I have two daughters who are now 18 and 16 years old, which means they were born in 1999 and 2001. Although I don’t like to admit it, that was a long time ago. Looking back, there have been many changes in raising children since my friends and I started out.
- Fashion – Styles change. There is a definite difference in fashion from when my girls were young to today. Going out on a Saturday night, my favorite go-to shirt was a satiny lingerie-looking top. During the day, I would love a big buckled belt with my 7 for Mankind jeans. During the summer, I would wear a long gypsy skirt or cargo pants/shorts, possibly with a tank and shrug or, better yet, layered tanks. And who didn't love a Juicy sweat suit? Today it is all about ripped jeans, off the shoulder tops, and the Juicy sweat suit has changed to Lululemon workout wear.
- Photographs - There were no smart phones when our kids were young. I feel ancient saying this, but we carried cameras with film! We would bring the film to the camera store, or even a drug store, and wait for it to be developed. I always had two copies made, just in case there was a need for an extra. It would have been nice to pull out my iPhone and snap picture after picture. No wait time - they would just appear ready to view – crazy concept!
- Electronics – when I see young children in the supermarket, or in the car, or on a plane, or anywhere, I see them playing on their mom’s iPhone (or their own after a certain age) or iPad. Our kids had the Nintendo DS - my girls had them in pink. It came with a little pen to play the games with. They also had “hit clips” – a teeny tiny boom box that came with little “clips” of songs that you slid in and listened to. No Spotify or iTunes.
- TV – The preschool years were filled with Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Barney, Caillou, Dragon Tales, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. As they got older, our television played a constant stream of Teen Nick and Disney Channel – That’s So Raven, Drake and Josh, The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Lizzie McGuire, Wizards of Waverly Place, Zoey 101, and of course Hannah Montana. I am not going to try to compare this to the TV shows of today because I have no idea what they are. Plus, as my kids say, nothing can compare to “their shows”.
- Food – this one I must give to the newer moms. I fed my children “kid food” and, sadly, my 16-year-old still eats like this. Chicken nuggets, hot dogs, tater tots, mac & cheese, pizza, and frozen waffles were the staples. Of course, many children still eat like that today – I would eat like that if I could! But it seems that even these “kid foods” are made healthier today – organic, all natural. Moms also seem to give their children “adult food” at a younger age. I see children eating things such as hummus, sushi, or salad much earlier than ours did in the 2000’s.
- Social Media - There was none. No Facebook, no Instagram, no Snapchat, no Twitter, no social media whatsoever. I love social media as much as anyone, as do my teenage girls, but when they were young, it didn't exist. I believe that being a mom without it was a little easier. My phone was just a phone, so there was nothing for me to look down at all the time. I had no choice but to look up at my kids. There also wasn't as much pressure to have "the perfect life". We didn't see that everyone else was doing amazing things while our lives seemed more ordinary. Of course, I now realize that those perfect lives are pretty much just for show. And thankfully, I never had to see #blessed.
- High School Musical – need I say more? It was the Grease of the 2000’s. This movie played so many times in my house that I was walking around singing the songs all day. There is nothing to compare it to – as far as I know there is no Grease of the 2010’s.
- It was Limited Too. It is now Justice.
- Allergies – when I was a kid, there were hardly any children with food allergies. My younger daughter was born with an allergy to tree nuts, and when she was young there was a lot of the same. Now it seems as if there are so many different allergies out there – nuts, gluten, dairy, fruits, eggs etc. Everyone seems to be allergic to something.
- Trends – there always were and always will be new and different trendy “things” for kids. In the 2000’s my kids had to have things like Kooky Pens, Tamagotchi, Webkinz and Silly Bandz. Today everyone has a fidget spinner or cube, or they are making their own slime.
Who knows what the 2020’s will bring?
You can visit Stacy at The Widow Wears Pink