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Just picture your 8-year-old self for a moment. Remember turning off the lights in the basement and running upstairs like there’s no tomorrow? Or crying about that watermelon seed that will definitely grow into a full-size fruit inside your belly? What about the thrill of draping blankets across the furniture to create the most elaborate fort ever?

We all have hoped to return to those carefree childhood days at some point in our lives. But while we can’t time travel back to the past (at least not yet!), we can look at pictures that make us feel like little kids again. Luckily for us, plenty of examples can be found in a wholesome corner of the internet called 'Ouch, Right in the Childhood'. This Facebook page allows us to reminisce about the good times by sharing nostalgic memes and pics that speak directly to our inner child.

So buckle up and get ready to take a stroll down memory lane because we’ve compiled some of the most accurate and hilarious posts that hit right in the feels. Continue scrolling, upvote the ones you could relate to all too well, and let us know what you miss most about being a kid in the comment section below! Keep reading to also find an in-depth interview with licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Jesse Matthews about the relationship between our past and present selves. 

More info: Facebook | Instagram

When we were little, we used to make the world our playground, let our ideas run free, and find magic in the most mundane scenarios. We were almost hardwired to be curious and adventurous, but unfortunately, the process of socialization and schooling might have robbed us of our imagination and caused us to become less creative over time.

"As we get older, our lives become more complicated and we take on more responsibility," Dr. Jesse Matthews told Bored Panda. "Since this becomes our focus, we have less time available for fun, and we tend to view play as something that can’t happen until after work."

However, amusing ourselves and goofing around was one of our primary focuses as children. The psychologist explained that we equate having fun with happiness and view our childhood as when that was more plentiful. "And because we had so much less responsibility and fewer worries than we have as adults, we think of that period as carefree as well," he added.

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"These tend to be truths for many people, though nostalgia certainly plays a role," Dr. Matthews said and added that we often see our childhoods as happy and carefree, even if they might have been fairly stressful or difficult. "Because of nostalgia, we may be more likely to remember good things or things that match our views on that period, rather than some of the more negative things. It’s one of the ways people romanticize the past, which they may also do for their high school, college, or single young adult days."

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But dwelling on the past can easily distract us from the present. According to the psychologist, people can sometimes get so obsessed with their childhood memories that they forget to lead fulfilling lives today. "Like anything else, you don’t want to take this to an extreme," he suggested. "There is a difference between remembering or reconnecting with the past and living in the past."

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"You can’t go back, nor can you recreate your childhood, college, or any other time in your life. The thing I always say to people is to embrace growth and move on in life, but don’t forget who you were before. The past will always be part of you, and memories are proof of that. Hopefully, you have a lot of good ones and you will have the opportunity to create many more."

Although stumbling upon memes about your childhood can hit you with a blast from the past and make you nostalgic about the good old days, they evoke positive emotions too. You see, Dr. Matthews stated that our memories aren’t as good as we like to think they are. "We often have incomplete or inaccurate memories of things from our past. Much of the detail is there, but we may not be able to access it readily, unless it is triggered by something. This is part of why seeing things like pictures or jokes actually triggers can be exciting. Hearing a childhood joke, seeing a photo of us with a friend or sibling at a certain age, or hearing an old song can bring back not only memories, but positive feelings."

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As we get older and gain different experiences that help us construct new values and morals, we sometimes look at our past selves from a distance. Dr. Matthews told us it’s certainly interesting to him as a psychologist to study how we look back on our childhood behavior. "For one, it has diagnostic value when I am trying to assess whether a person could have ADHD or for how long they may have been depressed or anxious."

"More than that, however, it gives insight into our personalities," he continued. "If you were a talkative and outgoing child, chances are you still are today. Same thing if you were quiet and reserved." The psychologist noted that looking back is also useful if a person feels lost or is trying to reconnect with who they have been in their lives. "For example, sometimes people get so bogged down with responsibility and things they have to do, that they no longer engage in hobbies, have many interests, or do much other than work. Reflecting on the past might help a person to remember who they were before and what they enjoyed, possibly to change course in the present."

