Summer 1980s
Jessia Adachi
Summer 1987 was bad, if I were to choose one stinker from that period, it would be 1987. It wasn't quite as bad as 2012 as an overall package but it wasn't by much. Very end of June to early July was the best spell.
I was born, raised and still live in the Midlands and they would have been my first four Summer's, not that I remember of course. But obviously I would have missed the good Summer's of 83 and 84 and therefore I didn't witness a good Summer (1989) until I was 4. I'm sure there must have been occasional good weather in the Summers of 85 to 88 though as I've seen plenty of photos in those years where it appears to be sunny and warm. Though they might not necessarily have been taken during Summer. Two points of reference that come to mind though are around May or June 85, which would have been my christening. Also in July 86 we would have been visiting family in Northern Ireland and the weather looks pretty good on some of the photos from then. These were probably just random nice days in a sea of crud, but it can't have been too bad all the time.
as with nearly all summers there were occasional better periods of weather in amongst the crud - but 85-88 inclusive are universally acknowledged as a notable run of poor summer sandwiched between 83/4 and 89/90!
I was living in Southampton for most of the 80s. 1985-88 were all poor there, with 1986 being notably cool (and the cold spell including September) and 1988 probably being the worst of the bunch as it was very wet too. In contrast, 1983 and 1989 were classic long hot summers, and 1984 was pretty decent.
For me 1986 ..just edges it from 1988..then its 1985...1986 was cool and wet..if i remember even the spring was crap April being particularity cold and wet...1988 started not to bad but July was a stinker cool and very wet..1985 was not much to right home about apart from the first week in July which was hot...oddly i remember 1987 as being not bad in my location..neither cool or wet??
I think it's nigh on impossible to get an August as cool as 1986 now. None of the recent bad August's have been anywhere near as cool. I would probably have a nervous breakdown if we had an August like that now.
As a farmer during this period I would say that 1985 just shades it as the worst.The period 85 to 88 was a poor period for summers and were all different in how they were poor.1986 being coolest and dull with 1988 a wet july and 1987 a cold wet june.It is all too well looking at stats but sometimes what it felt like has more of a bearing to me and 1985 was definitely worse when we were trying to make hay in july and august,it was the first year I saw anyone with a round baler where people wrapped it in a plastic bag because it couldn't be made dry enough.I do however think that both 2008 and 2012 were worse,once again for different reasons.
I have declared this summer to be different. My kids will have the kind of summer I had as a child. One that is less scheduled and more free play, less video games and more outside time, and less parent-planned and more child-created. If, like me, you are tired of feeling pressure to entertain and educate your child every waking moment, use these tips to enjoy your summer, 1980s style.
Give your kids the gift of free time to play and try things on their own. Be selective about which camps you will register your children for and be intentional about allowing them to have time to create their own adventures.
I recently read an article that described me as a Xenial, a micro-generation born between 1977 and 1983. We were raised in an analogy childhood but live a digital adulthood. As a child, video games and TV were limited to me and my siblings because my mother, who holds degrees in early childhood and elementary education, insisted on a lot of playtime and minimal technology.
I'm grateful for my simple childhood, so as a mother, I'm intentional about creating unplugged, less digital experiences for my children. My girls are 8 and 9 years old. As I learned from their brother, who's a decade older, carefree hours of play will be replaced by a list of responsibilities in the blink of an eye.
Before enjoying playtime, though, it's important my girls get their chores done. They are expected to keep their rooms tidy, fold and put away laundry, do dishes and clean the kitchen, and care for and feed pets. They have for room for improvement, but this summer has gotten much better for responsibility. They are not paid for chores - that's part of being in our family and living in our home. The girls also are required to read a book of their choice for 30 minutes after a meal or before bedtime and track their minutes for an end-of-summer reward.
Once their chores are done for the day, it's time to play. They go to the park and our small-town swimming pool with their summer babysitter and friends. From our house on the edge of town, I can hear the laughter from the swimming pool. My heart is full thinking of the summer memories being created.
When our son moved out of the college dorms in May and into a rental house, he took his favorite furniture from his "man cave" in our basement. Eventually, I'll put furniture back in the basement, but for now his little sisters have transformed the space into a school with desks we had on hand, a gymnastics area with mats and a doll area with babies who all have first and middle names. In this waning window of playing their way through the summer, I relish in hearing the laughter and imaginary play coming from our basement.
The girls visit their nearby grandparents at least twice a week. I enjoy hearing about and seeing the restaurant they set up using the play kitchen my sister-in-law enjoyed 40 years ago or the make-believe school they organized in their grandparents' office with lists and classroom instructions hanging on the wall.
This past week, I pulled into my parents' farm driveway to find my youngest daughter and son playing football in the yard. Anika was the running back and Hunter was the quarterback. When I got out of the car, she took me to the deck where she was playing "ranch rodeo" with a stick horse, stool, stuffed animal cow, a homemade lasso and barbecue tools to brand the livestock.
In recent weeks, my girls have been to swimming lessons, baseball practices and games, volleyball camp, basketball camp and on visits with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Once I'm done with my responsibilities, I've enjoyed a summer of play with my daughters as well, which includes more walks, less cooking, more eating sandwiches outside and more weeknight evenings at our nearby lake.
How about allowing yourself a few extra moments to play this summer. What's a summer childhood memory dear to you? Have you ever thought about recreating that memory? Sure, it won't feel the same, but even adults need to set aside time to play and unplug.
Camps are expensive and logistically tricky. Nannies and babysitters are also pricey. Vacation Bible School is free, but sending my kids for religious indoctrination just so I can have some time to work feels morally squishy.
My formative childhood years occurred during the sugar-frosted Day-Glo decade. My nostalgia for the time is deep, but my perspective is limited, which is to say: closer to the ground and blurred by the speed of sidewalk-dominating BMX bikes. So, in my mind, I had ten limitless summers full of dirt-clod fights in undeveloped lots and hunting crawdads in ditches.
Parents were largely unseen. They were like ghosts who would occasionally appear from the periphery causing sharp alarm and sudden quiet among groups of busy kids. But soon enough their stern adult faces would disappear and the kids would pick up where they left off.
When children raised in these two ways are compared later in life, the ones who experienced natural growth tend to be more resilient and independent. Children who experienced concerted cultivation, on the other hand, tend to experience a prolonged adolescence that remains dependent on parental intervention.
In order for the 80s kid system to work, the parents need to agree that when parents are home, kids are welcome. The idea is to create a decentralized network of home bases where sweaty kids can come in and pound a glass of tap water before heading back out to play.
There are some caveats. Parents will keep one another abreast of kids locations via text and all effort should be in keeping the group from settling indoors in front of a screen. Most of this is due to the fact that COVID is still a thing. Outdoors are safe.
The biggest rule for my boys will be that they have to come back in the cool of the evening to have dinner. I have an old school bell for this very purpose. When they hear it ring, they need to head home.
We hastily bought a frame pool as a stand-in for our favorite community pool; we masked up and hit the craft store, filling our cart with canvases, acrylic paint, and brushes. We ordered a pickle ball set and bean bags. Without jaunts into public crowds, this 1980s summer was even more bare bones than usual.
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