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One thing I miss about Childhood…..

I grew up in the 80’s in Charleston, SC. During the school years I would be at school in the city and during the summers….you found me at my grandma’s house in the country. The real country….I’m talking cows, chicken, planting all the veggies, tractors, scarecrows, gas tanks, and clothes lines for days. I would get up at the crack of dawn and help my grandma in the fields picking, planting, and fixing fences. In the evenings you would find me putting the clothes on the line to dry and fixing something outside. I was cutting grass at the age of 8 and I mean acres with a walking lawnmower. I would be washing dishes by hand because I didn’t know what a dishwasher was until high school and I would be folding clothes from that line daily. I grew up working hard for everything…we didn’t have the luxuries that a lot of other people had. I grew up pretty poor but we had family, friends, and always good fresh food. You know the kind that didn’t get you sick like today. The kind where folks weren’t getting cancer at a high rate…you know the kind of food I’m talking about. Let’s talk about one thing I miss about childhood.

One Thing I miss about childhood…..

After all the work was done I would always spend evenings under the oak tree or the pecan tree in my grandma’s yard and read a good book. My grandma didn’t have TV so there was no tv watching when I was little. I had to have my head in a book. Some evenings after I finished my book my grandma would tell me stories about her kids (my mom included) and I lived for those stories because I knew my mom wasn’t as good as I thought she was. If I wasn’t reading or listening to stories I was climbing trees or playing school with my stuffed animals. Those were the good ole days of childhood. I never had to worry about getting hurt in the streets because I could ride my bike in the yard, I never had to worry about gunshots because it was the country. The only time people were shooting was to get that night’s dinner….or if someone was breaking into their homes. It was rare that robberies happened because people talked to each other and looked out for each other. Everyone would look out for the neighborhood kids…and you would have the various older folks who either tell on you or give you a stern warning. Sweet tea and lemonade was the talk of the south and rocking chairs on the front porches was where you would find people at. Those were the days and those are the times I miss.

One Thing I miss about childhood.....

The one thing I miss about childhood is the peace that came with not having to worry about life. You see…I never knew of people killing others so much because we didn’t have a tv so I never watched the news. I was not aware of all the mess that was going in the world. I didn’t know about the killing, the stealing of folks kids, the rapes inside the homes with family members, etc. I was not aware of the pain that others went through because you see I didn’t go through it. I was allowed to be a child. One that worked hard as hell (which is why I refuse to lawn my own yard these days or wash dishes…and if someone mentions hanging clothes outside I act like I am not young enough to know these things) but also knew the innocent of what it was like to be a child.

These days though it’s different kids aren’t kids anymore. They aren’t what I am used to. They learn how to use a tablet at the age of 1 and by 8 most have cell phones…yes their own. My daughter knows how to get on youtube and search for stuff and did it since she was 5 years old. My son who is 11 has his own phone because when I called the parents to see what he was up to the parent said let me call my son to see where they are at and my child was the only one without a phone….I fell into peer pressure with that one lol but it’s also good he has one because I do need to keep up with him without having to call extra folk. The days are gone where kids did hard work….let’s not lie, these kids don’t do half the stuff we did as a child. They are spoiled rotten and mine are in that loop. They feel things should be given to them and they don’t know the value of hard work. I am trying to change that around my house by incorporating chores and turning off electronics so that my kids can actually touch a book….feel it…….flip the pages….dammmit I don’t care what they do just get off the devices. It’s so bad in my home that they bring it to the table while we eat and I had to cut that out. Some kids will even cry if you take the phone from them…..(my son has done this often and I have learned to tune him out…cry…tears are good) What happened to having an innocent childhood. My kids can’t play outside because I worry someone will come and snatch them up, my kids can’t ride their bikes in the street because folks don’t care about neighborhoods anymore. There is no more sitting on front porches and sipping tea…unless there is a cell phone nearby. There is a new generation of kids these days who will never know the childhood I had.

That’s why I am so glad for brands that have stuck around for years like Oshkosh, Jergens, Dove, and all the other well-known products that we use. After seeing my kids on their phones one evening last week. I decided to get up and leave the house…and all the phones (mine included) and go for some ice cream…my son was like…say what. Yes leave the gotdamn phones and let’s go get ice cream. I even got my daughter to do a mini photoshoot and had some fun with my camera. This is childhood!

24 Comments

  • robin rue
    July 17, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    I miss not having to worry about life, too. Things were so much easier when we could just enjoy life.

    Reply
  • Kimberly
    July 17, 2017 at 12:45 pm

    I absolutely love how you have woven your childhood memories into this post. So beautiful Kita. You’re right though, times are so completely different. I shake my head at the things my son does compared to what I used to be doing at his age. All this YouTube stuff. What in the world? Like I had to physically get off my butt and turn on the T.V and then turn the dial to find a station that actually worked on our set. THEN I had to fiddle around with rabbit ears. Kids these days.
    Anyways, your daughter is so adorable in these pictures. Always loved Oshkosh as a brand for kids.

    Reply
  • Jeanette
    July 17, 2017 at 1:16 pm

    There is a lot of things I miss about childhood. I try really hard to give my kiddo the same innocence that my parents gave me. I have to say my kiddo is blissfully unaware of how violent this world is. I’m glad that you were able to live in that world too. It sounds like you had a wonderful childhood.

    Reply
  • valmg @ Mom Knows It All
    July 17, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    There are a few moments from childhood that I miss. I wish there were more but I was bullied so there’s a lot of bad I don’t miss at all.

