Today's Kids Were Born In The 80s, They Just Don't Realize It

It’s important to know your roots. This holds true even for entertainment.

Children of this generation seem to have greater access to the toys, games and overall experiences of their parents’ childhoods than ever before. Toys I played with as a kid in the eighties are making a comeback (Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe), movies are being released that call back to old movies and TV shows (Underdog, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Star Wars: the Clone Wars and, again, Transformers) and television seems to be going retro (check out the Boomerang Network if you haven’t already, I’ll be describing it further in a coming post).

Sure, my kids have new things I never had like the Wii and the Rip Rider 360 (that’s a tricycle that has rotating rear wheels and is extremely awesome). They are into newer shows like Spongebob, Adventure Time and the Regular Show (which is hilarious, by the way). But they also enjoy shows like Tom & Jerry, the Flintstones, the Smurfs and Popeye. They play with all my old Lego bricks and have been exposed to a lot of older video games via my old NES and the Atari 2600 games I’ve downloaded onto my Xbox 360.

I like this. I think it makes it easier for me to connect with my sons through common interests. I also think it’s good for a kid to know the history of the things they enjoy. I think it helps them appreciate all they have. That’s why I’ve made a point of exposing them to all the old stuff their dad and mom played with and enjoyed as kids.

It’s been pointed out to them that Mario didn’t always have round, friendly, chubby cheeks, red overalls (they were shocked to see they used to be brown) and a stereotypically thick Italian accent. And Luigi wasn’t taller back then, leading them to reason he’d experienced a growth spurt some time between Super Mario Brothers and Super Mario Brothers 2.

They were also amazed at the lack of buttons on old controllers. I explained to them that even further back it was one stick and one button. Done. Now, it seems as if controller buttons have mated and produced offspring like rabbits.

They have played with my old Transformers and felt how much heavier they are. They also see how the pieces were harder to move but how that resulted in better fitting together in their hidden forms.

My sons can appreciate how insanely detailed the movement of their action figures’ arms and legs are because they’ve held an original Obi Won Kenobi figure (circa 1978, plastic light saber concealed in hollowed arm) in their hands. Now, they can make their action figures walk without them having to goose-step around the house like Nazi soldiers.

They like newer popular music and hip hop (much to my chagrin) but also enjoy the guitar riffs of The Who and head banging metal sound of Metallica. Future musical lessons will include enlightenment about how video killed the radio star, how we all used to imagine what a big party 1999 was going to be and why people who want to ride should ride the white horse.

I exposed them to the Star Wars movies in the order they were originally released. They know that the ships in the original Star Wars looked more realistic because they were actually real things (just very, very small). They know the original Kraken looked more like a giant Creature from the Black Lagoon action figure their father used to have.

When it comes down to it, the eighties may be over, but you have a whole generation of kids that are being exposed to the culture from it via their parents. Plus, with so much of that decade making a comeback, you are really educating your kids by exposing them to it.

So, don’t let the eighties die. Keep them alive by trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube, doing the Safety Dance, watching Fraggle Rock or enjoying a frozen treat from your Snoopy Snow Cone Maker together. They’ll thank you later.