June 22, 2023 at 9:28 pm

What Did You Enjoy as a Kid but Can’t Stand as an Adult? People Shared Their Thoughts.

by Matthew Gilligan

Cant Stand As An Adult What Did You Enjoy as a Kid but Can’t Stand as an Adult? People Shared Their Thoughts.

Life is funny…

It seems like one day you’re out partying with your friends, staying up until the wee hours, and still managing to get up at the crack of dawn to go to work the next morning.

And then, one day you realize you like to be in bed by 10 pm every night and you avoid loud places as much as possible.

In case you’re not catching on, I’m describing my life.

And now it’s time to hear from AskReddit users about what they liked when they were young but can’t stand as adults.

Let’s take a look.

No fun!

“Receving a letter. Now it’s just bill/taxes/trash.

Receiving mail as a child was exciting! On the contrary, today I spent an hour going though a stack of mail that I let pile up, and shredding about 98% of it.”

It’s just not the same.

“Most of the movies I liked when I was a kid don’t hold up as an adult.

I’ve stopped revisiting them so I don’t spoil the good memories.”

No big deal.

“My birthday.

It’s not that I hate it, it’s just that I don’t care about it anymore.

I also don’t care about getting presents. I only do something for myself because my kids get mortified at the thought of me not doing something.”

Same here.

“Being outside when it’s cold.

When I was little, I could play outside in the snow for hours and not even be the faintest bit of cold. Now I can’t even stand being outside during winter for a few minutes…”

Get me out of here.

“Going to the mall.

I used to like browsing stores, but now I just want to get what I need and go.”

Brain drain.

“Talking about politics.

It used to make me feel smart and grown up. Now I just get angry and exhausted.

Looking back, most kids, including myself, only repeated what their parents said. It was awful.”

Early to bed, these days.

“Staying up all night.

As a kid, it was a badge of honor staying up all night long, going to bed after the sunrise, now means that I’ve worked too much.”

MOVING SUCKS.

“Moving house. I loved packing, choosing a new room, exploring a new neighbourhood. I’d moved 20 times by the time I turned 18.

I’m moving out of my first flat now, and it is the WORST. Mum never warned me about the billion calls and contracts and credit scores and references and moving companies and just the general stress of moving out. I hate it. It’s the worst.”

Not a fan anymore.

“Vienna Sausages.

My brother and I used to wrestle and fight over who would get the last can. Hadn’t had them in ages and was telling my kid about them, so I thought I’d get a can for old times sake. Could not even choke them down.

They are so gross to me now.”

Too much to think about.

“Thinking about the future.

When I was a kid I imagined in the future, I’d be rich and do crazy science stuff like turning the sky green. I thought I’d have a cool job and sports cars and a mansion in Beverly Hills (Thanks Weezer).

Now when I think about the future, I wonder what the hell to do if I lose my job, about my parents getting old and to a lesser degree, will I have enough saved to live off in retirement.”

All wet.

“Getting sweaty in public.

I didn’t give a shit when I was a kid. Now it annoys the hell out of me.

I’m basically a super sweater. It grosses me out to think that I didn’t know how damn much I sweat until like late high school. I doubt I was less sweaty when I was younger, I just didn’t care.”

More energy would be nice.

“Exercise just by playing. I’d skip, pogo, cycle, run around the park, scooter, everything.

I just twitched my ankle on the sofa and had a shockwave of pain through my knee like the bones had ground together. I got up to pee last night and my leg just gave way.

I miss the energy of childhood.”

Can’t do it.

“Roller coasters.

While I never liked the big ones, I liked the small ones okay. But being almost 40 and riding them makes me feel like I might die afterwards.”

I definitely miss those days.

“Staying home on a sick day.

As a kid it was a huge victory, got to stay in bed all day, watch TV, and having a parent tend to your every need. Then as an adult you’re just thinking about the work you’re gonna have to make up for and how you hope you don’t need to go to a doctor.”

The holidays.

“Sadly, the holiday season.

I now see why my parents seemed exasperated when I complained when decorations weren’t up post-Thanksgiving or why they seemed so much more stressed than I ever even considered being. School would end, I would get to chill and it was the holidays and was so magical!

Now I get it. With a job that doesn’t stop for the holidays, it sneaks up on you and you barely get time as an adult to process all the activities before it’s like December 23 and it’s all flown by.

I can never seem to find time to do my Christmas shopping or decorating. The holidays completely stress me out now and as a kid I thought it was the best time of the year.”

Some things actually DO get old, apparently.