Credit | Ed Samuel via Shutterstock
The other day while talking my sister and I started reminiscing about the 90s. What a decade that was? Honestly, growing up in the 90s was something else altogether. Kids had the time to be kids without the ridiculous pressure from schools and even parents. I mean we still had the pressure to do well but it wasn’t blown out of proportion like it is today. Most importantly, as kids we had time. Yes, the time to be bored, to get a hobby or go out without being held captive by technology or the fear of something untoward happening. I think it was the last decade which had some intrigue still left in it when it came to being kids or anyone else for that matter. But don’t take my word for it as I might just be biased towards it.
The 90s, my favourite decade, when as kids we could really be kids. #Memories Share on X
One of the best memories of myself as a kid in the 90s is of buying cassettes. Yes, those rectangular boxes which used to store sound on a magnetic tape wound around two reels. After the end of every final exam, I would walk into the cassette shop on my way home. It would make me so happy buying even 1 cassette to listen to during school holidays. Such simple things. A cassette or two and yes, a nail polish too. Yes, the latter because I could apply nail paint only during the school holidays. We didn’t need much to make us happy. No gadgets, especially.
There was no concept of pocket money too. If it was there in some households, it was still very rare. So, we would just ask mom whenever we needed anything. The truth is we never really need any money most of the time. But now pocket money is no longer a rarity. It seems to be the norm.
We also had the luxury of time. It is so important for kids. If they don’t have any time during childhood then when will they? But look at kids these days. One activity lined up after the other or if not that then they are with some device. It’s not like we didn’t do anything apart from academics. It’s just that we weren’t doing it because everyone else was doing it. We did it because we wanted to, never forced to do it. It was as simple as that. I would go for Kathak classes while my sister wouldn’t because she had no interest. And it was alright with my parents. Today, I feel we parents push the kids too much. We never stop to ask if they want to do what we are asking them to do. We never ask them what they want to do. And not wanting to do anything extra somehow doesn’t seem like an acceptable answer to us.
Another thing which I loved, in fact, love, about the 90s is that our parents didn’t have to worry if we played outside without being supervised. I don’t think I can leave M alone even in my apartment play area without being in the vicinity. Has the world really deteriorated this much? Or, have we become more aware now?
Look at the schools these days. One activity after the other and all dumped on parents. It wasn’t so in my time.
That’s why I miss the 90s a lot these days, especially after becoming a mother.
If you are a 90s kid too, tell me what you miss about it?
***
Linking to #mg hosted by Mackenzie Glanville
I think every generation feels that way that their childhood was more beautiful. I can bet that our children will look back with nostalgia as well. 🙂 We were lucky, Naba that we had no technology back then hence we could do as we wished. If our parents were parents in today’s times, they would face the same struggles. That said, yes those days were so much fun. I am also particularly sad that kids have so much competition and so many things to do. And man, are they smart? Way smarter than we were.
Rachna recently posted…6 Silly Behaviour Traits of Mine That You Will Find Funny
I miss the 90s… Such simple times. We used to own two cassettes… One was naagin and other one was Anoop Jalota… I spent a major part of my childhood years listening to Meera meera meera bhajan
Kids these days are growing up fast too. Plus the long tail of activities is taking away their childhood days at a faster rate.
Rajlakshmi recently posted…Fitness: 7 Tips to stay motivated
I guess every generation feels the same way about their childhood. My mom fondly talks about how wonderful it was during her childhood. I hear my son gasping and wondering how we managed in our childhood without all the facilities he is getting now. Tape recorder, cassettes, radio, tv, those were the gadgets we played with, that too we didn’t have the privilege to spend time on them 24/7. I am thankful that technology was only catching up when I was in College. The troubles these things could bring to teenagers, I shudder to think. Those were simpler times as you said, Naba. 🙂
I do miss so much about when I was growing up and that I had, but my kids don’t. the top of my list has a ‘joint family.’ That’s something irreplaceable. Great thoughts though..
