“Skip-It AKA Ankle Shatterers”: 30 Things From Childhood That You Probably Can’t Find Today

Back in my day, kids used to stomp around in their Moon Shoes, jump over their Skip-Its until their ankles were swollen and cover their arms with slap bracelets to show off their amazing fashion sense.

It’s only natural for childhood favorites from “back in the day” to become much less popular over time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t miss those Friday night trips to Blockbuster and our precious Tamagotchis. Reddit users have recently been taking a trip down memory lane to recall things from their youth that are much less popular today, so enjoy scrolling through this list and be sure to upvote the replies that fill you with nostalgia!

Leaving the house at sunup and returning at dinner time. We just ran free with no fear of being kidnapped.

Scholastic book fairs :[

Having to get off the internet so Mom could make a phone call lmao.

To gain more insight on this topic, we reached out to the Reddit user who started this conversation, Theweirdposidenchild, who was kind enough to have a chat with We. The OP explained that she was inspired to invite others to share about their childhoods because she loves learning about the past.

“I am a huge history buff,” she shared. “Even learning about things that were big in the few years before I was born is fun. I especially like learning about past trends such as silly bands or rainbow loom or anything or the sort, because I like seeing how similar different generations can be.”

Rollerskating birthday parties. I used to love those.

Manners

Before I was totally competent swimming by myself, my mom would put a life jacket on me, tie a long piece of nylon rope to it, and chuck me in the river. She’d basically swim me on a leash down the river for fun.

Mom, you are the classiest redneck.

We were also curious about what Theweirdposidenchild recalls from her own childhood that we don’t see often today. “Some things I remember (I’m going to sound really young saying this) that aren’t as popular are things like stacking cups, fidget spinners, rainbow looms, silly bands, slap bracelets, and Shopkins,” she told We.

“I remember each of these trends being the coolest thing around for awhile, before they were discarded and abandoned and left in the 2010s,” the OP continued. “If you’re looking for things that aren’t material objects, there’s always the dab and the floss dance, both of which were super cool at the time but are now considered ‘cringe.'”

1. Knowing people’s phone numbers

2. Getting on your bike after school to go to your friends house. Finding out they weren’t home. Riding your bike to a different friends house and finding 4 other friends already there.

3. Ding dong Ditch.

Walkman

Going to Blockbuster on Friday night

While Theweirdposidenchild does admit she misses many of these things, she says they probably wouldn’t hold up today. “Especially the toys which get abandoned,” she added. “Since the world is so fast paced, a lot of these trends would probably end up in landfills.”

The OP also noted that, for the most part, she enjoyed reading the responses her post received. “Most people followed the prompt I tried to set up and let themselves be washed away by nostalgia for a moment.”

#10

Banana seats.

#11

Climbing trees. Do kids still do this?

#12

VHS tapes

However, not everyone was a good sport. “Other people took the time to bash on younger generations, saying that their generation had ‘manners’ and that modern generations haven’t even heard of the concept,” Theweirdposidenchild continued.

“Every generation thinks it’s better than the one that comes after it,” the OP told We. “That feeling of superiority that a lot of older folks in my comments had was really annoying. We all came here to feel nostalgic for trends long forgotten, not feel bad because older generations can’t keep their entitlement to themselves.”

#13