1980s Things That Parents Did! 

I absolutely love your videos!

My typical phone call as a kid: "Hi, wanna play? OK, your house or mine? OK, bye."

"Donkey Kong sure never inspired kids to throw barrels at Italian men." Just pure gold.

I loved being a kid in the 80s. I got to be completely independent. Outside playing all day, doing my own thing. We knew how to occupy ourselves. Home alone all day in the summer. I knew not to answer the door and to only answer the phone after the answering machine picked up. Kids have absolutely no freedom today.

I have to say the 80s were the best decade ever. Where there were no cellphones ,internet, great times

As an 80s kid - this is spot on!

This made me happy & sad at the same time. I really miss the 80's 😢 It truly was an awesome time 😎❤️

Videos like this make me resent living in the modern world.

How about the freedom of going to friends house unannounced? Just going there and knocking on door. Can you imagine that today? I cant. Something so simple but yet so nostalgic.

I was a teenager in the 80's. A lot of memories in this video.

With most kids owning cell phones now, the 80's were the last decade of the "dinnertime holler". Right around 6-6:30 in the evening, there'd be a neighborhood chorus of parents hollering out their windows for their kids to come running home for dinner. My Mom's impressive bellow could easily be heard from all four corners of our block. Even the summertime cicadas had to give a nod of respect.

I’m so glad my childhood covered the entire 80s. My mom had the three of us from 1970-1979. All the neighborhood kids would hang at our house and my mom would feed everyone. My dad never crashed the car with us in it. He read me bedtime stories until I got too big to sit in his lap. I never minded being with my parents. They were a little older than other people’s parents by then. I got to watch the Mr. Rogers episodes from the early 70s. I remember watching Madonna perform Like a Virgin at the MTV Video Music Awards back then.

In describing the ways of a parent at the mall: "mom would go and touch every single piece of clothing in every single store" 😆 Nailed it!

The 80's/ early 90's was the best time to be a kid. The movies, cartoons, music, toys, video games, in literally every way. I may be bias but I'm also right! This video is dead on perfect.

I miss those days when smartphones weren't around to rule people's lives.

I can’t count how many times we heard “Well, I guess you won’t do that again” after doing something stupid and got hurt 😂! In terms of music I will never forget watching the grammy awards and my mom freaked out when the Eurythmics performed for the first time- she couldn’t wrap her head around Annie Lennox but Boy George really pushed her over the edge!

I remember ever time you went into a restaurant, the first thing they would ask is “smoking or non smoking” I also remember sitting on my dads lap as he drove his car, renting a TV, knocking round my mates and always asking the mum “is James coming out to play”, stickers were also a big deal, I remember shinny stickers, holograms sticker’s, plus scratch and sniff stickers, you have to talk to grownups and sit there with them, we only had one TV so it was watch what mum n dad watch or nothing at all. being an 80s child has given me skills no one has today!

I was a kid in the 80ies in Germany and it was just the same as said in this video. A happy childhood. ❤

My mom was a single mom during most of the 80s and my sister and I mostly were with our friends after school or at night. Sometimes we'd get a babysitter or she'd take us to our grandma's house. Birthday parties were at home, at the skating rink, pizza hut, or McDonald's. The urban legend I remember most is a guy in a white van driving around kidnapping kids, but we were taught to be aware and stay together. We didn't get a mall until I was in my preteen years, but if we went to one in a larger city, my mom was with us. I got lost one time and my mom freaked out. She also would let me have it if I had a hissy fit in the store and she did it in front of everyone. It was a great time to be a kid in the 80s and I miss it.

Best days of my life!

I love being a 90s kid still having a lot of these 80s things present in my childhood. Where I lived it was a great mix of 80s/90s to grow-up in!

I grew up in the 80s. This video is completely true even for Aussies. I loved watching cartoons on Saturday mornings and Wonderful world of Disney on a Sunday evening with dinner in the lounge room. My parents both worked so once we got to high school we were latch key kids, so had the expectations of doing homework or going to activities. We could do anything we wanted, but had the condition that we had to leave a note by the phone or on the fridge so we knew where each family member was. My daughters have experienced a little of what this life was like as they both late 90s or early 2000s so were latch key kids after school. My youngest was dropped home via school bus and entered an empty house at nearly 6 years, she was alone for about 15 mins at the most. But today you can't even do that.