I love the 90s and our childhood. Though every generation would feel the same for their childhood. But I feel our times were less complicated and more fun than the kids of today. True, we were happy with simple things. We could engage ourselves for hours by just jumping down the stairs or playing hide and seek or playing ghar-ghar with imaginary things. Talking about cassettes, we had a few of them and would listen to them on repeat mode and never get tired of them. Ah! Those were some good times!!
I miss so much the 90s. thanks for reminding our childhood. such a interisting blog.
While the 90s were wonderful to grow up in, I loved the 80s from my early childhood. TV then was just 1 or 2 hours in the evening and children spent the whole time playing after getting back home from the school. Additionally, in my case, treading the hills. Perks of living in a place surrounded by hills. I think it is up to us how we want to spend our time raising our children. We have the power to choose sending or not sending to summer camps or the various after school activities. The gadgets are hear to stay so we can choose to regulate the time dedicated to them. If you ask me, till now, I have not sent D to the summer camps and also there are no activities in the evening after school. There is hardly any time left with the kids in the evenings these days.
Anamika Agnihotri recently posted…Reading Day Debacles #MondayMusings
The first thing that struck me is that we’re at least two decades apart! I’m a child of the second part of the ’60s and let me tell you the ’70s were such a mixed bunch of experiences. For one thing, being an army brat there were two wars that make life pretty insecure. Then we had rationing in the ’70s. Times were hard, but I guess they taught us to be resilient and not take anything for granted!
But I do believe that we had much less pressure than generations after us.
Agree, Nabanita.Much less pressure, so much time to get bored and come up with things to make or draw, or put up plays and just idle away time doing nothing over the holidays, something my son finds hard to relate to, although I’ve made it a point to not force any activity on him. He has so much work pressure even though he is only in grade seven that my heart just breaks to see him cooped up with homework all evening until late into the night day after day, with no time to go out and play. I know however, that they are a lot more intelligent and smart than we were and have a lot more opportunity to learn new things. Having said that, despite having so many ways to keep ourselves entertained today, I still feel the simplicity of those childhood days is one thing that I surely miss often.
Hey Naba, you grew up in the 90s as did my daughters but it seems like our childhoods were quite similar even though they were 3 decades apart. The only difference I can think of is that we didn’t have television, we only had to listen to music our fathers played on the radio or the turntable, we hardly ate out at restaurants – reserving these outings for special occasions. But this makes me think that if I thought my childhood was innocent and your childhood was innocent, this present generation of my grandchildren will think their childhood was innocent too!
Oh I remember cassettes. We used to go around with this long list of songs and get them copied onto blank cassettes oblivious to the fact that it amounted to piracy. I remember scrounging around for books – borrowing, reading, re-reading, envying people who could actually own a bunch of them.
Obsessivemom recently posted…Holding onto childhood traditions #MondayMusings
I grew up in the 60′ & 70’s which were even more simple and free. I miss those times more because i felt safe back then, it was taken for granted because none of the things we have to worry about today were even a thought back then. I’m thankful my kids are grown and I don’t have the worries parents do today.
That is a lovely post. I was a teenager in 90’s and not exactly a child and those were the days of innumerable crushes and not having the courage to go up and speak to the boy. That was also the time when I first saw a computer. I actually traveled 10kms to see it. I remember cassettes and how we used to collect them. The black used to come out and we rolled it with pencils to fix it. Loved this post.
90’s clearly was the best time to grow up in. We have seen it all, haven’t we? Right from the advent of cable TV to internet and its perks. 90’s was a really innocent and simple time with so much time in hand and so little to do. It was the perfect time to pursue hobbies and grow up right.
Soumya recently posted…A Non-Parenting Post
A lot has definitely changed Naba. There’s a lot I miss about my childhood. Times have changed too though. It’s also up to the parents to decide what their kids want to do and how they do it. Gy goes out to play, reads books and has one extra class in a week. She’s happy. We’re happy. I think that’s the key. Parents do what they feel is best for their kids. In some cases it works.
