New Trend Alert: Parents Are Bringing Back the ‘90s Kid Summer — But Is It Even Possible in 2025?
Remember the days of riding bikes until sunset and sipping hose water like it was gourmet? A new trend called “‘90s Kid Summer” is taking over, as millennial parents try to give their kids the same free-range, sun-soaked summers they had growing up. But is that even realistic in 2025?
6/30/20251 min read
If you grew up in the '90s, your summer probably looked like this: riding bikes until the streetlights came on, drinking warm hose water like it was Gatorade, and spending entire afternoons getting sunburned while trying to master your slip-n-slide skills.
Now, a wave of millennial parents is trying to bring that energy back — and it’s going viral as the “‘90s Kid Summer” trend.
The idea? Give your kids the kind of summer you had. One full of unstructured play, outdoor adventures, and minimal screen time. No tablets. No YouTube. Just dirty feet, scraped knees, and the freedom to roam the neighborhood like a boss.
Sounds magical, right?
But some parents and experts say the dream might not be as realistic as we’d like to believe.
“Sure, it sounds great to send the kids outside all day,” said one mom at a recent town hall, “but we don’t exactly live in 1997 anymore.”
They’ve got a point. In 2025, neighborhoods aren’t always as safe, both parents often work full-time, and kids are growing up in a world where they’ve been handed screens since toddlerhood. Throwing them out the door with a water balloon and no plan might cause more confusion than joy.
Experts say it’s less about recreating the exact activities of the '90s and more about reintroducing freedom into your child’s summer. One expert at Michigan State University put it like this:
“You can’t just have this over-scheduled, technology-saturated life for nine months of the year and then switch into absolute freedom. We haven’t prepared our children for that.”
So what’s the solution?
Start small. Let them explore. Plan a few unplugged days. Give them room to be bored — and see what they come up with. The magic of the '90s wasn’t just in the activities — it was in the independence, the imagination, and the simplicity.
Whether or not your kid ends up chasing fireflies or building a backyard fort, a little less screen time and a little more sunshine never hurt anybody.
Just maybe skip the hose water this time.