# Things I miss about not being a kid... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511 "2001-01-17T14:54:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/1 "2001-01-17T14:54:46Z")
(Some are things that most adults just don’t _do_ anymore, and some are things that just aren’t around anymore, so no one gets to do them anymore.) [ul]-Outdoor Easter Egg Hunts. -Annual showings on broadcast TV of _Willie Wonka_ and _WIzard of Oz_. -Jarts. -Trick or treating on _October 31st_. At night. Without worry. -Dodgeball. -Heavyweight Title fights on ABC. -Listening to Brewers games on AM radio with my uncle (especially if there’s a T-storm approaching so the radio crackles a lot). -Football and Baseball players who would sign a Topps card you sent them and send it back to you (and usually include stickers and such as well). -Show and tell. -Field Trips. -Getting 27 cards every Valentine’s day. -Neighborhood nighttime games of Hide and Seek and Kick the Can. -Snow days.[/ul] I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can think of this second. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/2 "2001-01-17T15:07:17Z")
Wonderful World Of Disney at 7:00 on Sunday evenings. It was extra wonderful if it was a cartoon, but the hour long movies were pretty cool as well. Listening to the radio while falling asleep. I could still do that, but it was much more magical then. ---
**Author:** ![JimmyNipples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@JimmyNipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyNipples)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/3 "2001-01-17T15:26:28Z")
How’s about zero responsibility? I would love it, if my biggest concern was hoping that my friend Ronny was going to forget his bike/game/chocolate bar at my house so I could ride/play/eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/4 "2001-01-17T15:30:52Z")
Err, is it just me, but don’t you mean: ‘Things I miss about _being_ a kid’? (or ‘Things I miss about not being a kid anymore’) ‘Things I miss about not being a kid’ kinda says (to me, anyway) that you’re going to list the things you miss about, er, NOT being a kid (i.e. when you were something other than a kid). Forgive me. I come from poor, pedant stock… ---
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/5 "2001-01-17T15:38:55Z")
Sorry. Things I miss about not being a kid _anymore_. Hope I didn’t confuse you too much. ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/6 "2001-01-17T15:51:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gazoo \* > \*\*Sorry. Things I miss about not being a kid _anymore_. Hope I didn’t confuse you too much. \*\* Now _I_ feel guilty. I realised what you meant (I just thought it mildly amusing). Actually, there isn’t much I’d miss about being an adult, if I could have my time again (maybe sex). I remember my M+D telling me not to grow up too fast. Actually, and this is kinda weird looking back, when I was at an age that I could play in a cardboard box and -know- that I was in a submarine/plane/whatever, I can recall thinking that someday I wouldn’t believe this (even though it didn’t stop me believing at the time. Cue X-files music…) ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/7 "2001-01-17T15:58:19Z")
I miss: Being able to run around all day long and never get sweaty or tired. Touch football played with a Nerf. The ice cream man. Playing Kick the Can until it’s too dark to see and your mom calls you in for the night (I’m with you on this one). Snow days (ditto). Having the whole summer off. Having enough free time to actually say “I’m bored.” The way Twinkies used to taste. ---
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/8 "2001-01-17T16:11:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bottle of Smoke \* > \*\*I miss: > > Being able to run around all day long and never get sweaty or tired.\*\* I would just like to add to this one…and only stopping momentarily for a lunch of Baloney and cheese and Kool-aid (summer), or Hot Cocoa and PB&J (winter). ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/9 "2001-01-17T16:17:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Xerxes \* > \*\*Err, is it just me, but don’t you mean: > > ‘Things I miss about _being_ a kid’? (or ‘Things I miss about not being a kid anymore’) > > ‘Things I miss about not being a kid’ kinda says (to me, anyway) that you’re going to list the things you miss about, er, NOT being a kid (i.e. when you were something other than a kid). > > Forgive me. I come from poor, pedant stock… \*\* Yeah, back when I was not a kid, I used to get to drive and go to bars and have lots of sex… Now that I’m a kid, I can no longer do these things. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/10 "2001-01-17T16:26:38Z")
…great cartoons on the weekends, not this Captain Planet crap. …being able to walk down to the swimming pool in the summer with a towel around my neck and goggles on my head, and not feeling the least bit self-conscious. …climbing trees …sneaking out of the house at 2am to go to the 7-11 to buy bad cherry soda and a 1-lb. bag of cheese doodles. …Playing with firecrackers, knowing it wasn’t allowed. …Atari 6400. …Playing in the rain. …Summer vacation. …Thinking that a week was a long time. …Crushes. …Big bowls of ice cream after school, eaten while sitting three feet from the TV. …Much, much more. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/11 "2001-01-17T16:52:46Z")
-being picked last. -people who hated me constantly telling me they hated me. -being teased for being small and weak, and for the way my mom dressed me. -teachers not listening to me. -_Most_ adults not really listening to me, just patronizing me. -being signed up for activities I didn’t like for my benefit. -being punished. -moving to a new state where I knew nobody, and had no way to keep in touch with my old friends. -learning about death. ---
