Gen X’s childhood wasn’t some sad VHS version of today’s curated kid experience. They were weird and sometimes questionable, but also completely misunderstood. Honestly, they wish people today would stop assuming it was all doom and gloom. Here are 19 things that they really want you to understand about how things went down.
Being Left Alone Wasn’t a Cry for Help
No one called CPS because you were home alone at age 8, as this was just a regular Wednesday. It was okay if your parents weren’t home. You didn’t panic, but rather, you microwaved a burrito and flipped to DuckTales, while also making sure you locked the door. Gen X could fend for themselves and weren’t scared to be by themselves. They just did it.
If You Were Bored, You Just Stayed Bored
When Gen X was bored, their parents didn’t swoop in with a Pinterest craft or STEM box. They did something about it themselves. Sometimes, that involved writing on themselves with a pen, and other times, it simply meant that they made an entire game out of dirt and a stick. After all, they couldn’t exactly ask their parents what to do because they were busy. Gen X wishes other generations understood just how imaginative they were.
Your Parents Weren’t Your Cruise Directors
Likewise, if you did decide to ask your mom what to do, she would just say, “Go outside.” That was it. She wouldn’t help you set up a sensory table, just simply tell you to leave the house and become your own entertainer. Of course, this had mixed results. But even so, your fun wasn’t scheduled, and it just happened or it didn’t.
Hanging Out Wasn’t a Scheduled Activity
There was no group chat to plan playdates. You just showed up. This means that if your friend wasn’t home, you simply went to someone else’s house, or you sat on the curb and waited. Gen Xers wish other generations would understand this lack of coordination and how it was acceptable to show up uninvited. You played until someone had to go home, and even that was just when the streetlights came on.
Playgrounds Had Real Injury Potential
Today’s slides are made from smooth, heat-resistant material, but that’s pretty different from back then. You practically got third-degree burns from the metal slide by noon. You didn’t simply go to the park. You survived it. And let’s not forget the monkey bars with concrete underneath and merry-go-rounds that spun fast enough to send someone flying.
Teachers Didn’t Sugarcoat Anything
Anytime that your handwriting looked bad, your teacher told you, in red pen and with underlines. Nobody tiptoed around your feelings. As such, you received feedback and then dealt with it before trying to make sure the next one was slightly less awful. You just took the comment and planned to do better, or at least to staple things straighter next time. There was no sugarcoating involved.
TV Was an Event
When Gen X’s favorite show aired, the world stopped, and they’d planned bathroom breaks around it. If they missed it, it was just too bad, and they’d have to hope for a re-run. You couldn’t rewind and you couldn’t record, unless you had a blank VHS and timed it right. Gen Xers want other generations to know how difficult this was, but also how it made TV an event. It wasn’t simply background noise like it is today.
Losing Was Part of the Deal
Gen X never received a ribbon for “trying really hard” because they either won or they didn’t. That was the end of it. Of course, sometimes that meant that they’d get mad, but they’d get over it by snack time. That’s not to say Gen Xers hate encouragement. Rather, they grew up in a time when losing meant something, and they’re okay with that. Nobody let them win when they were bad at something, so they just kept practicing or picked something else.
You Didn’t Have Every Answer at Your Fingertips
Whenever Gen X wanted lyrics to a song, they listened over and over, maybe even wrote them down by ear. Or they simply guessed. The same went for movie quotes and historical facts, where you either knew them or you didn’t. And if you didn’t, tough. Any mysteries stayed a mystery until a book or a teacher finally confirmed it because there was no Google to do it for you. That was the system.
The World Didn’t Revolve Around Kid’s Schedules
Sometimes, Gen X was dragged to the DMV, sometimes, it was to the hardware store. They went wherever their parents needed to go, and that meant that Gen X sat quietly, making their own fun the whole time. They learned how to exist in adult spaces without needing a screen or a meltdown, which is something the younger generations don’t understand. Being bored in public was just part of the day, and nobody apologized for it.
Summer Meant Disappearing for Hours
Gen X would leave the house after breakfast and come home for lunch, then disappear again until dinner. They’d spend hours having fun, with popsicle juice on their faces and dirt in their shoes. And honestly? That was the dream. This sense of freedom is something that Gen X wants other generations to understand, but they simply don’t.
School Lunch Was Whatever They Served
When Gen X grew up, most schools didn’t have food allergies on file, nor was there a gluten-free corner. They simply got what was on the tray, and that was it. No one scanned a barcode or tracked calories, meaning that kids would eat what they could and dump what they couldn’t. It was this ability to accept whatever was coming that Gen Xers hope other people would get.
PE Was Rougher Than Recess
During PE class, Gen X was either running laps or getting yelled at. There was no easy version for kids who didn’t feel like it, and if you forgot your gym clothes, you got marked down. Sometimes, yeah, Gen X was picked last, but they didn’t see it as something traumatic. It just meant you weren’t great at dodgeball, so they either tried to improve or accepted their fate as a human target.
You Learned to Fix Things Because You Had to
No one paid someone to fix a loose wire or wobbly table leg, but rather, Gen X’s dad dragged them over and taught them how to fix it. That didn’t mean they knew what was going on. However, they watched it anyway, and they were expected to remember. Stuff broke, and they figured it out, end of story. It’s something that other generations will never understand.
Nobody Thought Kids Needed Constant Praise
After Gen X finished their assignments and handed them in, that was that. Nobody would tell them how brave or hardworking they were. Teachers didn’t clap when you remembered your name on the top because that sort of stuff was expected, not celebrated. Of course, some kids did gold. But they were for real things, and nobody collected them like trophies. Most of the time, Gen X was just kept moving and hoped someone didn’t point out their spelling mistakes.
You Didn’t Always Get a Do-Over
Speaking of homework, the teachers didn’t give Gen X an extra day, and they simply got a zero when they messed up. Missing the school bus meant they’d start walking or wait for their angry ride. Most mistakes weren’t up for negotiation, and Gen X didn’t get to redo a quiz or ask for another chance. They either handled their stuff or they didn’t, and they dealt with the outcome themselves. Gen X wishes other people got this.
Adults Didn’t Explain Themselves to Kids
This was a generation that grew up knowing that they weren’t owed a reason. As such, if their mom said no, that was their answer, and nobody sat them down for a long talk about feelings or fairness. Rules were made and enforced, with parents never trying to win them over with logic. Instead, they just said what they said and expected you to follow through.
Not Everything Was Made For Kids
Gen X didn’t simply walk into a place and expect it to be fun because they knew that not everything was made for them. For example, a restaurant with a salad bar but no crayon was a place for them to simply sit quietly. At home, their parents picked the TV shows. This generation ate grown-up food and sat through grown-up conversations, while learning to keep still when it wasn’t their turn to talk.
You Were Expected to Just Figure Stuff Out
Before school, Gen X would be lucky if their parents checked their backpacks for their permission slips or gym shoes. They didn’t hover while they made a diorama or rewrite their book report because they left it too late, either. Gen X was told what needed doing, and then they stepped back. It was their responsibility.
17 Things Gen X Secretly Misses But Would Never Admit
Sure, they’ve moved on, thanks to technology, but there are still moments, late at night or in a random thrift store, when they have that special memory again. Here are 17 things Gen X secretly misses. Just don’t ask them to admit it.
17 Things Gen X Secretly Misses But Would Never Admit
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