Your childhood experience.

Childhood. It comes and goes too quick. While some of us were outside playing with toys and running with friends, others were worrying about whether or not theyre parents would come home that night, or if dad was drinking again.

I would like to know, what everyones childhood was like. Did you have a great childhood and it was everything you imagined? Or did you have a really rough time and not get to experience being a kid at all?

And also, how do you think your childhood has effected you as a person today? What kind of effects did your childhood have on you?

reply to post by Jess_Undefined


Mine started out great, went downhill fast and ended abruptly.

I couldn't wait to grow up. I hated being controlled by selfish people.

reply to post by Jess_Undefined


Another thread where individuals can come and tell how 'terrible' their chilhoods were and how it has scarred them to this day

Jess_Undefined, what was your childhood like?
Makes me wonder why you started this thread, you didn't give any information about your childhood.

I didn't appreciate it at the time, but I had a great childhood. My parents were/are eccentric, we traveled a lot, all over the US in a caravan.

I remember being angry at my parents when I changed schools for the upteenth time Or when we had to leave quickly in the middle of the night.

My childhood was one of famine and bounty, sometimes just days apart. Christmases without electricty and Spam for dinner. Christmases where we got everything we wanted, and then had to leave behind when we had to suddenly move yet again.

It wasn't until I became an adult that I really appreciated my childhood, I learned so much about the world, about people, about life that isn't taught in schools. I learned to question what was considered normal by most people. I learned to make friends easily, and to keep friends for a long time. I learned to let go of material possesions, knowing that I might not have that new toy for long I damn well got every bit of joy out of it I could.

My parents weren't perfect, far from it. They made a lot of mistakes. In fact it was due to my parents mistake of overstaying their VISA in the US by twenty years that in the end I had to leave the US, the country I'd grown up in and considered to be my home.

But you know what? I can truely say that my life has been an adventure so far. I've met felons and priests, illegal aliens and millionaires, criminals and cops, swingers and evangelicals, a full spectrum of strangness.

Thanks Mom & Dad - my life has been a hell of a ride so far.

I had a good childhood I guess.

We moved out of London for a better life in a new city. I spent my days going to pretty good schools and running around in fields, wading through ponds and building camps in the woods with my friends.

Then as a teen I started bunking off school, smoking, listening to really good music and generally being a teenage rebel.

My only complaint is that my dad had to work hard, night shifts, back in London. I rarely saw him for more than half an hour a week. My fondest memory is playing pool with him one weekend for two hours when I was about seventeen.
That was the only thing we did together from when I was about seven until he died when I was twenty.
And that is a shame, because we had a lot in common. He passed me his artistic talents, and I've had some great achievements thanks to his genes. I wouldn't be an artist and writer if it weren't for him and his decision to move us all here.

I guess I suffer from a detachment disorder of some kind.
But I also understand that it was a sacrifice he had to make to guarantee an improved quality of life for our family.
I dread to think how our family would be right now if we'd stayed in London. I certainly wouldn't be who I am today if we hadn't moved here.


[edit on 10-8-2009 by detachedindividual]

reply to post by LiveForever8


Another? I did a search and there was no other thread like this. I think its important for people to tell there stories because alot of people did have a really bad childhood, and yes, so did I. And it does effect you in the future.

If you would like to know my parents did drugs my whole life and left me and my sister when we were 12. Growing up I really didnt have anyone to talk to about it or anyone to help me get through it and I think talking about it a really good release for moving on.

But I didnt make this thread for just terrible childhoods. I wanted to hear everyones. Good or bad.

reply to post by Merigold


Well if theres one thing childhood always has, its adventure. Full of ups and downs. What country were you originally from?

reply to post by LiveForever8


And I really dont appreciate the eye roll. If this thread had no interest in you, and you didnt have a story to tell, you could have easily moved on to the next. So why didnt you?

reply to post by Jess_Undefined


When i said 'another' i wasn't specifically referring to a thread about childhoods but another thread which has mutated into a 'who had the worst childhood' contest. Just annoyed me really, i shouldn't have taken it out on this thread.

Well, your childhood seemed difficult but, hey, here you are all wonderful and grown up and it seems like you haven't let it affect you negatively.

