Why Are You A Child Of The 80s?

This is one page of many, check out the intro at Child of the 80s where you can add your own memories as well.

This page currently edited by: RetroGuyDK. Past editor: MereBear22, Banasy


Me and my husband were just talking about the 80's last night, and we both agreed that things aren't like they use to be, like the cartoons they have now are nothings like we had, I remember playing outside with my brother and sister, we would pretend that I was She-Ra and he was He-Man, my sister always wanted to be rainbow brite. The way I see it is that I don't remember there being so much violence in the 80's because everyone was to busy watching cartoon and tv shows, now there is nothing but violence and cursing on every cartoon around and they wonder were this kids are learing it from........ I WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME.....
From: Faby

OK, so I'm not a "real" child of the 80's but I stil got to enjoy some of it. I was born in 85 and I so want the 80's to come back! Who said the fashios were ugly? I think they're awesome, big hair, ripped jeans, that shirt with holes in it over a bra (Madonna!). I'm so glad the fashions are slowly coming back, maybe, soon, we'll all have big hair. Anyway, I l-o-v-e-d metal in the 80's! I was like 5 and I knew the words to almost every Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Poison, etc. song out there. I don't think my mom would have been to happy to know that I wanted to marry Axl Rose and Nikki Sixx. That's ok though. Axl is still hot in my opinion. :) Remember Punky Brewster? How cool wasn't she? Oh, the hours in my room trying to re-create her look. hehe. Well, that's enough of me. PS- Guns N Roses is back... get their new album! (No Slash though *sniffle*)
From: Christine

Does anybody remember tying their shirts up in those plastic thingys? where it was all bunched up to one side? those were soo cool.....and slap bracelets. Oh man! :)
From: Amanda

Wow! The 80's are life! Ok, so not really, but this site is the greatest! I was born in 84, and she-ra was my life!! Does anyone remember "Finders Keepers" on Nickelodeon (before it went through like 20 channel chages?) And Jem, and Ninja Turtles, and the Snorks, and Zooblie Zoo!!! Wow, things are just rollin back. Remembe the first Mario for Nintendo? The one with Duck Hunt, where youd cheat when no one was lookin and walk up to the screen just so the annoying dog would laugh at you!And i didnt see strech pants, huge sweatshirts with little ties in the bottom, and side-ponytails in here anywhere!! Those were the thing if you wanted to be hip. NKOTB, with their like 12-year old voices singing a beautiful rendition of "Popsicle" and "Angel". What else, if anyone listened to country too, then you wanted some "Alabama" and "Exile". My favorite is still She-ra. ..."I...aaaaammmm....SHEEEEEEE-RAAAAAAA!!!" hehehe, i thought i was her, with the costume and all. Remembe the first episode when they introduced her as He-Man's twin sister! wow, i could go on forever, but "psych"! I cant, you'll all kill me. I'll just leave you with McDonalds Happy Meals, when you got Muppet Babies and Fraggle Rock toys, instead of Beanie Babies. *angie*
From: Angie Porter

2001 is here and I think it snuk up on us too fast, time is practly nill anymore, kids don't have the lux of mom at home and time for themselves... I was born in 75, and I am deffinatly an 80's child! The Dukes of Hazzard was and is still my all time fave! Bo Duke was my guy! My mom had a Dodge charger (the coolest car in the world) and my sister and I were forever poping in and out of the windows! Break dancing was the coolest and nothing can compare to listing to the music on thirty threes! He-MAN and SHE-RA were among some of the best cartoons, and there was nothing like kicking back and chillin' with your friends on a lazy summer afternoon. Where as today kids go to school, have to wory about getting to after school affairs and then in some cases, there isn't a let out for summer, thinking back to those days we had it prety good. This sight is great and takes me back through some great memories. Thanks a lot, I have thourally enjoyed it! From Mary
From: Mary

I really missed the 80's!! Back in '85, Michael J. Fox was my dream guy. Jeff Healey and his band really rocked and I dialed "TelePersonals" just to listen to a guy's voice. I really resent these bellbottom styles in jeans coming back and wonder when my time will come again. Some of the music that I listen to back them was fab!!! Later on in the years, my youthful outlook on life became grim. I wish that outlook on life would come back. Write in to me, if you can. I may be 30 soon(May, to be exact). I shudder at the thought of that. But the children of the 80's should believe that their voice counts in the 21st century. "Take on me" as A-HA would say!!!!
From: Cyneman (better known as Cindy)

