What do you miss most about being a kid?

[whos that girl]

Climbing trees.

The ability to make friends so easily.

My Grand-parents.

Playground competitions.

Eating whatever I want and not feeling bad about it.

Having enough energy to ride my bike up hills for miles and miles.

Ignorance of bad things.

Dreams of all the possibility of what I could do with my life. Growing up is about choosing, eliminating dreams one after the other because you can't be "all" at the same time.

What do you miss most about being a kid?

[BethIrish]

Being completely, 100% taken care of. No worries, no cares :D

[AusAshMommy]

Being completely, 100% taken care of. No worries, no cares :D

I 2nd this!!

[kris97]

The free time (Remember when you had summers off, with nothing else to worry about besides the boy you liked?)

This is more specific to high school, but I really enjoyed competing (in athletics, academics, whatever). There aren't many opportunities for adults to earn plaques and go to awards dinners. :)

[heather1029]

I was JUST thinking about this today!

Being naive and believing all adults were respectable. Seeing everyone as generally good.

Having my food cut for me.

Not worrying about how my hair looks--ever. Not caring about how I look in a bathing suit!!!!!

[zhannushka]

Knowing that I'm still a kid and still have so much time ahead of me to do everything I want.

Being carefree and naive.

Dreaming and actually believing that all my dreams will become a reality one day.

[AHammer]

stealing a few ideas from others:

being taken care of

competing in high school stuff

running around the neighborhood w/ my friends

not being afraid of bugs

[lawyerlee]

Definitely two things that have already been said:

- vacations
- the feeling of being completely secure and carefree

I was totally one of those kids who couldn't wait to grow up. Seems so funny now. :)

[Adaya]

-Free time and having absolutely nothing to do but worry about whether or not to watch cartoons or game shows.

-Summer vacation

[ahavnes]

Not counting calories!! :)

I really miss summer. I spent a month at summer camp and the rest of it in our pool. I have such happy memories of doing nothing but swimming all day and then collapsing at night from being so tired and sunburnt. I loved it!

[dragonfly28602]

Nap time!!!!!!!!!

[Brandles]

Summers that lasted forever! Days that seemed like weeks!

[rubyslippers]

In addition to what others have said I think I miss most the innocent anticipation of the holidays. There was no planning or prep involved. I loved seeing all of the relatives and friends and having a great break from school.

[honeygirl]

DH and I were just talking about this today. I miss being able to read all day (if I wanted) during the summer!

[j*east]

Hmmm. You know, I really can't think of much. Maybe it helps that I teach and have the summers off. It sounds like a lot of people miss that.

I'm just so glad to have the freedom to do whatever I want, a car to drive wherever I want, control over my life and choices, etc. I guess in my mind a lot of my childhood was doing stuff other people wanted me to do.

Not that I don't have responsibilities--but generally, I do very little that I don't enjoy. When I was little, I had to go to church, go to school, do homework, help at home, etc.

I must just be having a zen moment right now, or something. :o

[sublime311]

The ability to daydream without the internal interruptions of reality...

Does that make sense? I could daydream for HOURS about stuff. I went to bed daydreaming and woke up daydreaming. Now, if I dare daydream I always have to shake myself "awake" with reality... "a house like that would take days to clean, are you crazy?"

[quest]

I miss being....

- ignorant of what life can bring you...but in a good way;

- 100% optimistic about the future;

- naive about anything other than those things that directly involved me.

[jbenny75]

Going on vacation with no responsibility for planning, paying, driving, etc.

[ginadc]

We were just talking about this on the drive home from my ILs tonight. We had been commenting with the ILs about our daughter's total, unbridled joy in life--the way when something makes her happy, she's just completely and utterly happy. I think that we (most of us, anyway) lose the ability to be quite that abandoned in our joy as we get older, mostly because we learn about responsibility and rules and bills and, well, death.

So I think most of all I miss that. Being able to be totally, utterly, 100% in the moment happy with nothing at all hanging over my head.