We are what we are not in spite of our tribulations, but because of them.
I just hope this thread doesn't get overran with negativity is all.

reply to post by LiveForever8


I can see your point then. And I do understand as to why it may seem to look like a whineing fest to some. I was just trying to figure out how it effected people. Because I in no way would have changed my childhood. I do wish it could have been better, but IM better for it.

Ive always been the one to say you should never blame your failures just because of your childhood. I hear alot of people saying "If only I had a better childhood, maybe I would have gotten farther in life." And it annoys the hell out of me.

Everyone has an equal shot at success. And even though it may be harder to achieve it for some, its still just as equal.

reply to post by Jess_Undefined


Well you really made me think here.

As a child, I thought that I should have been given more due to the fact that my dad had a very well paying job.

Now however, I see that I had a great childhood and have come to the conclusion that if I could change it in any way, I would only change one thing.

My attitude.

That's right, I wish I could go back and appreciate more of what was offered to me and less of what I thought I deserved.

By the way, I notice you are from Michigan. During the 60's, we used to go camping in Holland. Great memories there.

reply to post by Jess_Undefined


I couldn't agree more. And sorry again if i offended you, i wont let my feelings spill over into another thread again...lesson learnt

Anywhoooooooooo, my childhood was great. I was always a very imaginative child. I remember i used to come home everyday from school and tell my mum how i had slain a dragon or saved the world from a pack of marauding monsters, and she used to encourage me and ask me questions about it. It really helped form my vivid imagination. I still question to this day whether some of the things i said actually happened, they seemed so real to me

She would ask, 'what have you done today then?', and depending on the day it varied. Sometimes i had been a tyrannosaurus rex all day or a firefighter. Some days i was several things. I remember one specifically fruitful day i had fought in a space war against an alien race, been captured by pirates, been a cowboy in the wild west and scored the winning goal in the World Cup final for England!

What a day that was

Best days of your life for sure.

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
Childhood. It comes and goes too quick. While some of us were outside playing with toys and running with friends, others were worrying about whether or not theyre parents would come home that night, or if dad was drinking again.

I would like to know, what everyones childhood was like. Did you have a great childhood and it was everything you imagined? Or did you have a really rough time and not get to experience being a kid at all?

And also, how do you think your childhood has effected you as a person today? What kind of effects did your childhood have on you?

Kind of random topic but I like it.

Me personally I had a pretty good childhood......In the early years we didn't have that much money but I didn't know better.

I played a lot of nintendo............a lot.........beat every game I played and if i couldn't , Game Genie took care of that for me...

I played with a Sh*t load of legos and I can see me now developing as a child...

I love to create things, I guess that is one reason I like to make my own music., but it definitely started in my child hood....I would draw and paint a lot, play with ninja turtles shoot rocks out of sling shots at cars ( lol not so funny now) ...


I miss my childhood...There were no worries....Every day (especially the Summer) I would wake up at like 9 and be outside playing......We had a swing set in the backyard, 80% of my friends lived on the same street as me and within a couple houses so there were always kids to play with.....

I fondly remember buying a ton of WWF ice cream bars from the icecream trucks......You know the kind with Ultimate Warrior, Jake the Snake Roberts, and Bobby the Brain Heenen on them ?? O did I just bring back some memories ?!
haha

anyways, yea I loved my childhood......My parents always put me and my brothers first and made sure they could get us almost as much stuff as all the other kids had....

Yea, I never had the " best of the best" type of toys, but we always had something to do and I thank my GREAT parents for that.......


I remember listening to a ton of old school music and I think that is why I have developed a taste for such a wide range of music...

I Love classic rock, old 60's jams, cheesy 80's music ( well I am an 80's child kind of born in 1985 ) so I grew up with that.......


I did get into my fair share of trouble, but it was mostly inoccent " things all boys do " type of stuff mixed with a lot of creativeness.....


I fondly remember launching a water balloon at the icecream truck only to have it bust through the window and shatter glass everywhere and Me and 5 kids running faster than we thought possible.........Hilarious then......not so much now, but it's still fun to look back at the things we did.


OMG ! almost forgot..

