Everything 90s kids will always remember about growing up

When the young kids I work with asked me what year I was born, they wouldn’t accept “1997” as a response. “You weren’t born in the 1900s!” they yelled.

It was of no use explaining to them that 1997 is very close to 2000, so I just let them think I was ancient, when in fact I feel closer to 10 than I do to 20 years old. I couldn’t help but think in that moment, though, that our generation had a #blessed childhood. And here’s why.

Disney Channel was at its peak when we were kids

I watch TV with the kids I babysit, and it’s not just because I’m older, but I swear Disney Channel has gone downhill and off the edge. I never realized how good we had it. Kids nowadays don’t even know what Wizards of Waverly place is. What? That show isn’t even that old…

We had Lizzie McGuire to teach us *hey now, hey now* what dreams are made of, and we had That’s So Raven to teach us that weird friends make the best friends. And who didn’t want to be Amanda from The Amanda Show? Phil of the Future was a classic, Kim Possible was the coolest, Zack and Cody were the funniest, Hannah Montana gave us the best of both worlds and Wizards of Waverly Place was just icing on the cake.

Perler beads

Maybe you didn’t know that’s what they were called, but remember those little beads you ironed together to make smiley face keychains? Remember the catastrophic event in which one bead would fall, but in placing it upright your finger would knock the rest over, too?

Lite-Brite

Our Lite-Brite is still in my basement. I’m tempted to dig it out from its box, so I can hear the satisfying poke of the little light through the black paper. Remember that?

Shrinky Dinks

Remember that cute little dog? The one we colored on magical paper and shrank in the oven?

Stomp Rocket

This toy was the best thing that could ever happen in your front yard.

Pokémon cards

Now kids may have Pokémon Go, but let’s be honest, we are the generation that Pokémon Go appeals to most. It’s mostly people in their twenties I see walking to and from Pokéstops. We had the TV show, the board games and most importantly, binders full of cards. I remember going through my brother’s stacks of cards with him, picking out my favorite Pokémon solely based on color. It was Chansey, for the record.

GameBoy

Maybe you had the GameBoy Color, or the GameBoy Advance. I can remember my excitement when I graduated from the GameBoy Advance to the NintendoDS. And we had the best games – Mario, Pokémon and all the ones with pets to take care of (Horsez, Hamsterz, Dogz).

Outside

Oh yeah, we played outside all day, too. We are glued to our phones now, but we definitely weren’t when we were kids.