17 Things We Loved as Kids but Hate as Adults

Kids view the world with wonder. Each new day brings the potential for new experiences, and life holds so much potential. 

Now that we’re older, we know better. 

Things We Loved as Kids but Hate as Adults

Kids experience a sanitized version of the world without worrying about the stressful realities. Their lack of experience lets them appreciate things adults can’t stand. 

I scoured the internet in search of the top things we loved as kids but hate as adults. Although I do miss many of these activities, I can’t imagine enjoying them as a middle-aged woman. 

Can you relate?

Losing Teeth

Losing your teeth is a rite of passage. Kids get gifts from the tooth fairy as they transition from baby to child in the fascinating journey of growing up. 

Losing teeth as an adult doesn’t have the same appeal. 

“As a kid losing tooth meant a visit from the tooth fairy, now losing my teeth means my teeth are in bad condition,” shared one user. 

Jumping Down the Stairs

Kids’ bodies seem indestructible. They leap down three steps, swing around banisters, and skip around without a care in the world. 

A lot of that sounds miserable to adults, who feel second-hand pain in their hips and knees just thinking about taking the leap. 

Many of us need the banister to even walk down the stairs!

Receiving Mail

Mail was always fun when we were kids. It was free samples of cool stuff, cards from relatives, or a treasured letter from a pen pal. 

As adults, we get annoying flyers, junk mail, and bills. 

I think I’d like mail more if I only got the same things that children get. 

Theme Parks

I used to love our family’s yearly trip to Six Flags. You can’t go wrong with roller coasters, fair food, and games. 

While they were still fun in my twenties, as I got older, they’ve lost their appeal. Roller coasters thrust you around and pound your head against the headrest, the games are rigged, and the food is too expensive. 

Playing Outside

Remember when we’d grab our bikes and spend the day roaming the neighborhood? We’d make forts for GI Joes, explore the creeks out back, throw the ball around, chase butterflies, and watch ants march. 

As an adult, I can’t imagine anything worse than going into my backyard to play. 

Staying Up Late

One user mentioned the “The rush of excitement when you stay up past your bedtime” you felt as a child.  “Now I just want a cuppa and go to bed,” they continued. 

Staying up late used to be fun. We’d watch movies and marvel at the taboo of staying up into the wee hours of morning. 

As an adult, I can’t imagine wanting to stay up later than 9 pm. 

$20

A fresh, crisp twenty-dollar bill made us feel like kings when we were younger. We could walk down to the corner store and buy any snacks we could possibly want. 

Now, twenty bucks barely buys lunch. Adults need at least a cool hundred to get excited. 

Ice Cream for Dinner

Children whine and beg and scream for their parents to let them eat ice cream for dinner. On those rare occasions when they gave in, it felt magical. 

But it’s one of those things we loved as kids but hate as adults, because although ice cream makes a fantastic dessert, my body actually craves real food for dinner. 

Eating the Whole Bag of Candy

I get sick just thinking about how much candy I ate on Halloween. I don’t know how I did it. 

As a child, it was a fun taboo to spoil my dinner with bags of sugary sweets, but now it just makes me ill. 

Climbing Trees

My parents nicknamed me Bushman (after the gorilla at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago) because they could not keep me out of trees. I loved climbing. And I was good at it. 

All the neighborhood kids played in trees. We held competitions to see who could climb the highest and even thought about building a treehouse in our little suburban neighborhood. 

Although I still love trees, I can’t imagine climbing one again. 

Sleepovers

Sleepovers were our first glimpse of freedom. We got to go to a friend’s house and stay up late watching movies, sharing secrets, and giving each other makeovers. Then, we’d all huddle on the floor in our sleeping bags and talk until we fell asleep. 

Although the idea of sleepovers makes me nostalgic, I’d much rather sleep in my own bed. 

Snow

Kids gathered around the radio in the morning after a fresh snowfall, eagerly awaiting news of school closures. 

The fresh powdery snow held worlds of opportunities. We could make forts, have fights, build snowmen, and enjoy a full day playing in the lovely winter wonderland. 

As adults, snow is more annoying than magical. We must dig our cars out, deal with wet clothes, and lumber through the mess to get to work or risk losing a day of pay. 

Summer

Summer vacation is the best part of being a kid. You relish June, July, and August without a care in the world and look forward to returning to school in the fall, ready to tackle another year. 

Adults have to work through the summer. We don’t get three months off to enjoy ourselves and prep for the next season. It all blurs together into one long, endless journey. 

Getting Older

Kids can’t wait until they’re teenagers, teenagers long for adulthood, and adults just want to stop aging. 

Every birthday as a child is a milestone, ripe for celebration. When we’re adults, we’d prefer to stop counting. 

Holidays

Holidays lose their magic as we age. Santa no longer brings presents, and homeowners scoff when grown-ups show up asking for candy on Halloween night. 

Adults have to create holiday magic. They don’t get to enjoy it, which makes holidays one of the top things we loved as kids but hate as adults. 

Water Parks

Water slides and wave pools offer hours of entertainment. Kids run up the stairs, leap into the tube slide and dive into the deep pool below, only to reemerge and do it all again. 

As adults, the slides aren’t as much fun, and we also have to think about how nasty it all is. 

Kids pee (or worse) in the pools, and you don’t know when these folks you’re sharing a soak with last showered. All the chlorine in the world can’t convince some to swim in those waters. 

Leaving the House

As a kid, leaving the house instilled a sense of freedom. You could get away from your parents and embark on the world. Who knew what adventure would await when you stepped out the door?

Things are so different as an adult. I love my home, why would I want to leave it?

I think this is one of those things we loved as kids but hate as adults because as children, our homes weren’t ours in the same way. It’s our parents’ house; we just lived there. 

But now, it’s my home. I bought it, decorated it, and make the rules. I’d rather not leave, thanks. 

What Did You Love as a Child but Hate Now?

We provide some nostalgic examples of things we loved as kids but hate as adults, but we also want to hear from you!

Did anything on this list speak to you? What would you add? What do you think will be different for younger generations who already hate leaving the house as kids?