I guess this isnt a response necessarily but here's my list. I was born in 1980. -Happy Meals -Saving up to buy nintendo -The music from Zelda -Letting your hair grow in the back -Apple IIGS -Bike Shorts -Tetris on game boy -Mario 2 -The Wizard (not the wizard of oz remake, the other one) -Summer Camp -Waking up as early as possible on saturday morning -That green heman guy that shoots water -Dinobots -Roger Rabbit -Honey I shrunk the kids -Renting the japanese version of super mario brothers 3 before the american one came out. -Entertech squirt guns (before they had to be all multicolored) -Fuzzbucket -Lego monorail -Cool babysitters -Labyrinth -Getting a pizza from domino's every saturday -swimming pools -Bomber for the Apple computer -Word munchers -Cassettes -That brown fisher-price record player and tape recorder -Good toys -Robots -Short circuit -The Goonies ( i know everyone mentions that) -Giant cell phones -Anything with the muppets -Riding your bike everywhere -BMXs -Baseball Cards -Ryne Sandberg -Fruit Rollups -Juice Boxes -Cool lunch boxes -Apple sauce at lunch -Capture the flag -Air Wolf -Interrupted cartoons during tianemmen's square -ghostbusters toys -bubble bobble -Justin Bailey -Garbage Pail Kids -No homework -Space Camp -EVerything nikeolodeon -Muppet Babies -Fraggle Rock -Lanyard -RBI baseball -Velcro -Shoes with pockets -Girls with Keds -Getting rides from your parents -Jose Canseco -WWF before it was trash -Air Jordans -No expansion teams -Harry Caray -That cool intro on HBO -Choose your own adventure books -Ranger Rick -internet? -Sticky Bear Printer -Film Strips -Kickball -Good Playgrounds w/ tire swings -Dodgeball -Those things that clipped mittens onto your coat -Phonics Class -Class plays -Cable w/ that cool zenith box -Swing Sets -Star Wars Toys -Zoobooks -Candyland -Shutes and Ladders -Toy airplanes -That episode of Alf where he made the music video -Chicken Pox -Bozo buckets -Sesame Street -Mr. Rogers -Stuffed Animals -Figment -Big wheels -Up up down down left right left right b a select start -Old Tom Hanks movies -Eddie Murphy -Up for grabs, Down for keeps
From: Josh Freeland

If I had one wish, it would be to have a map of my memories and an explination of why I relate some things with others. My memories of the 80s are a convolution of a what a child experienced in the past few centuries( innocence, nursery rhymes) and the 80s experience (Care Bears, He-Man). I fear that children of the 90's and of the new decade have lost even the first part. A truly sad sight is a 4-year-old girl singing Britney Spears.
From: Jaymes

I beg to differ with you. My sister was the only person I knew that could beat the Rubik's Cube. It was scary. I usually just moved the stickers around until all the sides were the same color. You are a child of the eighties if you did that. I remember tornado drills when we had to cower against the lockers in the bend over and kiss it goodbye position. I also recall wedgies, food fights, bullies, Spielberg films, frog dissections, headbangers, preppies, ghetto blasters, posers. Do I need to say more?
From: Jose

When I think back on the 80's I get an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. I was born in 1983, and my childhood consisted of those bare essentials that the 80's so greatly provided. I too remember arising at 6 in the morning so I could make sure to get in every chessy cartoon I could. School House Rock was what I lived for, and singin the theme of Alvin and the Chipmunks. I can remember eatin my fruity pebbles and drinkin my ecto punch while singin "I don't want to grow up cuz if I did I wouldn't be a Toys R Us kid..." I had every barbie in the Barbie and the Rockers set. I even had some barbie movies. Rainbow Bright and my little pony's were my life. I can remember watchin MTV and singin along to Guns N Roses, and telling my dad that I was gonna marry Axel Rose and be in heavy metal band. Or hearing Madonnas Like a Virgin on the radio and askin my mom what a virgin was. Or singin at the top of my lungs "Pour Some Sugar on MEEEEEEEE...." until my mom would send me outside to go ride my bannana seat bike and bother the naighbors. Goin to my baby sitters house and playin Atari 2600, and Nintendo was one of my favorite things to do. Or curling up next to my dad and watchin WWF.....we even went to a few shows in person. I also wanted to be a cast member of "You Can't do that on Television" I remember lauging with delight and tickling my cabbage patch doll everytime someone got slimed. I remember cryin at the end of E.T. and wondering why we didn't have an alien of our own. The pull string talkin Alf doll just wasn't enough for me I guess... The 80's were definately a great decade, and I'm glad to have gotten to experience in some of the ride. This one goes out to all those snot nose lil kids who just wanted to hang out w/e my lil buddy and kid sister and me......
From: Amy