Shailaja Vishwanath recently posted…10 years of blogging : 10 Things I’ve learnt
Nabha, I grew up in the 60s and 70s and can relate to what you are saying. We had even more freedom and less pollution in the world. Kids nowadays have a calendar of events/classes after school. They have no time to just be kids, at least very few do. Competition has the parents worried for their children’s future. The cut-off marks in many colleges are unbelievable. Even 90% isn’t good enough for most of them. We played unsupervised, crossed the roads unaided and walked to school alone. It was a safe world then.
I was a teen in the 90’s so my generation of childhood was the 80’s and I feel much the same way but about both decades. For me, the 90’s were without social media. We weren’t pressured into doing after school activities and we actually hung out with our friends at the mall or around the neighborhood. Things were simpler then. We had peer pressure and bullying but nothing like what it is now, which is much scarier now. And I could hang out at the local playground or in my front yard without adult supervision without fear because my neighborhood was full of people who actually looked out for each other. So much has changed since then. #mg
Michelle Kellogg recently posted…3 Ways I helped My Grieving Child Mourn
I’m not a parent but I think it’s SO hard for both children and parents alike now. So many pressures from every angle. I was a child in the 80s and a teenager in the 90s, very fond memories X #MG
Lins @ Boo & Maddie recently posted…Monday Catch-Up #92
I grew up in the ’80s, but I miss cassettes too.
You’re so young (or I’m so old) … sigh! I grew up in the 60s and 70s, and I could have written your post and just substituted the date. I loved your reminiscences.
I miss a lot. But to be honest, I think I dont think the current generation would enjoy some of those things as much as we did. In fact, most kids dont want to or can’t even climb a tree. And that’s not even a solely 90’s thing.
But thanks for the nostalgia 🙂
Sid recently posted…I See You
This is hilarious to me because I was 26 in 1990 & almost 36 in 1999 so I feel like the ’90s were about a week ago. And yet, when I talk with all of my friends with whom I grew up, we say all the same things about kids and time and kids and safety going outside. I love that with your perspective things were so much safer for kids in the 90’s than they are now and me, having been an adult in the 90’s I thought they were much more dangerous than the ’70’s and ’80’s that I knew. Lovely post! xo
Lori Shandle-Fox recently posted…Online Infertility Support Groups are Better than Real People
Really, I thought the urban mothers of 90’s had already begun micro-scheduling their kids, it was definitely less stressful for us growing up in the seventies. 🙂 we only had to worry about what Pakkadmane Parimalamma said of about our clothes.
I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and life was definitely a lot simpler. I was always outside calling on friends and playing. My oldest is 8 and I hate that he won’t have those experiences. We live in a town and walking to his friends houses would mean too many busy roads. I offer to pick his friends up from school and bring them back here for a few hours so they can play but they all seem to have so many after school clubs it’s impossible trying to organise everything. My son doesn’t go to any because he has no interest and I would never force him. Childhood is about being a kid, it goes by fast enough as it is without meticulously planning every second.
#mg
Alana – Burnished Chaos recently posted…Happy Days: Family Outings and The Birth Of Princess Bunny
Nostalgia galore!
The best phase of life is childhood and am one of those lucky to hv enjoyed carefree childhood! Hakuna Matata was unsung anthem… and we get to realise this now!
Thanks for a lovely trip down the memory lane…
-Anagha from Team MocktailMommies
https://mocktailmommies.blogspot.com
I just remember always, always, always being outside as a kid. I was outside until I heard my Father’s whistle — a call to dinner. Bike riding anywhere and everywhere. Times were freer, less hectic, and without the gadgets that are literally changing the way we communicate. Good, bad, or indifferent… it’s a whole new world now. Let’s make the best of it! #mg
Lisa Pomerantz recently posted…The chaos of the smile theory
The cassettes. Yes, I miss my childhood. I used to visit my grandmother during my summer vacations when she would give me 50 INR for buying the cassette of my choice. And I remember listening to the soundtrack of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham all my vacation, without getting bored. And yes, reading classic books. Such lovely time we 90s kids had.
A lovely post. It made me so nostalgic 🙂
Purba Chakraborty recently posted…A Letter to Poetry