[eli1126]

Being able to entertain myself for hours by riding my bike, playing outside, and swimming.

[lovebugs2003]

Just living life a day at a time! Nice and easy!!!

[GeekGirl]

Summer vacation. Believing that Mom and Dad can fix anything.

[QueenDillyDally]

Sleeping as much & as often as I wanted to! :)

Oh, and waking up every morning knowing that mom had breakfast all ready for me. Love her chocolate chip pancakes! :D

[pewee9196]

traveling the world.
I lived in Europe. Just last night I was thinking about how much I missed Germany!

I miss feeling like I could do anything I wanted for my career. Income did not matter.

[miaclear]

I miss summers a lot. Summer school (I took fun classes like woodworking and Pioneers), that was a lot of fun. Camping with my family. Wondering where life would take me. Playing under the deck in the sandpile making small cities and then turning on the hose to make a river...until my dad would tell use we're wasting water and to turn it off. Riding my bike. Now that I have a child I'm excited to watch him experience his youth.

There's so much I loved about my childhood. OP...you've inspired me. I think I'm going to write an essay, short story, something on that lines for my parents for Christmas on my childhood. It'll be fun remembering :)

[LDS Angel 19]

12 hours of sleep a night
not worrying about what I eat
not worrying about money
playing with barbies :)

[Jen&Dan]

Having the summer off and spending it in Kentucky with my grandparents
Having a lot less things to worry aboout

[Annette]

Summer vacation
Not worrying about money
Not being in pain for days after falling and hurting myself
Having lots of free time after school to do fun activities

[QueenDillyDally]

Oh yeah, I miss getting up on Saturday mornings and watching the Smurfs while building forts out of the couch cushions and blankets with my sister! :D

[QueenDillyDally]

Being able to do cartwheels without any effort, being able to do back flips into the swimming pool, riding a bike without getting out of breath! ;)

[Anna Low]

Lots, actually.

- All of my family was still living and we had the best time together. Now, almost all of them are gone and I miss them desperately.

- Spending the entire summer at our place at the beach. It was heaven on earth.

- No worries.

- Being young. I am 40 now and feel like my life is nearly over.

I don't miss school, though!

[miaclear]

Being able to do cartwheels without any effort

haha...on a similar note a few years ago I tried to do a backwards somersault and thought I paralyzed myself after hearing the noises my neck made mid flip. Ouch.

[phoenics]

Literally not having a care in the world - or rather, not knowing what it meant to have to really 'care' about something - like feeding myself.

[cabby9871]

Having nothing to worry about except homework, it isn't that bad although at the time I thought it was the worst and couldn't wait to be an adult.

[snowzilla]

...that fifteen minutes of recess could feel like an hour. Now, fifteen minutes feels like seconds - there's never enough time in the day anymore.

[Belm]

Having the summers off - especially now as I sit inside my office and gaze out my window wishing that I could be at the beach.

[ginadc]

Oh god yes, the energy. I miss the energy I had as a kid. I miss the things my 10-year-old body could do vs. what my 40-year-old body can do!

[EJH]

no worries. i miss that. seems that all i do anymore is worry. sucks.

[Dally]

--Free time, especially in summer
--Feeling like anything is possible
--That physical feeling of being absolutely alive--heart pounding, my breath loud in my ears, pure joy

sigh

[pocahontas]

Not having a job...going to school was the easiest thing I've ever done! (Course I didn't know it then. :o)

[Kanga]

Especially because i'm sick right now - i miss sick days. Staying home from school with nobody else yo take care of, not even myself most of the time

never worrying about bills or a budget

summer vacation

summer camp

[Standrea]

I miss lots, but mostly stuff with my family. I miss family vacations. I miss sitting down to dinner (My parents and 2 sisters and I). We did that again yesterday with our spouses and kids before my little sister left for college. It will be the last time we will do that until christmas.

Mostly, i miss the holidays. They just don't feel the same as they did when I was a kid!