Oh God!! The 80's!! What a glorious time!! And those of us born in the late 60's, REALLY are the children of the 80's!! Sex Pistols at CBGB's (pre 80-s, but wasn't his death traumatic!!), Antmusic for Sexpeople,late nights and raves before they were called raves!!!!!!! Where those that were most beautiful, came out only at night!!!!! How I wish we were all still there..................
From: Tammy

I was born in 1982, so I missed a couple years of the 80s, but I still remember growing up listening to hair metal and the Cars and Duran Duran and Culture Club, and even though I don't admit it to most people, I love that stuff. I think that EVERYONE who was born in the 80s loves that stuff, just because that's what our parents listened to. I miss the 80s. It was a much simpler and a much more innocent time. I understood the slang then, and I was up on the fashion. I french-rolled my jeans and used bottles of hairspray on my bangs. I was at the rollarena and was among the priveleged few who had rollerblades, even though my parents couldn't really afford them. I still own My Little Ponies, and I never threw out Castle Greyskull or my Bart Simpson buttons. I said "eat my shorts" and I loved Thriller. I miss the 80s, because even though I'm only 18, I just don't get "kids these days."
From: Bridget

Born in 1980, i cant forget when they actually played saturday morning cartoons, had GREAT toys, the most imaginative and creative movies, and the best music. I was the first born in my family, i had no older sibling so i didnt really experience what the '80's were through pop culture. My dad would listen to the new music station on my way to school and i would memorize all the music that came out during the decade and he was only 23 then Whoa! Im definetly more of an 80's child then a 90's. But just as the popularity of every decade comes back in Retro, im sure it's popularity will return in Due time.
From: Nathan

Born in 1970..the eighties where mine ! :-) We saw Duran Duran in concert, had feathered hair, white tennis shoes, jeans with zippers up the side, heavy metal shirts (ya know the black shirts with white sleeves). Neon head bands, leg warmers, hooped earings..then some kids got preppy* in the late eighties---boat shoes(with no socks), lots of pastels, sweat shirts with company logos, flower-print jeans, swatch watches, canvas white shoes. Thompson twins to glass tiger. Battle of the planets to Knight Rider, to Fantasy Island. The space shuttle blew up the day after my birthday, I remember seeing it on TV when I got home. Someone in my school died before I graduated. I actually did say no to drugs. I miss some of the innocence of Television and movies, and sometimes I like to hear old songs (especially Corey Hart he was my love :) But music like everything else progresses and I just don't want to be like the annoying people from the 70s who can't move on musically. Nanoo Nanoo
From: sara

You know, this year, for our winter homecoming, one of the spirit days was 80s day. Funny thing....but most everyone confused the 80s with the early 90s! I stayed as true to the era as I could and went to a friend who graduated in the mid 80s for advice. She helped style my outfit. Then when I got to school, I was told I as an early 90s girl. WHAT?! It's such a shame that people can't decifer between the 80s and the early 90s anymore. What is wrong with our society?!?! ;)
From: Buzz

Growing up in the 80's means to me: CareBears, Rainbow Bright, Thunder Cats, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, R. Reagan, Smurfs, TMNT, Miami Vice (I thought Don Johnson was HOT), Dukes of Hazard, *good* Saturday Night Live (that I was not allowed to watch), Heathers, Madonna, He-Man and She-Ra, being "cool" enought to not like New Kids, losing grandparents, changing schools too many times, Oh yeah, and Swatches. But I can do with out the music, am I the only one?
From: Sunshine

I was born in 1983 and the stuff in this site made everything flood back. People make fun of the 1980's, but I am certain, now with some experience that it was the best decade of film, hence evil dead 2, Gremlins, The Goonies and the bulk of the Star Wars trilogy. Now there's crap like Digimon, there were the Transformers.. I'm sure kids these days could handle the likes of Optimus-Prime as opposed to some shitty orange dinosaur that can only say it's name. The 80's had something distinctive while being dark and flurecent in a nice way.. basically I know how you feel. That's why now I spend alot of money creating the 80's experience in a room.. Thanks for having the same affliction as me: MARK
From: Mark

hey..i was born in '82 but i wish i was about 16 or so by then! He-man, Silverhawks, Thundercats, Care Bears, it's all good!! the 80s need to come back and TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!! PUNK ROCK RULES!!! and so does 'back to the future'...
From: mike