**Author:** ![pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9bcb4/32.png) [@pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pagan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/12 "2001-01-17T17:40:23Z")
-not being able to wait unit 6am to open christmas presents -having a birthday that was exciting, instead of a time to ask myself “when are you going to do something with your life?” -being able to save money -getting enough sleep -being able to tell my parents that i love them ---
**Author:** ![Eohippus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Eohippus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eohippus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/13 "2001-01-17T18:20:07Z")
I miss the relative bliss of relative ignorance ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/14 "2001-01-17T18:52:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > **…great cartoons on the weekends, not this Captain Planet crap.** Yeah, I miss G.I. Joe, Transformers, and The _REAL_ Ghostbusters. (They called it that because there was already a crappy cartoon called ghostbusters). > [@](#): > > \*\* > …Atari 6400. > \*\* You mean 2600 right? Confused with the Commodore 64 no doubt. Same here. Spider Fighter and Pitfall are long gone. I also miss: being able to play a SNES RPG all the way through in one sitting. (FF2 in 13 hours, Zelda:Link to the Past in 8, etc) sleepovers with Tostitos and Salsa con queso dip and Dr. Pepper. my imagination, where going outside could be going anywhere… snow being a good thing ---
**Author:** ![L714](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dec6dc/32.png) [@L714](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/L714)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/15 "2001-01-17T19:07:20Z")
Feeling safe and knowing there were people who cared about me. I slept alot better back then. I miss summer nights when all the adults would bring out their folding chairs and sit till all hours because no one had air & the kids would play games that we might have made up since no one I’ve spoken to seems to know what the names were. The smaller children would be in pj’s and fall asleep on their parents laps. I also miss listening to my Mom sing along with those top forty am radio stations. This was the 60’s so I think it was WMCA Good Guys? Well something like that. And I can’t leave out the John Zacherly show on UHF. He’d open with some Young Rascals song and we’d all dance on top of the living room coffee table using hairbrushes for mikes. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/16 "2001-01-17T19:07:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by c\_goat \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > > **…great cartoons on the weekends, not this Captain Planet crap.** > > Yeah, I miss G.I. Joe, Transformers, and The _REAL_ Ghostbusters. (They called it that because there was already a crappy cartoon called ghostbusters). > \*\* G.I Joe? Transformers? No, no, no. I mean _The Bugs and Daffy Show,_ (you know, the hour and a half toonfest) and _Space Ghost_ (not to be confused with the newer, goofy-though-adequate “talk show” silliness) and _Superfriends_. We knew it was time to go play outside when we heard _the SSSSOOOOOUUUUULLLLL TRAINNNNNNN_ > [@](#): > > \*\* > > You mean 2600 right? Confused with the Commodore 64 no doubt. Same here. Spider Fighter and Pitfall are long gone. > \*\* my bad. I was virtually unbeatable at Combat. ---
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/17 "2001-01-17T19:29:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blessedwolf \* > \*\*G.I Joe? Transformers? No, no, no. I mean _The Bugs and Daffy Show,_ (you know, the hour and a half toonfest) and _Space Ghost_ (not to be confused with the newer, goofy-though-adequate “talk show” silliness) and _Superfriends_. We knew it was time to go play outside when we heard _the SSSSOOOOOUUUUULLLLL TRAINNNNNNN_ \*\*Don’t forget all the old Hanna-Barberra ones like Snaggle Puss, Grape Ape, Huckleberry Hound, Magilla Gorilla, Atom Ant, etc. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/18 "2001-01-17T19:31:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by c\_goat \* > \*\*You mean 2600 right? Confused with the Commodore 64 no doubt. Same here. Spider Fighter and Pitfall are long gone. > \*\* Actually, if you get _Pitfall, Mayan Adventure_ for the PC or PSX, there is a secret level where you can play the original Pitfall. The things I miss are: 1). Evil Kneivel jumping over things on the wide world of sports. 2). Going to the playground and knowing everybody else there. 3). Camping out in a tent in the backyard with friends. 4). Playing Donkey Kong and PacMan at the bowling alley. 5). Eating anything that tasted good and not worrying about the fat content. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/19 "2001-01-17T19:34:40Z")
I miss everything being so BIG! Being able to curl up in an armchair. Making tents out of bedsheets. A foot of snow meant an arctic adventure. Cuddling up with the dog, who was about as big as me. I also miss being able to gorge myself on whatever I want, whenever I want, and having it be okay because I was growing. (Well, I guess I’m still growing, sort of, but not in a good way. 🙂 ) Also, summer vaction . . . ahh, summer vacation . . . Getting 14 books at the Bookmobile so I could read one per day, since the Bookmobile stopped in our neighborhood every two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511/20 "2001-01-17T19:44:44Z")
Wonderful answers above. Watching Star Trek TOS and not knowing how it was going to turn out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-miss-about-not-being-a-kid/50511.md?page=2)