What is something about your childhood that you DON'T miss?

[night-at-the-musian]

The lack of autonomy! Since becoming an adult, everything is in my own hands. What I pay for, what I eat, where I go, what I learn; it's all my choice. I didn't have that as a kid.

[soft-star]

I definitely do not miss having absolutely no control over what happened in my day-to-day. I don't miss adults laughing at me when i was trying to be sincere/serious. Children are an oppressed class. So many people miss the lack of responsibility of childhood. I will take autonomy over lack of responsibility ANY day.

[starbreaker]

The lack of autonomy! Since becoming an adult, everything is in my own hands. What I pay for, what I eat, where I go, what I learn; it's all my choice. I didn't have that as a kid.

I'll drink to that. Fuck childhood.

[starbreaker]

I will take autonomy over lack of responsibility ANY day.

I had responsibility without autonomy as a kid. As the oldest, I was supposed to look after my little brother and "set a good example" for him. When the school subjected me to an IQ test and my parents found out how I had scored, I was no longer allowed to make any of the ordinary mistakes a typical kid makes while growing up because I "was too smart for that" and "should know better".

So now I use my autonomy to minimize unwanted responsibility and reject all duties I have not freely chosen to take for myself. I grew up being told it was my job to be a good man, but I would rather be my own man instead, even if that means being a bad man.

[musicobsessed107]

1. Lack of freedom (even more so with a helicopter grandmother and strongly feeling a lack of autonomy over my own mouth at the age of 16).
2. Bullies.
3. The social media and smartphone crazes that swept most of my peers beginning in elementary school.
4. Other stupid fads and trends I didn't really care for nor understand (such as those stupid fidget spinner things that my classmates were obsessed with for no reason).
5. Not being taken seriously due to my age (even now as an 18 year old woman, I still fear others not taking me seriously even though I'm an adult).
6. The mental hell I've repeatedly endured on and off between the ages of 13 - 17.
7. The strict teacher I had in the 4th grade.
8. Gym class. Especially as the runt amongst my peers, the complete opposite of those tall, athletic boys who could run several miles and back without collapsing.
9. Having almost barbaric things done to my teeth just to align them. All 28 were subjected to being bracketed at some point or another throughout the journey. While I do appreciate having straight teeth, I do NOT miss any of the pain that came with having them straightened and 3 of them being brought into the arch directly from the gumline via gold chain.

[halcybutton]

Oh boy where do i even start....
1. school as a social environment. the learning part was fine enough but the social aspects of school were nightmarish
2. home life wasn't very good (don't wanna elaborate)
3. not having my opinion respected at all (still an issue but less so since parents acknowledge i am an adult and can do things without needing their approval)
4. only having a family computer, no personal ones
5. hated going through puberty
there's more i could go on and on about but i think i'll leave it here

[candycanearter07]

Oh no you'll start me on a rant! I think in many ways a lot of the things I miss are also things I dont miss. For example I miss old TVs but I also DO NOT miss old TVs :omg:k:

That said a few stand outs are:

• Flash
• Being embarrassed by EVERYTHING

In terms of actually being a child/teen, I don't miss not having the knowledge or skill to express myself and understand who I am, that has been a long painful process to figure out! (I guess that goes for everyone though)

I still really struggle with the embaressment part and knowing who I am, but on the other hand I'm still pretty young so IDK :P It is a struggle
I loved flash games back in the day

i certainly don't miss online games with paid memberships!! playing club penguin in 2013 was so sad if you weren't paying anything. later they added some non-member clothing items, but i wasn't playing anymore at that point. my parents once got the 15-day membership and i spent all my money in like a day and i had no idea about any cpps yet!

also, i don't miss overthinking excessively and obsessing over grades or just school in general.

To be fairr, paid memberships have been replaced by battle passes and the like. It's still there, but mutated..
Also overthinking SUCKSSSS

i definitely don't miss how severe my anxiety used to be. the worst part is that because of my alexithymia i didn't even realize that i was anxious, let alone what was causing it, so i'd end walking around thinking everything was fine until i started manifesting physical symptoms like chest pains and nausea. not fun!

