I have many happy childhood memories (many of them involving food) but my favourite one is freedom!
Photo by Cliff1066
During the summer evenings, after finishing my homework, I was allowed to go out into the street and play. I grew up in the suburbs of a city and I knew many of the children who lived in the neighbouring houses. We used to charge around, in and out of each other’s gardens playing hide and seek and 40,40. We whizzed around on our bikes, climbed trees, walked along walls and generally had a lot of fun. We never had to tell anyone where we were going or what we were doing – we could just be spontaneous. It was fantastic.
I wish I could replicate this freedom for my children but society has changed. For some reason, it is now frowned upon for children to do things on their own, without adult supervision. This applies to so many different situations, whether that is playing in the streets or walking to school. Whereas I used to be able to collect my younger brother at the end of the day, when I was 11 and he was 7, that would never happen today.
In my view, being a parent is a process of letting go and giving your children a chance to do things for themselves. I wonder what their favourite childhood memories will be in the future?
WF22QWWAKK6P
Here are all the other fantastic entries in The Friday Club Life Carnival:
My Friend Next Door from QWERTY Mum.
My Mum was the best storyteller from Baby Budgeting.
A Favourite Childhood Memory from Patch of Puddles.
Domino Trails from Mummy From The Heart.
Freedom from Live Otherwise.
A Favourite Childhood Memory from The Gingerbread House.
Birthday Memories from The Diary of a Frugal Family.
Please Turn Over from Bibsey.
Not Tonight Josephine from Cheeky Wipes.
A Favourite Childhood Memory from Who Teaches Whom.
Holidays from Seasider In The City.
Making Paper Boats from Red Ted Art.
Remembering a Fishpond from Mymumdom.
Canada from South of the River Mum.
Goodbyes from Notes From Home.
[...] Freedom from Little Legends. [...]
[...] Diary of a Frugal Family. Please Turn Over from Bibsey. Not Tonight Josephine from Cheeky Wipes. Freedom from Little Legends. A Favourite Childhood Memory from Who Teaches Whom. Holidays from Seasider In [...]
[...] Freedom from Little Legends. [...]
[...] Freedom from Little Legends. [...]
[...] The Diary of a Frugal Family.Please Turn Over from Bibsey.Not Tonight Josephine from Cheeky Wipes.Freedom from Little Legends.A Favourite Childhood Memory from Who Teaches Whom.Holidays from Seasider In [...]
I’ve been wondering what our kids will recall as well. It certainly won’t be ‘freedom’ in most cases.
[...] Freedom from Little Legends. [...]
Just like my childhood memories, we used to spend hours in the woods – unsupervised.
The shame of it all is that stats show children are no more a risk that we where, but it’s the perception of risk that has changed. We fear more and so protect more, but out there it’s just the same, if only we could find a way of unlocking that. But when the media goes ‘bonkers’ because a child stands at a bus stop opposite their own home on their own – what hope do we have?
In our village quite a lot of the children play out and have some freedom but by no means as much as I had when I was a child. It’s sad that so many children today will not have memories of that kind of free play that we had when we were children.
[...] Freedom from Little Legends. [...]
That is great that your kids still have some freedom. Hopefully things will come full circle and we will all stop being quite so paranoid!