[bethnjim]

I miss:

--Summers I spent in AL with my grandparents
--The closeness I had with my brothers and sister...once you get married and have your own kids, it changes
--NO RESPONSIBILITIES--what was I thinking getting a job when I turned 16???:rolleyes:
--Being able to eat whatever and never gaining a pound:(
--The simplicity of thinking that everyone I loved would live forever

[jenjen0713]

I miss naps. Alot. Why did I fight them so hard when I was little?

[Tracie]

Like other posters have said, I miss the free time. Oodles and oodles of free time with nothing to do with it except what you want to.

I remember during summer vacations, I had some kind of chore to do everyday. It would take maybe half hour, tops. And I would fight it! Now I wish I only had to do half hour of chores tops a day.

And then I wouldn't have them when school started up again!

[Standrea]

I remember during summer vacations, I had some kind of chore to do everyday. It would take maybe half hour, tops. And I would fight it! Now I wish I only had to do half hour of chores tops a day.

I had to dust on saturdays. That was it. Oh, how i wish...

[May27JnJ]

I miss how $5 was a big deal. I miss not having bills. I miss roller skating on my front porch to No Doubt. I miss going to my g-ma's every weekday during the summer.

[missy329]

I miss getting a piggyback ride from my daddy (or a horse ride from him).

I miss sitting on the floor playing cards with my dad.

Summer evening bike rides with my mom.

I guess, mostly, I miss my parents. I wish I had had more time with them. Losing both parents when I was in my 20's stinks.

[artist]

I miss being completely taken care of and not having to worry about things like finances, budgeting, career or job hunting, etc. My parents were certainly never rich, but my family was very stable so I had no fear of things like divorce. Also, regardless of how broke my parents may have been at times, we always had a roof over our heads, always had the utilities turned on, always had food, always had love.

Play was an integral part of the day. I was free to draw pictures, bang on pots and pans to my Seseme Street vinyl record, sit in the sandbox and make castles, make up long elaborate stories with Fisher Price people, etc. (I was not allowed to have Barbies or squirt guns!)

In the summers I would often take art classes. I was free to learn and improve on art skills without interruption of things like math class or gym class or school in general. I also had the luxury of taking the class without getting a grade.

At various camps I went to, I remember the fun of things like riding a horse, being in a canoe, climbing a wall, etc. Sometimes I wish as an adult I could just do things like that more often. I suppose I still could do those things if I made arrangements to do so. I can't tell you the last time I rode a horse, but it would be so much fun to just take an afternoon and go do something like that! Hard to do when you live in the city.

[artist]

I also remember having a small wooden box filled with pennies. At the age four, I thought I was rich! It probably was only a few dollars, but the fact that I had a box completely filled with pennies made me feel rich!

[diam124]

Oh geez, I miss so many things about being a kid:

-No responsibility
-Food taken care of (no cooking or food shopping)
-Clothes taken care of
-No money worries
-Married parents
-Healthy grandparents (and parents too for that matter)
-How my Mom could make everything better for me

[Jenyfer9]

Summer camp.

[penybryn]

* Having a flat stomach
* Not having to cook dinner
* Watching Saturday morning cartoons like Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny
* Riding bikes with banana seats!

[ysolde]

The long, lazy days of summer: sleeping in until I was no longer sleepy, reading all day if I so chose, going to an afternoon movie with my mother, and sharing a small popcorn and a Tab, buying a whole new back-to-school wardrobe, hour-long, lavender-scented baths in cool water, the feeling of absolute certainty and security.

[Bastille]

What a great thread and trip down memory lane...

Miss school and learning

Miss being on the school sports teams, the camaraderie and competition

Miss believing that I could be anything I wanted to be

Miss traveling with my family, visiting family/grandmother in Germany

Miss excitement/energy of being young

Miss the excitement of holidays/school vacation

Miss my innocence and believing everything will be ok

[SunnyAB]

Size 10 (probably the last time this body saw that was at that age!) :p

We didnt have a lot of free time (farm girl) but whenever I did - just reading! as long and as much as I could.