I can very much relate.. My anxiety has gotten somewhat better over the years and I visit a therapist, but it still is hard. At least you got thru it tho!!

[musicobsessed107]

i definitely don't miss how severe my anxiety used to be. the worst part is that because of my alexithymia i didn't even realize that i was anxious, let alone what was causing it, so i'd end walking around thinking everything was fine until i started manifesting physical symptoms like chest pains and nausea. not fun!

I can relate here. I too used to have severe anxiety as a child (since at least the age of 4, if not sooner) and it was particularly bad when I was in elementary school. I could always tell when I was getting anxious, although I didn't know there was a name for what I would feel and endure over situations that wouldn't cause such a reaction in anyone else I knew except for myself until the age of 9 when I was finally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.

It's a lot milder now compared to when I was younger and now I have developed helpful coping mechanisms for dealing with it when it does strike.

[candycanearter07]

I can relate here. I too used to have severe anxiety as a child (since at least the age of 4, if not sooner) and it was particularly bad when I was in elementary school. I could always tell when I was getting anxious, although I didn't know there was a name for what I would feel and endure over situations that wouldn't cause such a reaction in anyone else I knew except for myself until the age of 9 when I was finally diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.

It's a lot milder now compared to when I was younger and now I have developed helpful coping mechanisms for dealing with it when it does strike.

I am super glad that you have managed to get your severe anxiety under control! Anxiety can be very very miserable to deal with sometimes for me.. and also, could you maybe please share the tips here or direct message me the coping mechanisms if you would want to share it? Thanks in advance for the tips!!

[Eunice]

I certainly don't miss my father. I went no contact with him for my own peace of mind. During my childhood he was a vicious, violent, nasty bully. Never to my mother or my younger sister though, just to me. When I was 15 he told me that he could have loved me, if I had been born a boy instead of a useless girl. You don't get over that easily.

[Memory]

I don't miss the years of abuse and oppression, or the lack of control of my life. Not that I think I have much control as an adult, but it's far more control than I had back then.

[clownlesbian]

i think this has been said a few times but for sure the lack of autonomy. like when i was younger i had a lot of responsibilities like babysitting and homework and school and chores and was basically never able to leave the house. now i appreciate any chance for travel or leaving the house or visiting book stores and exploring. 

[Audball]

One thing I personally don't miss from my childhood is my picky eating. I would eat the same meals every single week for YEARS. I was of course fine with it back then, but I am SO SO glad that I have broadened my food horizons so much. I'm no longer a pain to have at a restaurant/other people's houses!

[Malice]

Not being allowed to be a kid! Adults are so rude to kids and they treat them like they're nuisances for just being alive for the first time We weren't allowed to have bad days or leave places when we feel tired/overwhelmed or show any negative emotion or make noise without getting reprimanded... It's like children aren't allowed to exist unless they act like little robot soldiers with smiles painted on their faces. I've heard teachers tell 5 year olds "You need to act like an adult right now". They can't! Their brains are not physically capable of acting like adults because it's still growing! Adults never take kids seriously either. They usually never have to deal with the stuff we dealt with, so what seems like little things to us are HUGE to them and they will act accordingly! Children's feelings need to be validated or else they will grow up going through serious stuff and not tell anyone because they feel like they'll get shot down again!

[eote]

Childhood anxiety and fear. Everything overwhelmed me and I internalized it a lot. I was too scared to sleep anywhere but my house, I couldn't sleep in the dark, and I was plagued by gruesome nightmares each night. I was always a scaredy-cat about everything, one time I watched a few seconds of a Scooby Doo zombie movie and freaked out so bad that I thought zombies were gonna get me for like two years after that.

It definitely did not help that I was really into true crime and murder stories throughout my early teenage years. It genuinely changed my outlook on the world and I was extremely paranoid every day. My nightmares were awful.

I've still got anxiety but thankfully I'm starting to chill out a lot. Worrying and being scared all the time was not fun. I don't get nightmares anymore, and I've gotten rid of my extreme paranoia by replacing true crime with kinda shitty but funny horror movies. I'm not as much of a scaredy-cat anymore, but I still close my eyes whenever there's a jumpscare LOL.