Batang Pinoy Archives

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12 Best Filipino Childhood Memories

October 6, 2020 by barokandtakya

Batang Pinoy, Best Filipino Childhood Memories

Do not get me wrong; I am entirely impressed with how tech-savvy the kids are these days. I see batang Pinoy or Filipino kids as young as eleven coding their app or creating social movement on Tiktok, and it leaves me dumbfounded and amazed. But when I see the younger Pinoy childhood generations spending almost all their time either on their phones or their computers, I can’t help but feel like they’re missing out on many Filipino childhood memories that I treasure to this day.

I know nothing makes someone sound like a stodgy older man more than telling kids about the good old days, but the good old days are just tough to beat when it comes to Filipino childhood memories.

Back in the day, it was common for all the kids in the neighborhood to know each other and play together, especially in the provinces. We played together, rode our bikes together, and grew up as best friends, forging lasting and genuine bonds. That is a far cry from just chatting with someone online.

That is why the best childhood memories Filipino are always the ones you have in the provinces, if I may say so myself. The Philippines’ Probinsya life is all about being a tight-knit community where everyone knew everyone else and where it was safe for batang Pinoy to play outdoors until the sun went down.

To prove my point, here are my 12 best Filipino childhood games and Filipino childhood snacks to be remembered:

Hide and seek during a “brownout.”

alt= — One of the Filipino kids’ favorite pastimes in the ’80s and 90s is playing hide and seek.

What do kids do these days when there is a power outage or a “brownout”?

I heard a joke once that the best way to bond with your family is to turn off the wi-fi and wait for everyone to come out of their rooms. As funny as that sounds, most families indeed spend their time logged into the internet these days.

Before the internet became commonplace, a “brownout” for us, kids usually meant one thing – it was time for a game of hiding and sought! With everyone waiting for the power to come back on, even the older kids, the Ates and Kuyas, would join the game, creating some of the best memories that I have with my siblings.

Patintero

alt= — One of the Filipino childhood memories is the game called “Patintero,” a popular game during the ‘80s and ‘90s, especially when there is a long hour brownout in the Philippines.

No internet? No problem. All we needed was a concrete road, and we could play the crazy game of patintero.

The rules are simple, just run from one end of the road to the other without letting the people guard each line and the road tag you. Does that sound easy? It is not, but it is a lot of fun.

Strategies, speed, and mayhem all come into play. Also, watch out for passing cars!

Walking to school

alt= — One of the Filipino kids’ best things is they enjoy going to school and after school with other kids.

It sounds funny to say that walking to and from school is one of my best Filipino childhood memories, but it is true. The simple act of walking with a brother or sister or friend makes for some great bonding moments.

Also, let us not forget the snack vendors along the way. There are Banana cues for one peso, chichirya for two pesos, and an enormous ice cream scoop for five pesos. But my favorite Filipino childhood snacks were always the hot pancake covered in margarine and sugar. Yum!

Marbles and trumpo or Kuti

alt= — One of the favorite past times during Filipino childhood memories is playing marble with your friends.

These days we collect mechanical keyboards, RGB gaming mice, the latest Bluetooth headsets.

When I was a kid, we were collecting too, but it was all about the tex cards, trumpo or tops, and marbles. I particularly remember my wooden trumpo with a nail that I sanded and sanded until it was needle-sharp, making it spin faster than any other trumpo in the neighborhood. The pin was so sharp, and the trumpo turned so well that I could spin it right on top of a piece of rope!

Climbing up the tree for mangoes or star apple or alateris

alt= — One of the Filipino kids’ hobbies during the ’80s and ’90s is climbing up a tree and stealing delicious fruits for snacks to eat.

By far, one of the best Pinoy childhood memories I had was climbing up our neighbor’s fruit trees and stealing mangoes, star apples, and the small Filipino cherries we call alateris. The sheer carnal pleasure of biting into a perfectly ripe mango has absolutely no comparison.

Also, there was the added thrill of “stealing” the fruits. But looking back, I realize my neighbors knew precisely who was taking their mangoes and were indulging the neighborhood kids.