As a European some things were different but man, what a wonderful time we had growing up!

The 80s were the best. I loved living in that time. My parents were lucky. Today's world is awful. Going out to play seems hard for kids today.

Thanks, Rhetty, for reminding me what a subpar time we live in! 😂

Back in the early 80s, being in 7th grade, my friend and I would ride motorcycles up to a pond up in the woods to fish/camp for the weekend. Nobody around for 20 miles, and our parents were absolutely fine with it if we were gone a couple days. We were 13 years old at that time. Great awsome times.

Gosh I miss the 80s so glad I grew up in them

Playing all day, riding everywhere on bikes, eating dinner with your buddy for a change and he did the same, I miss those days terribly ✌️🇺🇸

My child is 1 now. Even though I lived through all of the 80's, I will be referring to these 80's videos as I raise him with the awesome 80's standards I grew up with. ❤

Yup I was born in 1971 and the 80s were the best I wish I could go back

I miss those days, if I had a time machine, I would not hesitate to go back to the 80's. All I see now-a-days are attention seeking kids crying that they aren't social media stars.... instead of helping those in trouble, all people do now is whip out their phones and record tragedies. I was never home, we socialized face to face, had many friends, went to many social events, malls, movies, etc, and had a ton of fun. I am very grateful I am not in my teens right now, it's a depressing generation to say the least.

Oh man do I miss the 80s! Such a great time to be a kid. Thanks Rhetty for the video!

Ha!!! It was before the 80’s for me but I remember my mom constantly telling us “Go outside and play!” We put miles on our bikes. There definitely was no privacy on the phone. I also remember during a family road trip the baby was either in my mothers arms or laying on a blanket in a laundry basket. The next youngest was standing up in the front seat of the car with his left arm around my dads neck and his right hand was holding his baby bottle. Ha!!!

Love this! I grew up in the 70s and 80s so I could really appreciate this.

This is awesome! I remember getting a “teen line” phone in my room that I could only call locally on. I would spend hours after bedtime talking with my best friend instead of sleeping!

The one thing I want to add about parents not thinking anything bad would happen if kids were out on their own was they had context that it was rare and they would warn kids. When my grandmother was growing up in rural Tennessee in the 1920s, a young girl was murdered going to school. I wondered if this was some fake story I was told as a warning, but I found newspaper articles about it. But this didn't cause my grandparents to watch over my dad and his siblings like a hawk or my dad to be a helicopter parent. I just was told about this happening and sent out the door. It wasn't necessarily "simpler times" and no one thought anything bad could happen - they just knew it wasn't likely to happen and 99.99999% of the time, kids would be fine. The mindset that's changed is trying to prevent that very small chance that something bad will happen.

I love the humor you put in this! Such an accurate depiction of how things were back then. Thanks Rhetty!

We would fry like bacon with our baby oil and iodine mixture!! The best tanning oil was Hawaiian Tropics...it smelled Heavenly!! We'd tan all day to look good and go to a concert that night. If we got burned...it was Noxema to the rescue! 🤣👍. Thank you so very much for these wonderful memories!! Great video!!♥️😁👍

Saturday mornings with cartoons and a bowl of sugar cereal were my favorite! What a time to grow up!

I loved it growing up in the 80s

This also applies to the 60's and 70's. Probably 50's as well but I was not there!

my parents, having to work on a Saturday in the 80's: Mom at breakfast: Your dad has to be at work from 9-4. I have to work from 9:30 to 5. Lunch is in the fridge. Remember dinner is at 6. And thats how a group of 10 5 to 11 year olds were left unsupervised for several hours. Babysitter? what babysitter? LOL

Being a teen in the 80's this is all spot on! Great times back then. Going to the arcade, comic shop then to the mall to buy some music was awesome.

So thankful I got to grow up in the 70s and 80s, before all this technology today. Young people now would never understand

Love reminiscing on my childhood days. Being outside for 8-9 hours playing wiffle ball, rough tag, dodge ball or going to the creek. Staying out until street lights came on was the norm. Totally remember riding in front seat of car on oversized arm rest between my mom and dad, standing in back seat and setting in very back of station wagon in the folding seats. My parents knew I was outside but didn't know exactly where I was as long as I was home at dark. The difference between then and now is neighbors knew neighbors and which kid(s) belonged to who/where. We walked and rode our bikes in the street and talked to everyone. Yes even bad things happened in the 80's but as kids we knew what to do and not to do. We were made aware of dangers early in life and taught how to handle situations.

