Long-running stories about children

[DRW50]

Sometimes soap children are only seen on special occasions before magically turning 16 or 18. Sometimes soap children have a variety of stories, as Lucky, Robin, Michelle Bauer and Bill Lewis, etc. did. And sometimes soap children are given uncomfortable Bugsy Malone-type stories, like whatever the hell GH is doing now.

Then there are the soap children who have one story that goes on and on and on, sometimes taking breathers, but returning against at some point to be revived or wrapped up.

A few off the top of my head:

- Michael's custody on GH, which ran off and on from the end of 1997-somewhere in 2005 or 2006

- the Mike Horton paternity secret saga on DAYS that ran for about 8 years

- Emmerdale's Alice Bates, who was conceived in 1990 and whose custody was dredged up as a storyline again and again and again (her mother abandoned her, her grandmother got involved, her father, while trying to keep custody, had to battle gay rumors because he was raising her with his best friend, her father was sent to prison, her father's girlfriend tried to kidnap her from her aunt, her mother returned and got custody of her from said aunt, said aunt later kidnapped her) until 2001, when the woman who played her aunt was fired and they had her leave for a happy life with Alice and her mother.

[YRfan23]

hmm.....how bout Cassie's on Y&R......her custody thing started around 1998 and ended 2000ish didn't it?

[DRW50]

If we go back to when they first started using her for story, it would be 1995 or 1996.

[cassadine1991]

Wasn't GL's Lizzie the center of plenty of storyline?

[YRfan23]

I haven't seen much of this story but Nicky on DOOL with Vivian, Carly and Lawrence?

[DRW50]

Yes, but those were quite a few different stories. (well, two or three)

[katie_9918]

Lizzie has nothing on her father Phillip when it comes to paternity/maternity tangles.

[SoapDope]

Y&R did the saga of Brooks Prentiss. Leslie got pregnant in 1978, he was born in 1979 and Lance didn't know he was the father till 1982.

[soapfan770]

ATWT had Adam's conception and paternity in the background for several years until Adam finally knew the truth himself in 1996. Then there was the neverending Cabot saga that lasted from 2003-2005.

GL had Marah and Shane went around yelling some "Land of Dreams and Wishes" mess there 1995-1998 wanting to be a happy family.

Days' Will was the center of both paternity and custody stories that lasted quite a long time.

[YRBB]

Well, if we're being technical about it, I would say 1995-2004. The custody fight itself lasted 1998-2000 (but was majorly resolved mid-1999). That is a long-ass time!

[Darn]

How about stories where the kids had an actual personality and weren't basically human MacGuffins? I can't think of many beyond Lucky, Robin and Emily on GH (GH hit the jackpot with good child actors...in the 90s).

I know as a kid I liked Jessica on OLTL a lot but I don't know if that was due to familiarity of me liking something about her.

[SoapDope]

Rachel on Another World always had drama when it came to her children/pregnancies.

[DramatistDreamer]

On ATWT, Paul Stenbeck, in the tussle between his parents James and Barbara Ryan had pretty much been a long running story, from childhood, into adolescence and then adulthood.

[DRW50]

Oh yeah. That was, what, 7 years?

[cassadine1991]

I don't get why Elizabeth Granville was never brought back