Old school parenting holds a special kind of magic, especially in today’s tech-driven world. As Australian parents navigate smart devices and modern conveniences, many cherish the timeless values and simple joys that come with traditional child development. child development. Raising Children Network. Raising Children Network.
It’s not just me, but lately I find myself experiencing these moments more often, especially as I watch my children navigate their small smart worlds. Smart TVs. Smart watches. Smart fridges can alert you when milk is running low. When will we have parents who can fold their laundry without having to drink three cups of caffeine and listen to a podcast? Old-School Magic.
We all enjoy the conveniences of modern living. Who is really against being able to watch an entire series on the couch without having to leave? Or asking Siri for directions rather than juggling around a map the size and shape of a tablecloth instead of trying to juggle it?
There’s still something magical and charming about our childhood. It was a time of simplicity and a slower pace that our children may not fully appreciate. It sometimes hits me that our kids will never experience these wonderful “old-school things” that made our childhoods unique.
Let’s go back in time, before the world became “smart,” to celebrate all of the charms and quirks that came with growing up analog.
1. The Friday Night Ritual – Renting a movie from Blockbuster or Video Ezy: Old-School Magic
Ah, Friday night. You don’t have to go out, but you can still enjoy VideoEzy and Blockbuster.
Remember the feeling of possibility and air conditioning when you walked through those glass doors? The movie you choose could make or break your weekend. You’d have to browse the aisles, and debate with your siblings about whether you should pick The Mighty Ducks or I Shrunk The Kids.
It was exciting to choose and hold the plastic case, or even pick up a Choc Top, microwave popcorn, or other movie at the counter.
What is the current state of affairs? Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube are just a few of the streaming services available to our kids. The stress that comes with having to rewind VHS tapes before returning them is not something our kids will ever experience. You can also experience the horror when you get home to find out that the movie is scratched or frozen in the middle.
Honestly? They are missing out.
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2. MSN Messenger: The buzz of logging in
Before WhatsApp, before DMs and FaceTimes, there was MSN Messenger.
You would rush home after school, turn on your desktop computer and wait for the dial-up Internet to connect. Once you’re in, magic. It felt like a virtual celebration when you saw the green icons of your online friends light up.
Change your status to song lyrics in cryptic form to make your crush curious. A classic move. You want to nudge your best friend by annoyingly shaking the phone? Standard procedure. Just because you can, you would chat with people for hours, often the same ones you spent all day at school with, just to be able.
It was innocent and silly. Our kids? Our kids?
3. How to Read Song Lyrics on a Folded Cassette or a CD
Before Spotify or Genius.com existed, you could only learn the lyrics to your favourite songs by reading them from the cassette or CD covers.
It was ritualistic. You would sit on the floor of your bedroom, cross-legged, with your album playing, and read along line-by-line, perhaps even using a glitter gel marker to highlight your favourite verses. If you were truly obsessive, you would write the lyrics of the song in your journal with bubble letters and accompanying hearts.
Let’s not forget that heartbreak you felt when you purchased a CD, but the lyrics were not included. What a betrayal.
Kids today can search for lyrics on Google in just three seconds or let an algorithm sing the song. They will never experience the thrill of learning an entire album word-for-word from a small square of folded paper, and teenage dedication.
4. Write down directions before driving somewhere
It was not so long ago, you’d never believe it, that people used to get from Point A to Point B using Google Maps. It’s shocking, I know.
We used Gregory’s street directories or printed out instructions from Whereis.com. Or we wrote down the directions ourselves based on someone shouting over the phone. Turn left after the servo and then take the second right, not the one that has the dog park.
If you got lost? Stop at a gas station and request help from a human being. Wild.
Kids today will think that sat-navs are as common as breathing. We remember how difficult it was to navigate by torchlight, while mum screamed, “Are you lost?“
5. Downloading (Viruses on Limewire)
Limewire, the early Internet file-sharing system, was a lawless Wild West.
was a revolutionary. Downloading your favourite song was free! You also downloaded malware, porno pop-ups and five versions of the same song, which turned out to all be a man coughing over a stationary beat.
We didn’t give a damn. We were free. And 56k Internet.
What are the kids of today? The kids today? They listen to music in pristine sound and without waiting. They won’t know what it’s like to finally finish a download seven hours later, only to discover that the song wasn’t Beyonce, but a karaoke rendition sung in a basement by Dave.
6. The Ads Have Ended, So You’re Running Back to Your Couch
Oh, the pressure to watch TV in real time. It’s like playing a survival game.
You had 2 minutes 30 seconds during ad break to use the restroom, get snacks or fight over who got to eat the last Paddle pop before sprinting to the couch. What if you missed one second of the show? It was over. There is no rewind. No pause. No pause.
We lived on the edge.
Our kids? They stop, rewind and rewatch whole scenes just because the dog barked. They won’t know the disappointment of missing the Australian Idol elimination when you return from the bathroom.
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7. Rewinding VHS (And Being Told Off if You Don’t)
“Be kind, Rewind” was more than a slogan. It was a lifestyle.
If you didn’t rewind the tapes, the person next in line might give you the stink eye… or charge you a late fee. What if you forgot to rewind your film before watching it again? You would spend precious time staring at a fuzzy screen and listening to the whirr.
The joy was like a fast-forward through boredom.
What are the kids doing? Then they press “play.” There’s no rewinding. No more praying that the tape won’t be chewed. There are no mysterious bugs that appear halfway through Matilda and require patience, a pencil, and a lot.
8. How to use a Nokia Brick Phone (or any other classic brick phone)
Nokia were available before iPhones with touchscreens. Indestructible. Iconic. Snake is perfect for playing under the desk.
There were only 🙂 and ;). Ringtones? The ringtones were at best polyphonic, and creating your own using the built-in composer was a skill that only a few people had. Don’t get us started with the Motorola Razr, which is like a leather jacket on a phone. So cool. So cool.
No one will ever know what it’s like to receive a message from a crush that is entirely text. Or the rush of dopamine you get when you see “1 new message”.
Face ID and TikTok Filters are all that’s left. The romance has gone.
9. You can risk their parents by calling your crush on a landline
This was an adventure.
You liked someone. You knew their phone number (of course, from memory). You had to dial it, knowing that their parents would likely answer.
You’re about to have an awkward conversation
Hello, Jake, are you there?
“Who’s calling?”
“…Just A Friend.”
You were already sweating and losing your dignity by the time the phone was handed over.
The anxiety of our children will be lost on them. Snapchat, DMs and heart emojis are the new norm. Easy. Quick. No gatekeeping dads or nosy brothers are listening from the hallway.
10. Look Things up in the Encyclopedia
Google was not an option. You had to get out the World Book Encyclopedia if you were doing a volcano assignment. Hopefully, your brother wasn’t using the “V” volume.
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It was heavy, cumbersome and smelled strangely comforting. You felt so intelligent flicking through those pages, like an academic warrior.
Sometimes you even just… browsed. You can browse for fun.
The world is at the fingertips of today’s children. There was something special in flipping through real books and reading them on the floor.
Are we just old?
Maybe.
Being “old” is a way of saying that we lived in an era when patience, hard work, and simple pleasures were a part of daily life. Although we didn’t have the latest gadgets, we did have late-night MSN Chats, homemade CDs and the courage to call someone on their landline.
Even though our children may not have experienced these exact moments themselves, we can still share stories, laughs and nostalgia. Let’s face it, what were those “dumb” items from our past? We were made brilliant by them. parenting advice. baby care.
