A Throwback To The 90s – What S’porean Kids Used To Play With Before The Smartphone Era
Growing up in the 90s, life was great. As a 90s kid, we found many ways to entertain ourselves, and toy manufacturers were also stepping up their game so we had tons of new toys to pester our parents to buy.
But that aside, here are some of the things that we 90s kids remember from our childhood.
Beyblades
Beyblades were the toys of my childhood. They’re basically pimped-out spinning tops.
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I had an entire shoebox filled with Beyblades, and customisation was a big thing. I’d sneak my Beyblades to school and trade parts with my friends.
Also, thanks to the Beyblade cartoon that aired on Kids Central on Sunday mornings, screaming at your Beyblade became a thing.
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While Beyblades made a comeback a few years ago, there’re too many gimmicks now and it’s no longer the same. R.I.P Childhood.
Block Catching
If you lived near a primary school, chances are you’ve heard kids sprinting and screaming down your corridor, hours after dismissal (This is why my mother chose to live in a corner unit).
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You’re basically kicking a weighted feather, trying to keep it in the air for as long as you can. Some of the seasoned pros were able to perform tricks, much to the envy of the unskilled on-lookers.
If you were a seasoned chapteh pro, you had cred. That was an unspoken law in primary school.
Country Erasers
Country Erasers were probably the biggest source of income for school bookshops. While each eraser retailed for a measly $0.10, students would clear the stocks in bulk.
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Some of us even demonstrated budding entrepreneurial skills by SELLING the country erasers they bought, to fellow classmates.
Country Eraser-wrestling was a thing too. The goal was to flip your country eraser such that it sits on top of your opponent’s eraser.
In certain death matches, you’d lose your eraser though in most cases, you lost your pride. Which is more important? You decide.
Encyclopedias
Too much money has been lost to encyclopedia salesmen that haunted our neighbourhood shopping malls.
Till today, I have 3 bookshelves of Time Life Junior Encyclopedia in my room.
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It’s a waste to throw them away.
However, I have to admit that I spent many afternoons and nights reading said encyclopedias which developed my love for Science.
That being said, if anyone would like the encyclopedias, please contact me.
Hopscotch
This is the reason why my Ocean Pacific wallet has scars.
I loved playing Hopscotch during recess time. We didn’t have the five stones to throw, so we had to use our wallets.
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If you excelled in Standing Broad Jump, you’re probably good at Hopscotch. The ability to jump to the last 2 boxes at the end was a skill that few had.
We were Primary school kids with short legs okay? Give us a break.
Jumping Pen
This is why Pilot G2 pens saw a spike in popularity in the 90s.
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But still, building blocks were great fun for a kid. To be honest, I still enjoy buying and building LEGO figures today. There’s something so cathartic about building something from scratch, and not knowing what you’ll end up with.
The possibilities are endless. But if you cannot afford genuine LEGO products, knock-offs will do. I still turned out fine. Mostly.
Neopets
Do Neopets die in cyberspace?
How many Kacheeks and Meercas have been left floating in the world of Neopia, following years of neglect? The Money Tree has probably withered by now.
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Image Credit: From Teochew To Hakka, How Our Grandparents’ Heritage Shaped S’pore’s Chinese Cuisine
(Header Image Source: Alibaba and Medhatter)
12 Wildly Popular Toys Only 90s Kids Will Remember Playing With
If you are one of those who shake your head in disapproval when you see parents letting their children entertain themselves with iPad and iPhones, you’d also probably reminisce about your fun-filled, iPad-less childhood and say “Aiyo, kids these days.”
The 90s generation is probably the coolest generation (IMO as a 90s kid and I’m sure you would agree if you are one). We spent our childhood days equally running outdoors playing catching and playing on our gameboys which means we had the best of both worlds. Plus, we got to witness the growth of technology.
[caption id="attachment_3294" align="alignnone" width="500"]Those were the days where almost everyone had a Beyblade, even girls! And I remember the ripoffs were sold everywhere, so there was no excuse not to have one. This spinning top toy was popularized by the Beyblade anime series and there were mini arenas for competitions as well.
One does not say no to an impromptu Beyblade Showdown.
2. Tamagotchi
I remember I used to get so depressed when my Tamagotchi pet died, then I would start blaming myself for not caring for it enough. Since my parents did not allow me to get a puppy when I was younger, my Tamagotchi was basically my baby.
It sure did teach us a bit about responsibility.
[caption id="attachment_3303" align="alignnone" width="783"]This was one of the coolest toys you could have then!
With their sophisticated yet super cool race tracks, we could compete each other and our eyes would be glued to our cars the whole time!
[caption id="attachment_3310" align="alignnone" width="500"]We don’t know about you, but Tamiya cars were our very first cars. We remembered spending countless of hours making our cars from the kits. Then, testing and playing those cars at the void deck or tamiya tracks in the neighbourhood. There was also the regular maintenance (lubricating) and upgrading of car parts.
[caption id="attachment_3422" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]We surely missed those days, including those when we were shouted at for playing at home, and spoiling all the furniture legs when our tamiya cars crashed into them!
4. Gameboy
Oh boy, don’t we all love playing the Gameboy?
Seriously though, this was practically the iPad of our generation with so many games we can choose from with the different game cartridges.
Needless to say, Pokemon, Tetris and Super Mario were our all-time favorites!
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This is a heart-stopping game that requires much strategic planning through careful situation analysis.
We all remember that moment when the tower is unstable and it’s gonna be our turn next and we nervous as hell.
[caption id="attachment_3317" align="alignnone" width="300"]How? I could barely play with the yoyo properly.
[caption id="attachment_3320" align="alignnone" width="400"][caption id="attachment_3323" align="alignnone" width="480"] Gotta catch ’em all! Twisting our bodies in different ways we never knew could be twisted and then screaming at the gamemaster to hurry up. If you remember playing all these, I’m sure there is this wave of nostalgia that you would have felt after reading this article. There were so many simple games that used to entertain us for hours and hours and nope, none of it ever revolved around an iPad, which shows that fun can come in all forms with just a bit of imagination. Let us know in the comments if we missed anything! 🙂 Image credits:
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11. Pokemon Cards
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