15 Things You Remember If You Grew Up British

If you grew up British you will absolutely remember all of these things! I mean, who didn't love the guy from Horrible Histories?

I think we’d all agree our childhood was probably the best time of our lives so here are a few nostalgic things you’d remember if you grew up British:

1. Calpol

Your stomach hurts? Have some Calpol. You have a paper cut? Have some Calpol. You broke your arm? Have some CALPOL. This has to be the most memorable thing about growing up British, but I’m not complaining because they actually made medicine taste nice.

2. Mathletics

I don’t know if every primary school had mathletics but it was a computer game thing where you had to do maths problems against other people around the world which I’m pretty sure was a lie. And in secondary school we had My Maths which was a crappier version that wasn’t a game.

3. The Big “S”

I remember being taught how to do the “s” starting with the three lines well before being taught how to do my shoe laces, if you could do it you were respected.

4. Paper Towel

The paper towel is another remedy beyond modern medicine, it could heal anything from a grazed knee to a sprained ankle. This is definitely one of the signs you grew up British!

5. Fun Fairs

Every few months in the local park there’d be a fun fair and literally everyone went, you’d probably sit on two rides (usually dj jump and twister which were the bigger rides) and then you’d go back to school the next day to tell people how brave you were.

6. Horrible Histories

CBBC was the best thing about growing up British and Horrible Histories was one of the funniest and gruesome TV shows. You’re not British if you don’t remember “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” to help you remember King Henry the 8th’s wives and the guy everyone had a crush on.

7. Trapped

Trapped was another TV show on CBBC where children had to escape a tower by doing challenges and if you lost you remained trapped. Even though the lady’s teeth scared me as a child I always wanted to be on the show.

8. The Badass That Was Tracy Beaker

I remember when Tracy Beaker was on TV all the time, she was the original trouble maker who told everyone to “bog off”. And we can’t forget Elaine da pain who, let’s be honest, no one liked. If you remember Tracy, you definitely grew up British!

9. Doll In A Shoe

I know it sounds weird now but back in the day this was the thing everyone wanted. Clark’s put tiny dolls in the heels on shoes and you’d take it out and play with it, there were different ones for boys and girls.

10. Chip Kipper And Biff Books

They were the original squad goals, they went on adventures and taught us how to read.

11. Spiderman Candy Sticks

You might remember the thin white sticks we had as children and instead of eating them, we’d sit there for 10 minutes “smoking” them because we thought they looked like cigarettes. If you remember these, this is definitely one of the signs you grew up British!

12. Lelli Kelly Ads

Although they were so annoying they made me beg my mum for a pair of the shoes and the lip gloss phone (yes it’s a thing) that came with it. I can literally hear the ad through the picture.

13. Moshi Monsters

This was the game where you made a monster avatar, fed it, made a home and played games. RIP little guy and all of the monsters we abandoned back in 2011. There were also games like Movie Star Planet and Club Penguin which were similar and have since died out.

14. This Guy

Hacker was the co-presenter of CBBC along with Ian who now does the voice over for Love Island. They usually shared witty banter over a “milky brew” in between shows, of course we refused to acknowledge that he was a a puppet at the time.

15. MSN: The Time Before Phones

Sadly MSN doesn’t exist anymore, but we all remember rushing back from school to go on a computer and chat to your friends and sometimes even video call if you had a webcam.