Shower under the rain

alt= — One of Filipino childhood memories’ best parts is having fun in the rain as you play with your neighborhood friends.

When was a kid, heavy rainfall in the middle of the day can only mean one thing – it was time to shower under the rain!

It is crazy to think that running under the pouring rain would be unthinkable for most kids these days. But during my time, all the neighborhood children would run out to greet the downpour together, and no one took pictures for Instagram. It was a blast!

Bazooka chewing gum

alt= — You have a blast, Filipino childhood memories if you have tried this chewing gum called Bazooka, which is very popular among Filipino kids during the ‘80s and ‘90s.

How much does gum cost these days? Before, bazookachewing gum was the gum that all the cool kids were chewing. For a whopping fifty centavos, you could have some gum and a small mini-comic book inside the wrapping paper too! For batang Pinoy, this considered to be one of the best childhood snacks during the ’80s and ’90s.

Langit-lupa Chasing Game

alt= — One of the favorite games of Filipino kids I can recall is playing the chasing game called “langit ug lupa saan ka pababa, sa-em sa-empyerno!”

Every culture has its version of chasing games, and it always makes for good times. For Filipinos, the best chasing games will always be langit-lupa.

Langit-lupa directly translates to heaven for Langit and the ground for Lupa. The rules are easy – you must climb onto something, a desk or table or chair, and that will be your langit where you are safe from being tagged.

When the person who is “it” shouts Lupa, everyone must run and find a different langit to climb onto, and chaos ensues, giving him a chance to tag someone. It provides a whole different spin on the usual chasing plays and makes some incredible Filipino childhood games.

Bahay-bahayan or balay-balay

alt= — One of the best Filipino childhood memories during the ‘80s and ‘90s is making an improvised cubby house called “Balay-Balay” in Bisaya.

In the Filipino language, bahay means house, and bahay-bahayan means playing house. The parts with playing house for me was building the house itself, with some of my mother’s old blankets and some chairs.

Another great thing about playing bahay-bahayan? If you are playing the role of parent, you get to boss your “children” around.

Building and Flying a Kite

alt= — The best thing about summer in the philippine during the ’80s and ’90s is flying a kite with your neighborhood friends.

Indeed, one of the best Filipino childhood games that I had was when my papa taught me how to build a kite from old sticks and plastic bags. A builder by nature, he was able to take those random pieces of wood and plastic and turn it into an elegant kite that my brother and I played with for weeks. At the time, that kite was my most prized possession and is also one of my father’s fondest memories.

Swinging on the trees

alt= — One of the best thing about being a Filipino during the ‘80s and ‘90s are swinging on the trees like Tarzan!

Ask any kid who grew in the Philippines, and they will tell you that one of their best Filipino memories was trying to build a treehouse with their cousins at one point or another. But instead of making anything resembling a treehouse, they likely ended up with a harness crisscrossing ropes that they would swing from. Such were the delights of growing up in the provinces.

Swimming in the river

alt= — One of the Filipinos’ incredible childhood memories is they go to the river during a flood and play with banana rafting.

What is one of the fondest childhood memories Filipino most have? It is jumping into the clear waters of the batis or the river on a hot summer day. There is nothing like floating in an ice-cold stream and running home completely soaked just in time for merienda or afternoon snacks.

Here is an insider tip to swimming in the river – banana tree trunks float! Ditch the float tubes; banana tree trunks are the way to go.

Looking back on my favorite Filipino childhood memories, I would hate to have my kids miss out on any single one of them. That is why I have the full intention of taking them to the province where I grew up and introduced them to the joys of the probinsya life. I am sure all that it would take are some backyard barbecues, a few new friends, and a couple of bikes to lure them into making their cherished Filipino childhood memories for themselves.

How about you bayan, what are the fondest childhood memories you have? Leave a comment below and share your story.

For a similar content of this type, please listen to Barok and Takya Bisaya Podcast Episode: Remembering Childhood Memories or download your favorite podcasts apps like Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify to hear this episode. You could also see Barok and Takya Youtube Channel BISAYA PODCAST for more of their content. Daghan Salamat Bayan for listening to Barok and Takya Bisaya Podcast – the best Filipino podcast in Cebuano language!