When did you start and stop following kid culture?  What was the first big kid fad that was relevant to you and what was the last?  I'll start.

Born: 1985
Years: 1989-1999
First: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)
Last: Pokemon, Spongebob (1999)

Born: 1992

Years: 1998-2004 - More specifically, summer 1998 to November 5, 2004, the day I got hooked on Dance Dance Revolution and my teen culture era really kicked into full motion.

First: Nintendo 64 (1998) - Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 absolutely blew me off my feet when I saw them for the first time at a daycare that summer. I never really got into Power Rangers, though.

Last: Codename: Kid's Next Door (2004) - I was a huge fan of this show since it premiered on December 6, 2002, but I still see it as bookending my childhood because it was really the main reason I still watched Cartoon Network through the end of 2004 despite my otherwise maturing interests.

Born: 1999

Years: 2001-2007

First (2001): Started to play Playstation for the first time, began to like shows/movies such as Thomas the Tank Engine and Stuart Little (although, that could have started in Late 2000).

Last (2007): Final year I regularly watched "new" cartoons/kids shows, such as Ned's Declassified and Jimmy Neutron.

I didn't truly stop engaging in kids culture until 2011, although I was very selective with what I liked during that time. The only "new" kids show I continued to watch was Spongebob. By 2008, I felt like I had completely outgrown kids shows and new kids shows didn't appeal to me, so I started to watch kids shows from the past, such as Ren & Stimpy, The Flintstones and Wacky Races. I've always had an interest in the history of animation and the "kids shows" from the past seemed less 'childish' to me, so that's why I continued to watch cartoons in some form. :P

Born: 1999

Years: 2002-2008

First (2002): Earliest Nickelodeon memory (I was watching Rugrats), started my "toy car" collection

Last (2008): Last year that I really got into "kid's culture".

By mid-2009, I didn't really feel like a kid anymore. I may have already started puberty by then (kind of early for someone my age), I started to get into the adolescent culture, and I started feeling different by that year.

By the summer of 2012, I started to transform to what I am today.

Born: 1998

Years: 2004-2010

First: Got a PS2 for my 6th birthday (still have it).

Last: This was when I began to gain interest in more mature interests (such as history) and stopped caring about the things I loved as a child.

Born: 1977

Years: 1980-1989

First: Star Wars (1980)

Last: Nintendo Entertainment System (1989)

If video game consoles are considered 'kid culture', I would say it started with the NES around 1988 and ended with the N64, which I got in 1999 and played until 2001ish.  After that I was a PC gamer all the way into my twenties. However, I am reluctant to consider video games to be 'kid culture' simply because they are also very popular with adolescents and young adults.

Born: 1980

Years: 1983 - 1998

First: VH1 and MTV. I do feel these are a part of '80s and '90s kid culture. I watched MTV and VH1 throughout my childhood and my teens.

Last: Nintendo 64. Which we got in 1998.

Born: 1974

Years: 1980-?

First: I do remember during those times playing with 2XL The Robot, Teddy Ruxpin, watching MTV and VH1, using Etch A Sketch, Mr.Microphone, watching Sesame Street Mr.Rogers and The Electric Company.

Last: I can't even remember the last years of my kid culture but I will say probably during the times when The PS2 console became popular.

Born: 1993
Years: 1997-2006. I used to end it at 2004, but nowadays I see 12/13 year old as a kid.

First: Probably Power Rangers or Hercules (and Disney movies in general).

Last: This is murky. In 2004, I was into Beyblades and Yu-Gi-Oh, which are the last toy fads I participated in. In 2006, I got a Nintendo DS. I associate it more with my teen years since I played it from 2006-2011, but some of the earlier games such as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (2005) and New Super Mario Bros. (2006) I tend to associate with my childhood.  Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing, though I played them along Pokémon and NSMB, I associate them more with my teen years, since I played them well into the late 2000s.

Born: 1974

Years: 1980-?

First: I do remember during those times playing with 2XL The Robot, Teddy Ruxpin, watching MTV and VH1, using Etch A Sketch, Mr.Microphone, watching Sesame Street Mr.Rogers and The Electric Company.

Last: I can't even remember the last years of my kid culture but I will say probably during the times when The PS2 console became popular.


You were already in your mid-late twenties by that point, far past even adolescence. You were actually a teenager when TMNT was popular, and you're part of the Atari/Kenner Star Wars merchandise generation. Your kid culture ended around 1987 after Teddy Ruxpin came out along with the recent Lazer Tag craze, but likely saw the original TMNT cartoon as too immature, though you were in the prime age for the late '80s/early '90s pop music wave which was when classic MTV/VH1 peaked. You probably just made the cut for Kids Incorporated (the earlier seasons), as it premiered around the time you entered 5th grade and featured pop songs that middle schoolers enjoyed. By the time the PS2 console came out, many your age were already starting to have kids of their own. Plus, your cohort seemed to have a more organic kid culture with less media influence and more traditional outdoor activities as opposed to playing video games or surfing the net. Garfield did have many specials prior to its launch as a series in 1988, so you could likely identify with him, but like I said, '70s/early-mid '80s kids seemed to of had lots of nostalgic options that their parents enjoyed as kids, such as classic theatrical era cartoons from the 1930s-60s and games/toys like hula hoops and erector sets compared to late '80s/ '90s/'00s kids that seemed to be more poised for stuff for their own generation, though nostalgia seems to be making a comeback as of late for today's kids from what I'm noticing.

With regards to the thread, I'm the same age as the OP, but I never got into Spongebob since I thought it was stupid compared to the early-mid '90s Nick shows.