SOOOOOOO miss the energy! sigh

Miss having pain free days. :(

I miss school too, I think in high school I had the most fun (on sports teams, being involved in all kinds of events) - and I loved learning new things, challenging myself. (Now the challenges have a bit more at stake sometimes.) :eek:

I think someone mentioned the holidays - and this part is hard to explain, but missing that anticipation of those 'special' things. I remember Mom would hide the Christmas catalogue until a certain date and we would drive ourselves nuts dreaming about the toys in it. And we weren't allowed to have candies or Christmas oranges until a certain time. It sort of sounds like we were deprived, but it wasnt like that - we weren't poverty stricken, but we weren't rich either. It was more that you appreciated it all that much more when it wasnt so readily available - and you had to wait for it. Now it seems that no matter what it is, (providing it isnt something extremely expensive) you just get it. And we used to make candles (not from a kit - plain parafin wax and the candle stubs that you had burned up) and collect things for our Christmas village (LONG before this became popular and everything you can think you can just buy) We would search and search for things that would be perfect for our village, or else we would make it (popsicle stick bridge). This all just reminds me how OLD I am! :rolleyes: The holidays are still extremely important and special to me, and I concentrate on the good things people do, and the good feelings (try to ignore the crabby people) I'm still part kid when it comes to that.

I miss Dad picking up Mom and I in his bulk milk truck - going into the city to do some shopping. The guys at the dairy would always spoil me with an icecream or revel, and we would usually have lunch at some department store counter.

OK - enough reminiscing - or I will just go on and on and on.... :rolleyes:


ETA - I just re-read this and it sort of sounds like an episode of Little House on the Prairie!!! well, maybe a wee bit modernized :p

[thelittlebabu]

Swimming. Learning how to back-dive and forward flips off the diving board. Marco Polo. Pool parties. Pools with slides. The sheer joy of finding out there's a pool at the motel we're staying at, despite a beach two blocks away.

As an adult, pools are more of maintenance headache than a source of enjoyment. Swimming is now a laborious exercise instead of something fun to do. I can't remember the last time I stepped on a diving board, or even seen one now with everyone so liability-conscious. I'm going to have to dig deep into my inner child and remember how much I loved the water in my youth so I can let my daughters experience that.

[artist]

Swimming. Learning how to back-dive and forward flips off the diving board. Marco Polo. Pool parties. Pools with slides. The sheer joy of finding out there's a pool at the motel we're staying at, despite a beach two blocks away.

As an adult, pools are more of maintenance headache than a source of enjoyment. Swimming is now a laborious exercise instead of something fun to do. I can't remember the last time I stepped on a diving board, or even seen one now with everyone so liability-conscious. I'm going to have to dig deep into my inner child and remember how much I loved the water in my youth so I can let my daughters experience that.

I'm an adult and I still get excited if a hotel or motel has a pool, hot tub, or jacuzzi!

[thelittlebabu]

I'm an adult and I still get excited if a hotel or motel has a pool, hot tub, or jacuzzi!
I don't. I wish I did. I do get excited if a friend's house has a jacuzzi, though.

[sue-bert]

No worries, no cares. Not having responsibility for other people.

Snow days! That euphoric jolt when the radio announcer on the local station lists your school's name among those closed for a snowstorm.

Summer vacation: Lazing in the pool, going to the library (I was/am a nerd), catching fireflies, showing up at my best friend's house unannounced - no need to call ahead of time, we were always at either her place or mine...

That bittersweet feeling when buying new clothes for school - new clothes are fun, but there's that wistful feeling of knowing that the summer's winding down, the days are getting shorter, ...

[MrsSmith]

I didn't have to work or think about money as a kid. Everything I needed, and most of what I wanted, just magically appeared! That was awesome!

I miss being in school. I loved school. Homework, plays, music classs...I had fun every day.

I miss my mom. She was really spontaneous and would always surprise us with day trips, shopping, or a special dinner. She was great.

[Goddess Tiff]

I miss the freedom from responsibilities.

I miss the feeling that my parents were immortal.