Ahhh, summer.
That magical stretch of sticky freedom where rules evaporate like sidewalk puddles and time is marked by the slow descent of a half-melted Fudge-sicle. But somewhere along the way—between rotary phones and retinal scanners—summer changed.
Let me take you on a little compare-and-contrast journey from my childhood in the early 80s vs. kids today, and see how we went from sunburns and BB guns to Wi-Fi passwords and SPF 9000.
Getting Outside
1983 Me:
Mom kicked us out after cartoons with a “Don’t come back until the streetlights are on!” No phone. No GPS. Just a vague threat of heat stroke and a backpack full of questionable snacks.
2025 Kids:
“Hang on, I need my smartwatch, my phone, sunscreen, bug spray, hydration tracker, and helmet.”
Oh, and a ride. To the park. Three blocks away.
Transportation
Me:
A Western Flying Mag bike with 5 Spoke Rims and one working pedal. If it squeaked, it still worked. Bonus points for Cards in the spokes.
Them:
Electric scooters with LED rims, GPS locks, and a Bluetooth speaker blasting Kidz Bop remixes. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out where my bike went after 1992.
Water Games
Me:
A garden hose on full blast. Possibly a sprinkler attached with duct tape. If you were rich, you had a Slip ‘N Slide—if you were poor you had Black Plastic sheeting, and if you survived using it on grass filled with rocks, you now qualify as a Navy SEAL.
Them:
Three-hundred-dollar inflatable water castles, foam-cushioned splash pads, and a team of adults supervising hydration breaks like it’s a triathlon. They have filtered water balloons now.
Food & Snacks
Me:
Lunch? Probably a Mayonnaise Sandwich pulled from a backpack with a Capri Sun so punctured it could double as a water gun.
Snack? Whatever we could find in the couch cushions or from someone’s older sibling with a stash of Now & Laters.
Them:
Organic granola bars, bento boxes, parent-approved sugar-free popsicles, and gluten-free everything. I swear, if I hear “kale chips” one more time I’m starting a rebellion.
Entertainment
Me:
Saturday morning cartoons. Then the TV belonged to your parents. You want entertainment? Go build a fort out of lawn chairs and regret.
Them:
Streaming 24/7 on five screens at once. YouTube in the left eye, TikTok in the right, and a 3D augmented Minecraft world projected onto the wall. No commercials. No rewinding. Just chaos.
Safety Protocols
Me:
Sunscreen was a suggestion. Helmets were for “the weak.” We played lawn darts, ran barefoot, and rode in truck beds. Somehow, we lived. Probably out of spite.
Them:
Kids today are safer, sure. But also… let’s be honest… a little softer. Like, if a kid from today had to survive one unsupervised 80s summer, their iPad would file a missing child report.
Final Thoughts from the Old Skwirl Tree
I’m not saying it was better back then…
Okay, maybe I am.
But I am saying it was different. We were little feral sun-lizards with popsicle-stained lips and permanently grass-stained knees. And somehow, in the chaos of it all, we grew up.
So this summer, if you catch your kids or Grandkids inside for the sixth hour straight, hand them a half-charged walkie talkie, a water bottle, and say: “Be home by dusk.”
They might look at you like you’ve lost it.
But someday, they’ll be the ones comparing summers.
And you?
You’ll be the legend who survived the Slip ‘N Slide of Doom.
Leave a Reply