resist.) Milk containers are so much less appealing these days, possibly more practical but uglier and less exciting, that is for sure.

Video shops.  I can still remember my first visit to a video shop.  It was Blockbusters and I stood there is complete awe at all of the different films.  I would spend many happy hours choosing films and then stressing to get them back on time. Of course, apart from my eldest, my children don’t even know what a video actually is.  To them it is a something they watch on YouTube, if you showed them a VHS they would give you that look again.

The wow factor of new films.  When I was young, the big films made a huge impact.  They stayed at the cinema for weeks, months even and I can still remember them; the experience of going and how I felt after I watched them.  With the over-saturation of media and screen time, will kids today remember the films of their formative years?

Limited children’s TV.  How much did I look forward to the two-hour TV slot after school? I had my TV time and then it was on to Nationwide with Frank Bough and the news before I headed off to bed.  I still struggle with the fact that there is 24 hour children’s television these days.  Madness.

Being cold. Now I’m not saying that children should be cold but we live in such a climatised world these days that the minute the temperature falls below 15 degrees,  on goes the heating.  They will never experience the joys of wearing so many layers that you resembled the Michelin man or a bathroom so cold that the toothpaste freezes.  All such character-building experiences.

Using a landline.  I’m certain that these days, most landline phones are obsolete with so many mobiles around but there was something quite exciting about using a landline when you were young, especially to ring a boyfriend.  You would pick up the courage to ring and then put the phone down a few times before you could actually speak and then it would be his mum or dad, just to throw you.  That and the fact that you were ‘attached’ to the phone, so you couldn’t move anywhere either.  These days it is all texting and social media which is all well and good and with mobiles, you can take your phone everywhere, but there was something quite entertaining about the good old home telephones with the curly wires and rotary dials.

There are so many things that played a big part in our childhoods that our children won’t ever experience and as time moves on, I’m sure there will be things from theirs that their won children won’t ever know.   What things from your childhood would you add to the list?