“Bye, mom, I’m out,” was all it took on a summer day. You’d hop on your bike, annoy the grumpy neighbor with pranks, play any kind of ball, draw with chalk, play jacks, or just roam around being bored.
Now kids would rather stare blankly at videos of other kids playing and unboxing toys, losing brain cells by the minute. But that’s nostalgia for you. Our kids will one day moan about how they missed dancing TikTok videos while their kids play with robotic dogs in virtual reality — or whatever the future holds.
Here are 22 classic summer activities that kids don’t do anymore.
1. Catching Fireflies
All you needed was a mason jar and boundless enthusiasm. We couldn’t wait for the sun to set so the streets would be dotted with little glowing specks.
2. Building Treehouses
It took a lot of patience and doing chores you hated to persuade your parents to help you build a treehouse. But when they did, oh boy — you couldn’t wait to call all of your friends over to your shaky wooden platform in the backyard tree.
3. Playing Marbles
You were covered in dirt with your knees bruised, but it was all worth it to win (or at least come in second) in the neighborhood marbles tournaments. Winning “cat’s eyes” and “shooters” meant bragging rights until the next game.
For more nostalgic entertainment, please sign up for our free newsletters.4. Slip ‘N Slide
It was exhilarating and slightly dangerous. A strip of plastic, a hose, and a lot of bruises – Slip ‘N Slide was our adrenaline rush. We’d run and dive onto the slippery surface, sliding at breakneck speeds and often crashing into the grass at the end.
5. Friendship Bracelets
While Taylor Swift is giving this nostalgic fad a comeback with fans making friendship bracelets for the Eras Tour, back in the day, you didn’t have to be a Swiftie to get or make one. You only needed to be a 12-year-old girl at a sleepover.
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6. Camping in the Backyard
Pitching tents under the stars, telling ghost stories, and pretending we were in the wilderness while in our backyard was the ultimate summer adventure. We’d roast marshmallows, listen to the crickets, and pay the price for this adventure with countless mosquito bites.
7. Fishing With a Homemade Rod
A stick, some string, and a local creek – fishing was about the thrill of catching anything, even a boot.
8. Kick the Can
A mix of hide-and-seek and tag, featuring a can as the central figure, Kick the Can was a neighborhood staple. We’d run, hide, and strategize, all to kick that can before being tagged. You don’t see kids nowadays kicking anythings except their parents to give them back the iPad.
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9. Flying Kites
While you see them here and there, it’s mostly adults dragging their annoyed kids who would rather stay home in front of the TV. The magic of watching your makeshift kite soar high, feeling the tug of the string, and chasing the perfect breeze is lost in today’s generation.
10. Playing Red Rover
“Red Rover, Red Rover, send Mary right over.” A game that often ended in tears but started with so much promise. The goal was simple: Break through the human chain by strategizing, running, and sometimes crashing spectacularly.
11. Reading Comics in the Shade
Escaping the heat with superheroes and villains in hand was a go-to summer pastime. Starring the likes of Spider-Man and Batman, paperbacks were our gateway to other worlds.
12. Chinese Jump Rope
“England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, inside, outside, inside, on!” With nothing more than a stretchy rope or a piece of elastic, Chinese Jump Rope was a staple of playgrounds everywhere. You barely see kids doing it nowadays.
13. Skipping Stones
Finding the flattest stones and counting the skips was a test of skill and patience, and it gave the more dexterous among the group well-earned respect — and, of course, endless bragging rights.
14. Building Rafts
Constructing makeshift boats from wood and rope, hoping they’d float, braving the waters, and testing our engineering skills makes you think: Did our parents like us at all?
15. Drive-In Movie Theater
Pile everyone in the station wagon, bring all the food you can think of, set up the sound system, get a good spot, and sit back to enjoy a movie under the stars. While some drive-ins do still exist, they’re not nearly as common, and have been replaced by fancy cinema complexes with reclining seats and ridiculously overpriced snacks.
16. Playing Hide-and-Seek
When’s the last time you saw kids in your neighborhood staying still in the most obvious places, convinced they were practically invisible, holding their breath, and ready to scream frantically when found? The joy of outsmarting the seeker and the thrill of not getting discovered was the ultimate adrenaline high of the evening.
17. Stargazing
Remember when we used to spread out blankets in the backyard, lie on our backs, and gaze up at the night sky? It was the ultimate way to end a summer day, trying to spot the Big Dipper or make up our own constellations.
18. Sunbathing With Oil
As a teen in the ’70s, you wouldn’t use SPF 50. Instead, you’d sneak into the pantry and grab some oil to slather on before heading to your best friend’s deck. And somehow, that made 100% sense.
19. Hopscotch
“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back!” was the chant you would hear around playgrounds and sidewalks in the neighborhood. You don’t hear them anymore, though. Instead, you see kids doing weird TikTok dances, so there’s that.
20. Old Maid
On the surface it was an innocuous card game, but the premise of Old Maid makes a loser out of the person left with the unpaired card — often depicted as a wrinkly, sad, older woman.
21. Jump Rope
While Double Dutch competitions are still happening, for many kids of old, it was all about simply jumping rope for the fun of it. Who knew we were doing aerobics?
22. Four Square
With nothing but a rubber ball and a chalk-drawn court, Four Square meant intense matches, bouncing the ball from square to square, calling out rules, and trying to outplay our friends.
