15 people share what was 'normal' when they were a kid that they don't see anymore.

While kids still go through the same developmental phases as they always have, our rapidly evolving technology and pop culture have changed the norms around childhood.

Activities and experiences that were normal even 10 years ago might seem antiquated today, and it can be fascinating to note the shifting tides.

In a popular Ask Reddit thread, people shared things that were normal during their childhood that they don't see anymore, and it runs the gamut from hyper-specific to more generalized trends.

1. From ResplendentAmore:

Using a set of 20-year-old encyclopedias as a reference for my homework. JFK is president!

2. From Ok_Relationship5648:

Memorizing phone numbers.

3. From WonderfulEmergency77:

Parents smoking in a car with kids with the windows rolled up.

4. From kzab81:

Quicksand in movies and TV shows.

5. From Mechhammer:

Candy cigarettes.

6. From Mondayslasagna:

Pay phones and answering machines.

7. From Initialthrust:

McDonald’s play places.

8. From bigolfurryhead:

Cassette tape innards strung out along the highway, glimmering in the sunlight.

9. From ModernCivilWar:

Fireflies. I swear I saw them every year, in our backyard or when we went camping etc.

Now I never see them no matter where I am. Except for a few nights in the summer of '21 after I moved to a new house. It was so nice to see them again.

10. From MeghanFI:

Everybody smoked everywhere. At restaurants, the office, airports, everywhere. There's a picture of my grandma holding me as a baby in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Nobody thought that was the least bit strange.

11. From Keone_710:

Printing out directions from Map Quest 😂

12. From NightDreamer73:

Toys in the cereal box.

13. From nomdeplume_alias:

Thousands of Monarch Butterflies and Bees during the summer. Now my wife and I get excited when we see ONE monarch bf in the backyard where we planted a bee and bf friendly garden.

14. From reverendgrebo:

Computer paper filled with lightly printed numbers and it had tear off sides. My dad used to bring lots of it home for us kids to draw on.

15. tebron93 wrote:

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