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#18

Ouch-Right-In-Our-Childhood

Ouch, Right in the Childhood Report

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Serial pacifist
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would argue that In The Heat of The Night with Sidney Poitier is the first black superhero movie. Poitier plays a black detective confronted by a racist plantation owner who slaps Poitier. Although it wasn't in the script, Poitier said that the condition for him to stay in the movie is that he slaps the dude back even harder. The director gave in. This was 1967. It was a huge "cultural shock". It was the first movie in which a black man is presented as a self-aware, self-protecting, dignified individual who will not put up with racism. Sidney Poitier is the superhero.

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We’re well aware of how easy it is to get absorbed by our daily troubles and how life can become busy and tiring. As adults, we might lose our sense of freedom and feel that our tendency to self-censor ourselves puts a big creative block on our thinking. To avoid going round in circles, we can try to reconnect and pay attention to that little voice somewhere deep inside us. After all, our curiosity, lightheartedness, and positivity may be slightly different today but it’s still there, waiting to be uncovered.

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"Connecting with our inner child is a wonderful way to reconnect with ourselves, especially if we have felt lost, stuck, or in a rut in life," Dr. Matthews explained. "Childhood is simple, compared to adulthood, and it’s in the complexity of life that we often forget things like being mindful, creative, having fun, or not worrying about everything. And being able to do these things, especially when life isn’t always easy, is a form of freedom."

#23

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James016
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My console had wooden accents and you had to blow into the cartridge. That and hard boiled egg yoke mouse balls

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#29

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TmKhr
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you're like the third highest ranking person in the Galactic Empire you can wear whatever shoes you like :D

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#32

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Raven Sheridan
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Huh? That's exactly what I say to my family, at the end of every reunion. 🤔

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#33

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Nemo
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Forget about the birthday parties. I think McDonalds ashtrays say more about my age

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Benita Valdez
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was in college when they started doing no smoking in restaurants; it was so wierd. Also remember when they stopped smoking on airplanes

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Ellie
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was not possible to use internet and the telephone at the same time..

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Kathryn Baylis
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News—-you could trust he was telling you the true facts, with zero spin. Live embedded journalists in Vietnam. Having an older brother over there. Looking at the TV screen to see if he’s there, while hoping you don’t see him on a stretcher being loaded into a huey. (He came home with malaria, extreme exhaustion, and jungle rot from his knees down (kind of like athlete’s foot, from having to keep your boots on for days, even if your socks are wet—-Lt Dan was right to be obsessed with clean dry socks).

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Irishwoman abroad
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That used to be our big Friday night treat! One film for the kids, one for me, popcorn and pizza.. 😍

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Awsomemom52
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Playing outside until the sun goes down / the streetlights come on or dinner time... unsupervised.

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T. D. Bostick
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Phone booths, very long telephone cords, phone books. Wow, a lot of phone related stuff.

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David Brown
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dial up internet with a AOL disk that came in the mail. And let's not forget the mailer that came offering buy one cd and getting like 20 free.

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HannEli
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

signing out of MSN messenger for the 15 minutes my dad had to use the phone

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Craig Highberger
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Going to the AAA to get a Triptik before going on a long driving trip to a place you have never been.

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Paul Davis
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Party lines. Outhouses. Slide rules. The Flying Nun. Fuzzy feet...

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K Lam
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My daughter is 19 she has one when she was 5 at McDonald's. Did they stop them?

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bruh JJ’s
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When Christmas specials only came on ONCE A YEAR. No recording them and if you had top pee you had to go fast because if you missed Heat Miser, you had to wait til next year 😩

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Amanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dial up internet. I told some kids about it and they literally screamed in horror.

