If you were a kid in the 1980s and ’90s, you know that we had some questionable childhood experiences. We played with the most dangerous toys. (I shudder thinking about those butt scooters they let us ride in PE.) We ran the streets without supervision or cell phones. Seatbelts were optional and helmets were practically unheard of. It was the wild west out there. I can personally remember riding in the front seat of the car from a young age or squeezing into the back seat with like 20 of my cousins. Shoot, once (well before I could even think of getting a driver’s license) my mom sent me to the corner store in her car with a handful of younger neighborhood kids as company. We definitely hit a shopping cart and I swore those kids to secrecy about it. Besides all those physical dangers, many Millennials probably recall that our television consumption was similarly unmonitored. As a latchkey kid, when I got home I was pretty much on my own. Aside from getting into my best friend’s dad’s Playboy magazine stash, I didn’t get into anything too inappropriate. However, I recall that the content considered appropriate would never fly today. I mean, one of my absolute favorite cartoons was so glaringly racist that I can’t believe it existed. Luckily, I was more of a reader than a television watcher. Unfortunately, books weren’t always much better. There are a LOT of truly terrible kids’ books from the ’80s and ’90s. From the weird to the creepy to the truly offensive, let’s look at some awful books that would never be published today. There you have it. I hope these terrible kids’ books from the ’80s and ’90s have disturbed you as much as they did me. It’s no wonder we’re the generation to truly embrace therapy.
