5 Trends Kids Are Into That We Can't Wait to Go Away

Kids will be kids. At least that's what we keep telling ourselves, especially the next time a new trend rolls around.

Minecraft has finally gone the way of the dodo, but our kids will keep finding new ways to amuse themselves at the sake of our sanity. Here's 5 trends that we can't wait for them tp follow Minecraft into oblivion.

XD

If you're over 35 and have ever been exposed to pre-emoji internet, you understand the concept of :D (also known to us FREAKING OLD GEEZERS as smile icons, or smilies) and the abbreviaton, "LOL." (Sorry, if you're over 50, LOL does NOT mean lots of love.)

XD is the upgrade to the :D smilie - the hard laugh ala Cartman.

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If you actually use XD when texting someone or messaging, you'll discover that the emoji system hasn't really caught on... yet. That's OK. There's still plenty of us using it, cause we old farts understand sideways text smilies. But that's not what bugs us about XD. XD is something that our kids have begun to SAY OUT LOUD when they want to drop a sarcastic literal smileicon into their conversation.

Son: Oh, you want me to empty the dishwasher? X D.

Son: Hah, that guy in the movie fell down the stairs. X D.

Me: You're now grounded from the internet until you're old enough to vote. X D.

Dabbing

"HEY. I bet you can't make a dance move out of a sneeze." "Challenge accepted." - The birth of dabbing, probably.

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Everyone over the age of 20 is already over dabbing, but the younger generation is still going strong, to our dismay. If you don't believe me, check out Paul Ryan tongue lashing this kid for dabbing during a swearing in ceremony for the House representatives, circa January 3, 2017. Once your little dear goes to school or gets on YouTube, look out, you'll actually find yourself yelling things that you'd never thought would ever come out of your mouth, like "NO DABBING AT THE DINNER TABLE."

Challenges

These were cute when it was dousing yourself with ice water or "try not to smile." They got lame several years running. And now, kids these days are coming up with challenges that are disfiguring or just plain dangerous, like the cinnamon challenge, the backpack challenge, the salt and ice challenge, the the condom challenge, and the Kylie Jenner challenge.

Gen X would have never done this crap - shenanigans like this would have gotten me a smack upside the head from my parents, which ironically would still have been better for my health than accidentally huffing cinnamon or taking a fully-loaded bookbag to the skull.

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Because that sort of punishment is unnacceptable these days, I've told my kid that if I catch him doing anything this stupid, I'd make him endure a "Listen to Celine Dion for 10 hours" YouTube challenge.

Snapchat

Snapchat filters are why my kid's not allowed to have his own phone until he turns 32. Although this is still the primary reason he wants one.

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Sunburn Art

To give yourself sunburn art:

1 - Find a sunny place.
2 - Apply a protective sun-blocking substance, either sun block, or tape, or decals, to your skin.
3 - Lie in the sun until your skin takes on the consistency of a boiled lobster, thus impregnating a high-contrast negative image into your skin