Nothing compares to the carefree days of the youth of the early 2000s.
These kids (this writer included) grew up in a fascinating period–a time when the dotcom boom was already beginning, but no one was a prisoner (yet) to technology. Sure,we had PSPs and what not, but we still had a long attention span and a genuine interest for the outdoors. Kids found joy in simple things. We explored a lot and and made the most of our time with friends.
Perhaps these things that hold a special place in the hearts of early noughties kids will unlock some core memories. Were these also part of your childhood?
Slam book
Before social media began chipping away at our society, the noughties kids had slam books for checking each other’s “profile.” It’s a cute notebook, some with padlocks, that we used to carry around in school or when we met up with our friends in our neighborhood. We swapped colorful slam books with friends, classmates, and even with ~crushes~ to get to know them better. We used to reveal everything about ourselves–our hobbies, our inner most secrets, our favorites, our dislikes. Digital privacy act could never! I know a lot of those posts I made on slam books will make me cringe now, but there’s no doubt it was a must-have item back in the days!
Snacks
Eating snacks, who doesn’t like that? The nearest sari-sari store usually had a treasure trove of random snacks that you could buy with your loose coins. Who cares if we’re swimming in salt or sugar–we just loved ’em cheap snacks.
Coloring art set
Kids of 2000s must have flexed a coloring art set at least once in their young lives. We used to carry around a set of crayons, color pencils, and color pens. It gave us joy, despite the inevitability of losing some pieces only a week after purchase (and getting yelled at by your mom for losing those pieces).
Street games
We made the neighborhood streets busy and noisy during the early 2000s. Our streets were usually filled with lines of chalk or stone marks for the piko and patintero play sessions we did every afternoon. After waking from a nap and eating merienda, we’d go straight outside to play with our friends until the moon peaks. We smelled like crap after hours of running, yes, but we had fun.
Paper dolls
Before online games shortened everyone’s attention span to like, 2 seconds, young girls enjoyed playing paper dolls when playing outside wasn’t an option. We had shoe boxes of these paper things! Each paper doll was around 2 pesos each, and we collected a lot of them. In hindsight, all the fashion things we were creating on the paper dolls probably prepped a lot of us for online shopping.
VCDs and DVDs
Before online streaming platforms became giants that they are right now, us 2000s kids experienced watching movies from rented CDs. Smart TVs weren’t a thing yet, but we were able to watch Toy Story 1 thanks to DVD players and CRT TVs (you know, the boxy, bulky ones). We were very cautious not to scratch the CDs as we still needed to return them to the rental house!
Wansapanataym
If, in your childhood, you believed your tongue will grow longer if you lie or that you’ll turn into a fruit if you disrespect the elderly, you’ve probably watched too many Wansapanataym episodes. This show featured well-known classic fantasy stories that taught children how to be good people.
Sketch Comedy programs
Kids were also very fond of watching comedy sketch programs that starred child actors, such as Goin’ Bulilit, during the early 2000s. It was our dose of laughter every Sunday. Funny enough, this show makes us realize how old we are because the child artists we used to watch when we were younger also grew up with us. The show has been discontinued for some time now but we can’t deny the fact that it has been a good part of our childhood. /VT
Other POP! stories you might like:
Remembering the pencil case and other school supplies we had to have
15 things you might be able to relate to if you watched these Pinoy TV shows in the early 2000s
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