Watch: Children in the 2000s
Find out what life was like for children in the 2000s.
Lucy: What’s this?
Sam: That was my MP3 player. It played music before phones did that. I was given it for my eighth birthday.
Nathan: Your birthday is the same day as New Year’s Eve.
Sam: Well remembered. That was the year 2000. It was called the Millennium, which means a thousand years. We celebrated by visiting uncle Mallick and auntie Rena in Edinburgh in Scotland.
Young Sam: Every year on New Year’s Eve is the start of Hogmanay. They have big celebrations in Scotland at this time.But this one was very special because the year was changing from 1999 to 2000!
Nathan: Did lots of things change when the millennium happened?
Young Sam: Not really. But I remember everyone being really scared the Millennium Bug would make all the computers break.
Lucy: A bug? That does sound scary.
Nathan: Do you mean an insect or an illness?
Young Sam: It wasn’t a real bug. It was a computer problem. ‘Bug’ was just what they called it. And it didn’t happen. The computers kept on working fine.
Nathan: Phew! New computers look different to that though. Mum’s computer is much smaller and it folds up.
Young Sam: They do. We started to use computers a lot more as well. You could watch videos on the computer for the first time, and we started to buy things online as well.
Nathan: Cousin Sam, why don’t people buy your old stuff online?
Sam: Because I haven’t put it online, and this is much more fun as you get to meet people and sit out in the sunshine.
Lucy: Can we go have a look at other people’s stalls?
Sam: Okay, but stay where I can see you.
Nathan: Yeah! Let’s go and find some more old stuff.
How did people contact each other?
- Computers were becoming smaller and more powerful. Laptop computers grew in popularity.
- The first smartphones were launched. Really, these were small computers.
- More people started using emails to communicate.
- Some of the biggest social media companies started during the 2000s.
| Company | Started in |
|---|---|
| 2004 | |
| Youtube | 2006 |
| 2006 | |
| 2010 |
What was school like?
- Electronic whiteboards were now common in many classrooms.
- Computers and laptops could be used.
- There may have been a television in the school too.
- Teachers could demonstrate tasks and students could complete fun activities with their classmates.
What was entertainment like?
- In 2002 the C鶹Լ channel launched.
- Music and TV could be downloaded at anytime and watched 24 hours a day!
- Some children now listened to music on MP3 players rather than on CDs.
- Smaller hand-held consoles were introduced so you could play video games anywhere.
Did you know?
- In 2002 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her golden jubilee.
- This meant that she had been Queen for 50 years.
Activities
Activity 1: Children in the 2000s quiz
Activity 2: 2000s colouring sheet
- Download and print this colouring sheet of Lucy, Nathan and Young Sam in the 2000s.
- Can you colour it in and label it with some of the items that were familiar to children in the 2000s?
Download the 2000s colouring sheet here.
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