Oh, I wish I could relive those days!!!!! 😢

I wish it was still the 1980s

Good Evening Rhett 🙋🏽. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather. In the 80's your kids could play outside and you didn't have to worry about someone snatching them. Life WAS good back then.👍🏽😃

'80s kid here. We did "Go play outdside!" but interestingly...Gen X's childhood was in many ways the _transition_ era. We weren't all video-games/all internet, all the time, but neither were we completely without those things. It was a MIX of "playing outside" and staying indoors to bust out the new Zelda game on your NES. (My first console was in fact, an actual Atari 2600). The '80s birthday parties were exactly how you described them; in fact in my case having anybody over who wasn't family was rare and I considered the kids who had their birthdays at actual restaurants or pizza places to be The Rich Kids. I didn't have a BMX bike, but I did have and absolutely love my bike. Except that one time the brakes decided to stop working, and I ended up careening into the neighbor's open (and at the moment, carless) garage and having a rake fall on me. MAN that could've been worse. Oh yeah, and I also did fall off a friend's sideless trampoline. Actually a few times. Got my foot stuck between the springs once. And MAN those things are STATICY! Such a nasty shock when I touched the metal parts after bouncing, too. (At least, if you have long hair and are in a dry environment.) I also once randomly decided to climb a mountain way too close to sunset and had to come down it in the dark, when I was 11. That was fun. (No I'm not exaggerating--an actual mountain. In Utah. I'm not sure which one.) OBVIOUSLY I made it down okay, but _man_ that was not fun. The slippery parts with loose rocks where you just kinda lost control, were terrifying. I ended up making it back to my friends' house where the slumber party was still going on, and ate Cool Ranch Doritos and did a goofy coordinated (?) dance with my friends, to "Walk Like an Egyptian". I'm not kidding, that's how damn '80s this memory was. XD Oh and uh, the example story right in this video about a little kid messing with a TV until it falls on him? YEP. That, specifically, literally happened to me. I was a dumb bored 5 year old and was lying on the floor kicking the TV stand. My mom told me to stop, I didn't listen, and she didn't realise I was kicking it THAT hard until it (a heavy CRT-screen TV, of course) had already fallen on me. Still have a little scar over my eye, where the stitches were. These were all things that my parents were of course horrified to find out _had happened_, but I wasn't overprotected and surveiled to the point where I COULDN'T do it in the first place. Good or bad? Eh...mix of both? I really don't think kids should hurt themselves badly or get traumatised, but I also think helicopter parenting is NOT the way to go. I think it's important for kids to have SOME time to themselves. ...wow. Again, sorry this turned out so long. I hope somebody enjoyed it at least a little, or at least wasn't too bored. :P

The 80s were the best.

This video was spot on regarding the 1980s. I miss those day's. ❤

The thing that grabbed me most in this video were the pictures of guys and girls wearing short shorts. Ahh the 80's.

birthday party was way simpler back then. A cake and a skating rink. A cake and Mcdonalds. Cake + the YMCA pool. Awesome birthday. and no, it didn't cost a fortune.

one of the best parts of my Saturday are your uploads Rhett every time I see one of videos I wanna get in a Time Machine and go back thanks for the awesome nostalgia

Small town moms totally still tried to compete- everything was either posted in the newspaper, school news letters or church bulletins, and some people’s Christmas cards were basically just a rundown of how perfect their lives were 😂. Plus there were PTA/class moms lol…but they def were not as bad as today haha

This has to be MY FAVORITE SHOW of yours, so far. Thank you for this...your channel is the Time Machine I need. I wish that parents of today would watch this and take some notes, lol.

There were two kinds of kids in the 80's; The rare few who had their own TV and phone line in their bedrooms, and who got sweet cereal for breakfast......and the rest of us who envied them immensely.

"Go outside and play-with, like, a stick." -Tim Wilson So true for my childhood.

I recall my neighbours helping each other growing up. There was a genuine interest in each other and if something went wrong, everyone jumped to do what they could. Where I stay now, people dont even talk to one another. I find it weird how unfriendly everyone is. I say hi now and then, its receved with a forced smile and a "why it he talking to me" vibe.

