When does childhood leave us?

I was sat watching Toy Story 3 with my mum, having a little cry at the end, when it made me think of a few things. Everybody grows up, but at what point does that suddenly happen?



I used to be obsessed with the typical "girly toys". My favourites were Polly Pockets (does anyone remember them? Before they were all stretched out and not pocket sized!) and Bratz dolls. I had SO many Bratz, I can't even count. I collected them for years, making sure I had all the characters, all the outfits, everything. They had 4 separate types of Bratz; the normal girls, the boys, "Lil Bratz" and the babies (which for some reason were way bigger than the little ones...), and I had some of all of them! For the normal sized ones, I had a battery-powered catwalk runway (they had something you stuck into the bottom of their shoes, so that they could stand and "walk" the runway. Best Christmas present ever!) and a cafe with all the little plastic food and drink items. And for the little ones, I had the camper-van, the house (with inflatable furniture!), a school, and even a shopping mall! Seriously, I meant business!

I would constantly watch Disney Channel, too. Everyday after school, without fail! But there came a point when I just stopped. Stopped playing with my toys, stopped watching Disney (the channel, not the films. Come on, guys, Disney films will NEVER get old!), just out of the blue.

I don't know how old I was, but one day that all just stopped. At what point in our lives do we suddenly think "Oh, that's not for me anymore!". We just throw away a big part of our lifestyle, without thinking twice.

I'm not looking for some philosophical explanation, it just really baffled me that there's a set time in our lives that we can just leave behind something as big as our childhood. Let me know in the comments your thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them!