Born: 1995

Kid culture era: 1999-2007

Born 1995
Era 1998 - 2008
First: (1998) Thomas the tank engine series (probably past it peak fad-ness at this stage but still popular)
Last: (2008) WALL-E. Last time I felt like a kid

Born: 2002
Era: 2005-2012
First: Drake and Josh
Last: Victorious

Born: 2002

Years: 2006-2013 (age 4 is my most liberal starting point)

First: End of GameCube Era, release of Wii.

Last: End of Wii Era, release of Wii U.

Born: 1999

Years: 2001-2007

First (2001): Started to play Playstation for the first time, began to like shows/movies such as Thomas the Tank Engine and Stuart Little (although, that could have started in Late 2000).

Last (2007): Final year I regularly watched "new" cartoons/kids shows, such as Ned's Declassified and Jimmy Neutron.

I didn't truly stop engaging in kids culture until 2011, although I was very selective with what I liked during that time. The only "new" kids show I continued to watch was Spongebob. By 2008, I felt like I had completely outgrown kids shows and new kids shows didn't appeal to me, so I started to watch kids shows from the past, such as Ren & Stimpy, The Flintstones and Wacky Races. I've always had an interest in the history of animation and the "kids shows" from the past seemed less 'childish' to me, so that's why I continued to watch cartoons in some form. :P


Your kid culture era ended in 2007? ??? That was like the peak of your childhood.

2002/3-2010/11

Your kid culture era ended in 2007? ??? That was like the peak of your childhood.


Yeah, but I stopped liking new kids shows and games when I was 9, because I thought I had outgrown it.

Born: 2002
Era: 2005-2012
First: Drake and Josh
Last: Victorious


Lol, even I watched that show ;D :-X

Lol, even I watched that show ;D :-X


My little sisters (born 2005) watched that show. She had the doll, and I'd step on it all the time and it would start singing the (admittedly catchy  :-[) theme song. ;D

Born: 1995
Era: 2000-2006/2007
First: Yu gi oh
Last: Yu gi oh

Born: 1995
Era: 2000-2006/2007
First: Yu gi oh
Last: Yu gi oh


Did you watch GX? ???

Did you watch GX? ???


Nah f*ck YuGiOhGX MAN >:(


But F-ZERO GX THOUGH

GQ1FLPBw1FE

Did you watch GX? ???

Yes.


Nah f*ck YuGiOhGX MAN >:(

How dare you pleb. ;D GX was interesting because it provided an alternate look at somebody other than Yugi and his friends.

Are we allowed to do parents culture era? ???

Are we allowed to do parents culture era? ???


I'd say so. The difference is that "parents culture" focuses on stuff like nostalgic period pieces or video games (usually two or three decades from the present), mature dramatic TV shows and adult sitcoms, a return to family-friendly offerings without being too kiddish like sitcoms and romantic comedy films, later albums from veteran artists, soft adult contemporary singers, books, and political movements. The current "parents culture" is a mix of late Gen X and early Millenial stuff, and you're in the target for the next several years. It tends to be a lot less interesting than kid and teen/college culture since most are focused on their careers or raising their kids. Keep in mind that not everyone becomes a parent, but IMO I'd consider the "parents culture" to focus on 25-49 year olds, afterwards, you've basically entered oldies territory where practically everything is done in a nostalgic light and pharmaceutical drugs, oldies cruises, retirement living expos, and life insurance becomes your mantra. Of course the adventurous can always try to kid/youth cultures if they wish.

The start of my kid culture era was probably around 1991. That was when I started watching TMNT, and some of my earliest memories of playing my cousin's NES.

The last year of my kid culture era, I would put at 2000. That was the last year I was watching a lot of Toonami and Pokemon, as well as predominantly playing the Nintendo 64, which I consider to be my last childhood console. After that, I starting watching less cartoons, and paying more attention to politics, world events and things like that.

My Father: Born 1941

My Mother: Born 1945

The 2000s. I reached the end of my kid culture era around 2013 or so.

Born: 1995
Years: 1999-2006
First: VHS, N64, Kids WB, Nick, Zoog Disney Channel, Star Wars, Pokemon,Power Rangers, Dreamworks & Disney and Disney pixar.
Last: Buys XBOX for christmas, end of the 6th gen gamming period, classic 00s shows end, I'm FULLY into DVDs. etc.

Born: 1989
Years: 1993-2002
First: Sonic the Hedgehog, Power Rangers
Last: Pokémon, Toonami, Kingdom Hearts (was that a fad? Everyone I knew liked it), Transformers

Some of you guys make me feel pretty immature with your dates, and I think I was pretty mature for a kid.

Also, I wouldn't really say video game consoles are kid culture, the average gamer is 35 years old.

Born: 1999

Years: 2002-2012

First: If we're including consoles, I might as well say when I started playing original Xbox.

Last: I was already into teen culture by 2012, but there were a couple Disney and Nick shows I watched then. I'd say Victorious.

I watch Star Wars Rebels today though, which is a Disney XD show, but that's because I'm obsessed with Star Wars. :P

Born : 1976

Years : 1983 - 1989/90

First : The first tv shows I felt a "fan" of were things like Monchichis, Biskitts and Automan. They all started in 1983. I also had an ewok action figure obsession from Return of the Jedi - again released in 1983. My first favourite group was Culture Club - who again had their most successful year in 1983.

Last : Watching Saturday morning cartoons like Bill & Ted and Tailspin. I stopped buying toys by 1989-90 and turned my attention to music / cds.