I was a 70's kid, but my baby bro was an 80's kid for sure. I still love the music and movies.

We had it good back then. I loved growing up in the 70's and 80's. I remember and did most everything you mentioned, including the "dreaded" sitting on a bench holding mom's purse at the store! Everybody on the bench had the same expression on their face!!! I eagerly await every video! 👍👍

Another great thing about being a kid in the 80s is being able to listen to all of your parents’ vinyls that they’d long forgotten about. If our patents were watching the one tv we had or it was too hot to play outside they’d put on their old Motown, disco, and what is now known as classic rock albums to help us pass the time. Then we’d have to get mom or dad to flip the record over because we weren’t allowed to handle them so we wouldn’t scratch them.

Lol. This is great! If you had two landlines you could listen in the other phone conversations... it was the earliest form of facebook style spying on eachother... unless you got caught and then that same phone became a weapon! It was a trully carefree time to be alive. 😊

What memories. I had great parents who adapted well with the changing times. Grew up in Pittsburgh so we were huge fans of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Actually met him twice.

Heck yes!!!! The 80's!!! Thank you!! I really appreciated this upload. And can definitely relate to many of these things. 😊

Hours. I would spend hours outdoors with my friends but my mom always know exactly where to find me because the neighbors would be looking out. It takes a village 😊

I ate cereal as a child in the 1970s. By my teens thru the 1980s my dad frequently made pizza English muffins for breakfast.

Having been born in 81, I know the feel,sounds, & smells of every picture in this video. And damn I miss every single one. It was a unique & awesome time. Thanks for the flood of memories.

Even though I believe you've mentioned in other similar videos, one of the things not mentioned here that I loved about being an 80s kid was being a "latchkey" kid.

Mr. Rogers was all we needed to know/learn

Life was so simple and GREAT back then!

It’s really incredible how things changed so much. I grew up in the 90’s and to me I still find it jarring that from 1980~2020 is 40 years later and kids from 1990~2020 is 30 years later. 80’s and 90’s where the golden years for kids and adults. Kids from pre 2000 and up will never experience what we had back in the day. Today’s generation Alpha~Beta are spoiled with things we never had growing up.

My mother had a schedule for breakfasts: Monday - cereal (non-sugary) Tuesday - frozen waffles Wednesday - scrambled eggs and toast Thursday - French toast Friday - oatmeal Saturday - Dad made pancakes Sunday - scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee cake Mom is always surprised that we kids remember the schedule after all these years, but it’s hard to forget what you ate for 18 years. lol

Yes I was a parent of the 80's. Totally different! Thanks for the memories Rhetty!

I turned 14 in 1980. Our parents were patents. Not our friends. Lol. We didn't know anything about "stranger danger'. Summers were amazing as both of our parents worked during the day. Yes we did stuff we shouldn't have done, but we all turned out ok! There was 6 of us siblings and we had a "party line". It did suck. One time the older sibs ran up a $300 phone bill and mom went downtown to GTE and insisted on getting a pay phone installed in our home. Lol. GTE said, "Ma'am, this ain't the Brady Bunch". Mom was pissed.

I got a good laugh at the mention of the “way back” of the station wagon. Your videos are amazing and I appreciate the trips down memory lane.

I was an 80s parent and most of this rings true.

The boomers called us the MTV Generation. It was meant as an insult, a denigration. It wasn't.

Ahhhh the 80's, this is the golden age of life for most. Thank you for the memories mate 👍

Amazing how we actually survived in those days. Not only that, we grew up understanding the concept of discipline, repercussions, respect for others, and right from wrong. Today, we have to protect every kid from anything and everything that may cause them to feel just a bit of discomfort...and they grow up understanding none of the concepts that we did, and not having any experience of handling something that isn't catered to them. THUS, we have what society has become today. Today, whining and complaining is a way of life...back then, whining and crying got you picked on and ridiculed...result, mush less whining and crying back then!

Growing up in the 70 and 80s in an African American House, we watched the Cosby show, the Jeffersons and Knight Rider. The incredible hulk was my mom's show, and we couldn't talk during the transformation. Saturday was all about church for about 4hrs. Then to the mall with Mom and sis for another 4 hrs then either to pizza Hut or McDonald's. Sunday was all about getting the house cleaned from top to bottom. No outside till everything was done correctly.

