I was a Latchkey Kid: My Real Gen-X Childhood
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
I was a Latchkey Kid: My Real Gen-X Childhood
-
Narrated by:
-
By:
Send us Fan Mail
Forget the generic Gen-X nostalgia take — this is the real one, first person, with receipts.
Ashtrays were a chore. I was babysitting a newborn at twelve for $20 a week. My brother Neil drove a truck at eleven. I was balancing a till at a bingo hall at thirteen in a room so thick with smoke it could cure a ham. And somehow, none of this was considered unusual.
In this episode of Nicole's Notes, I'm walking through my actual feral childhood — the games, the jobs, the unsupervised summers, the playground equipment that could legally reach Mach 10 — and making the case that all of it built something specific in us: self-sufficiency, self-regulation, conflict management, and the ability to get things done without calling a meeting about it first.
We grew up latchkey and feral. We turned out fine. Mostly.