1. Impromptu playtime seems to be a thing of the past. No longer do you see a “sandlot” game of baseball or nightly kick-the-can games. Instead, it’s Sunday night park district games with parents and grandparents foregoing family dinners to contribute to children’s overly structured lives.   2. Talking on the phone has become a chore. A telephone ring is not a welcomed sound and can almost put someone in a panic because there must be something wrong. What possibly could be so important it cannot be explained in a 140 characters?!   3.  Shorts, a Jimmy Buffet concert shirt and flip-flops have become the new church attire. Wait. Who goes to church anymore?   4. Touch football and tag has become “dangerous play” at school. No longer can children run freely and play on the playground. Every move is micromanaged for fear they may fall down and skin their knees.  Schools certainly do not want to be sued.   5. Swearing has become as common as saying, “hello.” Almost every song, television show – even cartoon – contains foul language. “Stupid, idiot and jerk” are used routinely to describe characters in preschool cartoons. WTF?   6. Dinner time ……

1. Impromptu playtime seems to be a thing of the past. No longer do you see a “sandlot” game of baseball or nightly kick-the-can games. Instead, it’s Sunday night park district games with parents and grandparents foregoing family dinners to contribute to children’s overly structured lives.

2. Talking on the phone has become a chore. A telephone ring is not a welcomed sound and can almost put someone in a panic because there must be something wrong. What possibly could be so important it cannot be explained in a 140 characters?!

3.  Shorts, a Jimmy Buffet concert shirt and flip-flops have become the new church attire. Wait. Who goes to church anymore?

4. Touch football and tag has become “dangerous play” at school. No longer can children run freely and play on the playground. Every move is micromanaged for fear they may fall down and skin their knees.  Schools certainly do not want to be sued.

5. Swearing has become as common as saying, “hello.” Almost every song, television show – even cartoon – contains foul language. “Stupid, idiot and jerk” are used routinely to describe characters in preschool cartoons. WTF?

6. Dinner time … whatever happened to the casserole?! And, worse yet, cocktail hour? Growing up I thought it was mandatory dads had a bourbon Manhattan before the first course. Raise your hand if you miss downtime and conversation before dinner.

7. It used to be enjoyable to sit down and read a newspaper, but by the time it arrives you’ve already read everything on yahoo or Fox News. Having a computer next to you at the breakfast table just isn’t the same.

8. Everything is new and improved, but is it really?  Hasbro just announced plans to upgrade Monopoly by replacing one of the game’s iconic playing pieces with a new figurine. Why mess with a classic?

9. It seems you can make a buck doing anything today. People pay for dog walkers, closet organizers and life coaches; but why can’t I find someone to pump my gas on a cold wintery day?

10. Supersize has made normal seem dainty. Do we really need four size options when going through a drive-thru? Any meal that has two days worth of recommended calories could probably be trimmed down unless it’s 2 a.m. and I’ve been drinking. Then, it makes perfect sense!

What do you guys think? What do you miss from back in your day?