The 80s took me from 16 to 26, so I was caught between on this one. But it is still an outstanding piece of work.

Does anyone else remember getting invited to birthday parties at McDonald's and Burger King? I loved being a kid in the 80s! ❤

Born in 70 , I became a teenager in the mid 80s. I live in a small town so when we got our first mall. It was a big deal and the place where all the teenagers hung out, either there or the beach ( i live in FL, ) but the beach wasn't my thing. That's where all the most popular kids, the yuppy crowd hung out at. Us regular not so popular kids if we wanted to go swimming we'd go to a campground with crystal clear swimming springs. Most of the time though it was just hanging at the mall. We also rode in the back of pick up trucks. Looking back at that today you realize how dangerous that actually was, but in the 80s no one cared. You could pass by a cop riding in the back of a pick up truck and they didn't do anything. As a kid I thought riding in the back of a pick up was fun.

This parent of the 80's was a little tougher than those parents. To this day my son still grioes about it. LOL

I feel joy when watching this channel cuz just about everything is true to a T. I'm an 80s baby and yeah my mom found a cassette tape of mine that had cuss words. Thanks Rhetty for History ✌🏼

You absolutely NAILED everything! I so miss that time of my life. Thanks for bringing back such amazing memories of a time long gone. Now, kids have cell phones, iPads and e-bikes to help raise them…. absolutely no incentive to be creative, figure things out or get any exercise. Man, do I miss that feeling of riding my bike around the neighborhood, feeling like I was a hundred miles from home. There was always a group of kids to join up with somewhere in the neighborhood. Excellent video!

This makes me cry. I miss the 80s. I was a teen from 83-89 and it was the best time of my life. I'm not sure what the hell happened. I still listen to Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and as hard as it is to listen now, Nina Blackwood on SiriusXM. Donkey Kong is still the best video game....EVER! :)

Man, how the turns table! Growing up, if we did something wrong, we had to stay inside. Now, if kids do something wrong, they have to go outside with no phone or gamers.

i had a "cookie monster cake" on my 3rd birthday too, just like the photo included in your video. it was 1976. thanks for another amazing video rhetty...you're the best 👍

Spot On!! I loved my 70's and 80's childhood!

Great job on the video and the narration was spot on. I was a parent n the 80's and I am parent of a high school child today. I can honestly say that although none of my kids were ever any trouble, it was definitely a better feel in the 80's. There truly was less to worry about and kids didn't have easy access to the things they do today. Even tv or cable, etc. has changed dramatically. Today, certain language is permitted that definitely was not permitted in the 80's and the programming itself was very different. Like the video said, we didn't have to worry about internet access and all that it brings. Speaking from experience and raising kids in both decades, for me the 80's win easily.

I was a teenager in the very early '80s, and a parent of 3 by 1990.

That’s so true about going outside. My mother was constantly telling my sister & I to get out of the house & come home as soon as the street lights come on. & when we were younger we were told not to go past the red garage. & I absolutely HATED having to go to the mall when I was younger. Now it’s become a way of life.

I was a kid in the 80's and recently when I was out shopping with some of my kids, I found myself saying that no way my 13 yr old son could not go into Walmart by himself and then I remembered that when I was 8 on up, I walked to the little corner store, with my younger siblings and no adults at all and bought candy and walked home and it was completely natural. I still did not let my 13 yr old go in by himself. Times are different and I do not want cps called because people think that kids can't manage walking through a store, picking out what they want to buy and purchasing it.

Oh, how I yearn for my youth!

So much fun! These videos. Life in general. Not a kid in the '80's. But I can relate to this. Sounds alot like the '60's and '70's. Thanks Rhett! 😊

As I sit here listening to this video, I'm just smiling and saying "yup" or "I remember that".....what a great video!! Thanks for letting me re-live one of the best decades ever!! ❤😃👍

The weekly Rhetty time machine.... running perfectly 👍💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Being an 80s kid was so fun. There was a corner grocery store in my neighborhood that closed about 8pm and when that happened the store lamp post light would come on. That ment time to come in and if not, all my dad had to do was step out on the front porch and whistle real loud. That was the tardy whistle.