    Reply
  • Christy Maurer
    July 17, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    I really think we kids of the 70s/80s are the last generation that really had this kind of life. It makes me really sad that kids are exposed to so much violence so early in life now. I miss the freedom of kids being able to be gone for hours riding bikes and parents not having to worry about them! I love technology, but I wish that kids were not exposed to it until much later.

    Reply
  • Sandy N Vyjay
    July 17, 2017 at 3:10 pm

    I too miss a lot about my childhood. Those were the best times when I was carefree and all I did was eat, go to school and enjoy life while parent took care of everything. Now times have changed and kids now are exposed to so much of negative stuff. May peace prevail!

    Reply
  • Joanna @ Everyday Made Fresh
    July 17, 2017 at 3:28 pm

    I could have written this myself! My husband and I were both born in the very early 80’s. This was our childhood as well, without the farm for myself. However, he grew up in the corn fields of Indiana. 🙂 My oldest daughter just turned 18, and as I look back at her childhood, I hate that she missed out on tree houses and staying outside until it was dark. I hate that she has lived with a phone to her face since she started middle school. We gave her what she wanted, as most parents do these days. Our youngest will be 12 in August. I pulled her out to homeschool her. This will be our third year. She has missed out on all the sex talk at school that the kids are having these days. But that’s fine by me. We are bringing her back to our childhood. More books (reading), more outside play with imgination, less tv (we just dropped our satellite), and more family time. She has thanked me from day one after I pulled her from school, and she started living like a child, and less like a small adult that seems to be running the halls of elementary schools today.

    Reply
  • Muna Kenny
    July 17, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    I miss almost everything! I didn’t take anything seriously and thought life is fun. I guess I miss how life was simple or at least this is how it felt then. Your post and the pictures touched my heart and made me realize how experience can change the way we look at things and how life has all of a sudden became complicated.

    Reply
  • Jaime Ervin
    July 17, 2017 at 8:02 pm

    I also don’t remember worrying about life so much. I feel like our kids are exposed to way more than we ever were. It makes me sad sometimes.

    Reply
  • Pam
    July 18, 2017 at 12:57 am

    I definitely miss the innocence of childhood. Adulthood can get pretty depressing sometimes, honestly.

    Reply
  • Victoria Heckstall
    July 18, 2017 at 4:28 am

    What I miss about childhood was, I never worried about life and future. I’m just enjoying my daily lives.

    Reply
  • My Teen Guide
    July 18, 2017 at 8:03 am

    I miss the safe streets! When I was kid, we could ride bikes around the neighborhood, go to the nearby park and our parents did not have to worry. That was before the age of cellphones and GPS. When mom said, “Be back by 5 pm,” we did! I was born in the late 60s so I was a kid playing in the streets in the 70s. That was such a good time.

    Reply
  • AnnMarie John
    July 18, 2017 at 9:38 am

    The innocence that comes with being a child, that’s definitely something that I miss too. All you have to worry about is school. I think it’s awesome that we have the brands that we used when we were kids still available today. That gives us comfort, definitely. It’s a good idea to go out and leave the phones at home! I should totally do that with the kids!

    Reply
  • Chubskulit Rose
    July 18, 2017 at 11:47 am

    I grew up in the farm and I miss the life of my childhood. That’s why, we take the kids to farms once in a while so they will get the feel of how I lived back then.

    Reply
  • Kiwi
    July 18, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    You are so right these kids are so entitled to devices they barely want to play with toys. You should have more phoneless/tablet outings and teach them how to live without smart devices like how most of us did and be true kids. Kick the electronic addiction make it fun!

    Reply
  • Amanda
    July 18, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    I miss the simpleness of childhood, especially during the summer as well. Thankfully my kids are slowly starting to learn about how fun it is to just hang outside with no plans other than to enjoy the day!

    Reply
  • Debra J Hawkins
    July 19, 2017 at 5:00 am

    I miss the peace too! I try to make sure my kids have that, that carefree happiness that comes with childhood!

    Reply
  • Sheri
    July 19, 2017 at 4:26 pm

    I can completely relate to this post, there are many things I miss about my childhood and I am getting back my light, happy nature through my son.

    Reply
  • Melissa Vera
    July 22, 2017 at 2:04 am

    What an amazing childhood you had. I can remember spending a month at my grandma’s house in Massachusetts and staying in a camper at my best friend’s house. Times were so much easier then.

    Reply
  • Nellie
    July 24, 2017 at 1:13 am

    Such a beautiful childhood that reminds me so much of mine. No worries, all fun all day, so much activity and play. SO much innocence. I wish my kids had the same neighborhood relationships I had back in the day.

    Reply
  • Jennifer
    July 28, 2017 at 1:29 pm

    I grew up in the country, too. We new everyone in the neighborhood and all the parents looked out for the kids. I could go on my bike and play with my friends all day because my mom trusted and knew their parents well. My child will never know the neighborhood candy lady,or the joys of chewing on sour grass and picking wild blackberries from the ditch. Those were the days.

    Reply
  • Shon Valdry
    August 9, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    Stopping by to say hi, from Mount Pleasant!! We lived in Atlanta for 2 years, then we moved to MTP and have lived here for almost 10 years!! I must admit that I miss ATL, though! 😉 I follow Unlikely Martha and ran across your photo link on her blog today!

    I hope you have an awesome day and I look forward to reading your blog too.

    Reply
    • Kita
      August 10, 2017 at 3:41 am

      Can we switch places? I wanna move back home so bad I miss my home. Thank you so much for stooping by!

      Reply
  • […] thing I miss about childhood is not having to pay any […]

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