Things that kids don't have anymore

[W1 Rover]

At risk of lowering the tone somewhat I can think of something kids dont have anymore, Izal toilet paper in the school lavs. It was a rather robust and uncompomising toilet tissue as I recall, none of this namby pamby three ply nonsense with aloe vera and ginseng in those days! Anyway, it's nearly breakfast time so it's probably not a topic to dwell upon unduly.

I'll get my coat.

[George 1978]

I remember The Pink Panther seemed to be on Sunday afternoons for ages in the early 1980s, but often was the only cartoon on after lunchtime.

Not to be confused with the Inspector Clueseau films of course...

[Arran]

I was thinking more along the lines of CBBC and CITV on weekday afternoons, and Saturday morning kids TV.

[George 1978]

Take into account that cartoons and kids programmes on analogue terrestrial TV were few and far between.

The five minute Disney, Warner Brothers or MGM (Tom and Jerry) cartoons on weekend afternoons.

[George 1978]

Morning paper rounds

As satirised by the paperboys and girls who work for The Kabin on Coronation Street.

[Arran]

Mostly of Top of the Pops and other music shows, as well as kids' programmes.

Take into account that cartoons and kids programmes on analogue terrestrial TV were few and far between.

[George 1978]

A collection of video tapes of recorded TV programmes.

Mostly of Top of the Pops and other music shows, as well as kids' programmes.

[Arran]

Pedal cars and other (plastic) ride on toys regularly feature in photos of young children (and some even as old as 5 or 6) playing out in the street or in parks from the 1970s to the early 1980s, but they are far less common now although they are still on sale. Even back in the 1990s they were uncommon, in my locality at least, unless they were clearly a tricycle.

Tricycles were commonplace in the 1990s but also seem to have declined in popularity. Many of the tricycles I have seen whilst out and about in recent years are machines which resemble pushchairs more than anything else.

[beccabear67]

Back packs seem to be huge these days, and we had those too, but we also had these sports bags made by Adidas we used for everything from school books and lunch to actual sports gear if you had something outside school to go to (like figure skating, karate, dance etc.). Truth be told we sometimes used them to boost something from the large shops, a phase I'm glad came to an end, I felt so bad about shop-lifting and not getting caught I turned myself in.

Most kids had bicycles and I'm not sure that's anywhere near as common now. I'm talking late '70s-early '80s. Never saw a Toy R Us until a big trip to California in 1979, then never saw another one until maybe a dozen years later.

[Arran]

This is what I mean when it comes to not having them anymore - the fact that toys are like fashion which changed so much in the 1970s and 1980s.

Do kids even play with toys like they did in the late 20th century? They all seem to want digital devices now.

I'm part of the Toys R Us generation. The desire to visit Toys R Us (and buy a toy) is something that an increasing number of kids in the 2010s didn't have.

[Arran]

Boom box type stereos. Hi-Fi in general has also fallen into decline since 2000ish. Kids now play music from their phones and tablets out of tinny Bluetooth speakers.

[George 1978]

Manners.

And respect as well - whatever happened to that?

[George 1978]

Toys are a bit tricky because most specific items seem to come and go every few years. Therefore it's not really sensible to list items like Cabbage Patch dolls, Power Rangers figures, etc.

Do many kids still play with construction toys?

Digital alarm clock stereo combos were an ubiquitous feature of young teenager's bedrooms from the 1980s to the 2000s.

This is what I mean when it comes to not having them anymore - the fact that toys are like fashion which changed so much in the 1970s and 1980s. When it comes to teenagers' bedrooms we mostly saw the American stereotype a lot more over in the UK, mostly in films - the Macaulay Culkin-type person's place. The fact that bedrooms were hardly seen in Coronation Street (unless the character was ill in bed), when we do see them, it's usually a certain wallpaper, football or popstar posters, and so on. Basically, they don't have it anymore because it's gone out of fashion years ago.

[Arran]

A collection of video tapes of recorded TV programmes.

[OptimusPrime1980]

There is around here. I've had them throw things at the door and windows, trying to kick my door in and that's just the start.