I was born in 83 but remember nearly everything. Huey Lewis and the News, Genesis, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cindy Lauper, Tesla, Poison, Cinderella, Pat Benetar, and Tears for Fears were the best. We were the last generation to play with something called our imagination. If anyone gave us a cardboard box or a My Buddy doll we were happy for hours. When I came home from school I watched The Raccoons and Alvin and the Chipmunks. I was never big on MTV but all my friends were and they all wanted to marry Jordan from New Kids On The Block. My mom used to give me one of those side ponytails with banana clips and I can remember walking to school with my head tilted to one side because my hair was so long. When I wore skirts I wore the neon green stretch shorts underneath. Slap bracelets were the coolest. My Little Pony, Stawberry Shortcake, My Buddy... best toys. Children of the 80s can remember a time when we could live and function as a society without computers. I remember that at school, in the computer lab, it was the biggest deal when we got a few color computers to replace the old green and black ones. We printed all our papers on dot matrix printers. I had an Atari and Centipede and Pac-man were my favorite games. The best movies to me then were The Goonies, ET, Batteries Not Included, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Karate Kid, Short Circuit, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, and Labyrinth. Me and my family use to go see movies at the drive-in down the street. I can't do that anymore because they knocked it down a few years ago to build a huge Century 25 theater. Says somehing about today, huh? At night I would always come in from playing early to catch Scooby Doo and Ghostbusters on Cartoon Express. I also loved to watch Jem and the Holograms, He-man, She-ra, Rainbow Brite, and all those low-budget Hanna-Barbera shows like Paw Paws, Snorks, and Monchichis. I slept with a gloworm. I hated Cabbage Patch kids, they were so ugly and I never understood what all the big fuss was about. I felt left out when all my friends got the newest in game technology...Nintendo. Loved Super Mario Bros and I used to suck at Tetris and Paperboy. I thought I was so cool when I would go to school in my non matching clothes, high tops, and hair bands. When summer came around we would break out our Jellies and our slip n slide. And instead of playing coloring book online, we did it for real and sometimes with chalk in the middle of the street. I loved to play skip-it, connect four, and candy land. I remember the commercials almost more than the shows. At school, we watched Bush Sr. get inaugerated even though I had no idea what was going on. Back then I also thought that he was a great president. I miss Happy Meals coming in boxes. I gained full command of Multiplication, Grammar, and US History through the magic of School House Rock on Saturday Morning Cartoons...they were good back then. I was so cool going down the street with a band of kids on our Big Wheels but then Power Wheels came and blew Big Wheels out of the water. We never had enough money for me to get one so I was bummed. I still remember almost every cartoon or TV theme and commercial from the 80s. And I can remember how every cartoon was created for its toy tie-ins...no wonder our generation is so screwed up. We've had commercialism crammed down our throats since before we can remember. After school we would buy ring pops and rip our jeans on purpose so we looked cool. I wanted to use hairspray and get those 2 foot high bangs. Every boy I knew had a Mr. T or Hulk Hogan doll and they all loved transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Remember all those public service announcements from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? I also watched Nick Jr. when it was good. There was Pinwheel, David the Gnome, The Elephant Show, Eureeka's Castle, and Fred Penner's Place. Hated Sesame Street. Loved Double Dare and You Can't Do That On Television. Molly Ringwald. I could go on forever. The 90's reeked for the most part except for Talespin and Darkwing Duck. Never had the money for Teddy Ruxpin. Loved the old commercials for Mc Donalds. My dad loved Motley Crue, Whitesnake, and Tesla. My mom loved to watch Rescue 911, Highway to Heaven, and McGyver. We also watched Alf, Golden Girls, Facts of Life, Growing Pains, Just the Ten of Us, and Dukes of Hazzard. I never knew who shot JR and didn't care. My favorite songs were Shout (Tears for Fears) and Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benetar). Man, today sucks! The 80s were so colorful and anything went. Now everything has to be color coordinated and there's a place for everything and everything in it's place.Anyhow, life has gotten too complicated what with our computers and cellphones, pagers and email. Do we really need all this junk? Out of respect for the world I knew before all of this, I don't have any of this with the exception of the computer because now it's neccessary for the survival of the human race. I don't know, the world's just gotten so much smaller since the 90s came along and I'm going off to college now and times are no longer so simple. I don't even watch TV anymore...except for the Simpsons, sometimes a movie, and less frequently, the news. You can't turn on TV or open a magazine without seeing Brittney Spears or some other bubble gum popstar, boy band (I can't tell any of them apart in appearance or sound), or hateful rapper. Today's films leave nothing to the imagination, it's all special effects. I guess I just feel disillusioned with the world right now. My hopes were so bright back then and here I am now thinking "this is it?" Wake me up when we go back to the 80s or 60s. I can't wait to play with my legos again!
From: Charlene

The 80's. The best years ever, I really didnt live my teenage years during the 80's. Actually Im living my teen years now but i almost with I lived them during the 80's. I do kinda remember those years though. The best years ever, best music, best environment, best fashion ever, not to mention the flanel pants.
From: Ed Sal

This is one page of many, check out the intro at Child of the 80s where you can add your own memories as well.