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Michelle C
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

8 tracks, cassette mix tapes, programming the VCR to record your favorite shows, waiting to get home to call you friends

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clbruss
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Drinking a nickel coke (or cherry phosphate) at the "lunch" counter, at the drugstore.

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Jeffrey Diehl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Telephones that were hard-wired into the wall. And you could only get them in black.

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Patricia Kasprowski
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Phones on an 8-party line -- You picked up the phone and listened to see if it was busy before you turned the crank, waited for the operator, gave the number to the operator (always a woman) and waited for her to connect you.

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Erica Cochrane
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i was a very tall child, and mcdonalds had an age limit (but not a height limit) on their soft play area. one year, i really wanted to go to softplay for my birthday, so mum took me and a few friends. the staff didn't want to let me in, even though it was my birthday (i was still under the age limit) because i was too tall. but they would let my friends in. i was heartbroken. eventually mum convinced them to let me in, but they only let me on the basis that if any other kids wanted to play, i had to come out.

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kcanded
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To reach someone by phone you had to stick a finger in a circle and turn it around.

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Jessica Julian
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Birthdays at the skating rink. Oregon Trail computer game. Macintosh computer. Floppy discs were actually floppy.

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Billy Peters
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Super Slider Sno Skates and Krazy Karpets. How to die sliding down a hill.

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C Hendrix
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Phone numbers that started with letters. Our home phone number for GL3-8593

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Spannidandoolar
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember winning sleeping lions and being chosen by the birthday girl to go with her on the kitchen tour.

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CAS
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Walkman, casette player & tapes, betamax, VHS, camera film, Jean Claude Van Dame movies 🤣, Now and Then movie, Casper, Air Supply duo, neon gel pens

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DeadLetterOffice
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Running behind the truck that sprayed toxic chemicals to kill the mosquitoes in your neighborhood. It was fun to run through those clouds of gas! Parent approved!

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StellaLehggs
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Waiting until your favorite song came on the radio and recording it. Also, mixed cd's with illegally downloaded songs. ALSO those cargo pants that zipped off into shorts. Always wanted those

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Johnny U
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In elementary school, making ashtrays in pottery class for your parents.

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Troy Parr
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The weekly Exchange and Mart classified ads paper. The London A to Z. Having a Ready Reckoner on the shelf...

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Francesa Miller
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All the neighborhood kids playing hide and seek in everyone's yard.

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Lsai Aeon
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Microfiche and having to go to the library to do research papers for school. $0.10 to make a copy. and you could only use the books that were there, very few sources available in small towns. Overhead projectors. Being locked out of the house from 7 am till the street lights came on in the evening...

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Featherytoad
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You could smoke in the senior lounge at school (that was in 87-88)

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The Starsong Princess
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ll call you after 7pm! Also , I have to hang up, my mum’s expecting a call.

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Edurne
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

being born in December, I couldn't have playground/pool parties so I basically had all my childhood birthdays at McDonald's and they were pretty awesome :,)

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Jeff‍
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kids these days are growing up with Encanto, Turning Red, Luca, etc. I grew up with HTTYD, Up, Big hero six, and so on.

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RafCo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not having any screens, even a television. Where i grew up, it was uncommon for people to have a TV. We would walk to the nearest Public House (bar) to watch TV with the whole community. The bars would even have children's programming on weekend mornings. The parents would bring the kids, they'd breakfast and chat, we'd sit on the floor in front of the 20cm screen to watch dubbed cartoons and shows from the USA and Europe. My mother was a doctor, so we were one of the few families with a telephone in the house.

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Benita Valdez
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The channel box where you had to push the button for the channel; and if you pressed the correct two buttons simultaneously then you could get really badly scrambled porn

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kim morris
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dialing 6 numbers, with your finger in the hole waiting for the word, sometimes for an hour.

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#42

Ouch-Right-In-Our-Childhood

Ouch, Right in the Childhood Report

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Tangwulf
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would guess he generated his own power? Could make good money selling it back to the grid. :)

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#50

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