We listened to grunge. We wore plaid. We collected Beanie Babies. We loved the ‘90s, and we never wanted them to end – especially since it meant that Y2K was coming!
As we celebrate 40 years of supporting foster, adoptive and kinship families in NJ, we look back through the decades at fads we’ve seen come and go. How many of these fads from the ‘90s do you remember?
Tamagatchi
In the ‘90s, kids didn’t beg their parents for a puppy or a pony; the pet they wanted most was a Tamagatchi. This digital creature, displayed on a screen in a brightly colored plastic case, required all the care and attention of a real animal. Tamogatchi owners not only had to play with their virtual pets but also had to feed and clean up after them. If they didn’t, their digi-pets would die. Needless to say, most Tamagatchis were goners long before the end of the Generation Y decade.
The Spice Girls
What did pop music lovers want (really really want) in the ‘90s? Baby, Scary, Posh, Sporty and Ginger! The Spice Girls spawned a generation of wannabes who dressed up in Union Jack dresses and touted the strength of girl power. Adored worldwide, these British babes attracted pandemonium and paparazzi wherever they went, but as the ‘90s ended, the public lost their taste for Spice. Fun Fact: The band’s film Spiceworld: The Movie, which featured cameos from fellow Brits Elton John and Hugh Laurie, is listed as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.
Beepers
How did ‘90s teens survive without texting? Back in those dark days, they relied on beepers. Besides letting them know who called and when, beepers let them receive not-so-secret code messages (check out 07734 or 17-31707-1 upside down on a calculator to get the idea) from their friends. At the time, nothing was cooler than having a beeper, and the more it went off, the more popular you were. But just as video killed the radio star in the ‘80s, cell phones killed the beeper as the ‘90s came to an end.
“The Rachel”
In the ‘90s, almost everyone spent Thursday nights with their Friends. We all loved Ross, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Monica, but our best friend was Rachel. Accessible and beautiful, Jennifer Aniston inspired women everywhere to hit the hair salon in hopes of recreating her signature ‘do. Despite its popularity, not everyone was a fan. In 2011, Aniston confessed to Allure magazine, “I think it was the ugliest haircut I’ve ever seen.”
Slap Bracelets
Whether they were zebra striped, hot pink or tie dye, slap bracelets were all the rage in the ‘90s. Made of thin strips of metal that had to be slapped closed around the wrist, the fad sent many trendsetting teens to the ER with cuts and bruises back in the day. Invented by a Wisconsin teacher, slap bracelets ended up being banned in most U.S. schools for student safety. As ‘90s icon Alanis Morissette once sang, “Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?”
FAFS in the ‘90s and Today
The ‘90s brought changes to the way that licensed resource parents participated in training from FAFS. Home correspondence courses were introduced, giving busy foster parents a convenient option to learn how to better care for their foster children. Today, FAFS still offers home correspondence courses by both snail mail and email, as well as webinars and online training on numerous topics. Unlike the ‘90s fads we remember today, FAFS remains vital in the lives of our families.