We used to get all the kids on the street to play flash light tag at night.....I was about 8-9 I'd say and we would get like 20 kids playing and there were like 4 houses on each side of the street that were the boundries and you would hide and wait for somebody to see you and try and out run the light..........GREAT STUFF.......and not to mention it's FREE fun that can occur at any time....


It just seems like as I get older, there are less and less of these spontanious " Lets have fun" moments that their used to be....


I'm actually thankful you brought this topic up as I hadn't thought about my childhood in a bit and it brought back fond memories......


NINTENDO !!!! You know how long it took to beat Bubble Bobble both times without Game Genie ???? lol

[edit on 10-8-2009 by LucidDreamer85]

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
reply to post by LiveForever8

 

Ive always been the one to say you should never blame your failures just because of your childhood. I hear alot of people saying "If only I had a better childhood, maybe I would have gotten farther in life." And it annoys the hell out of me.

Everyone has an equal shot at success. And even though it may be harder to achieve it for some, its still just as equal.

This sparked my interest, your comments here. My hubby and I have this argument quite often. His childhood was worse than mine attitude. I think it falls into what each of us is taught and how we interpret and handle these situations.

My hubby's father was an alcoholic that wasn't around much in his life. My father worked very hard and I only saw him on average 16 days a year. Each of us was missing our father figure, but for different reasons. He can't understand mine, and I try to understand his.

It's different on each one of us, and we all have learned from our parents strengths and weaknesses.

My father was working all the time, and my mother spoiled the "sheeat" out of my brother. I worked harder for what I got, and now that both our parents are gone, my brother and I are two very different peas from the same pod. It's scary, the differences from growing up young in the 70's to growing up young in the 80's. My brother and I are about 9 years apart in age.

He was spoiled, and I feel like I've had a child that I've taken care of since I was 9. Him and I don't speak these days, it's sad to say the least. I'm sure it's like your first born tearing out your heartstrings.

Parents make mistakes, and as long as they try to do their best, it's the best you'll get. I am a mom now, and I treat my son as a little man. He knows what's going on, but also has his Kid Time. My hubby has learned from his father, to be a better father to his own son. It does bring tears to my eyes when they are spending time together. I really enjoy sitting back and watching them have a great time together.

We all grow from our experiences and what we learn from our friends and family. Cherish all of this knowledge and use it to your advantage for your own children and your children's children.

A_L

I cannot imagine a better childhood than I had.

My mother was a beautiful slender blond and my dad was tall and handsome. They were both extremely intelligent.

I was raised the first part of my childhood on an island that my grandfather inherited that had originally been a grant from King George of England.

I thought we were rich because of the wonderful meals my grandparents had three times a day and my mother made my clothes out of flour and feed sacks. She was an excellent seamstress.

We grew all our food. What I learned on the farm/island was:

1. to hunt, kill, dress and cook what I killed.
2. to plant and harvest vegetables and preserve food for the winter.
3. I learned compassion for wildlife. Don't shoot it if you're not going
to eat it. If you are not going to eat it then respect it and nurture
wildlife.
4. Life isn't fair. Learned this from my younger brother. He blamed me
for everything.
5. Learned to swim, climb, ride a horse and assorted other farm animals.
6. Learned about death.
7. Learned how to survive in the woods.

Then we moved to the city when I was in the third grade.

I learned street smarts real fast. Mix that with my country ways and I Was unbeatable.

My parents opened a business and finally we did get rich.

My dad entered local politics and would continue in the political arena for the next 30 years. Until then I had a perfect childhood.

From these years I learned extreme patriotism, loyalty, integrity and how ruthless people could be.

I learned to work hard, fight, be a lady and to take care of myself.

I also learned to ride a Harley Davidson.

Too much happened during those years to write in this post. I could easily write a book.

Everything I learned has helped me survive nearly 63 years.

Even with perfect parents I became a hippie at 18 years old in 1965.

But that's another story.

R.I.P Mama and Daddy

Edit to add:
Sorry mom I forgot to add culture. I learned to play the clarinet, the oboe, and the piano.
Learned to sing and dance and act.
And thank you mom, I learned about God.

[edit on 10-8-2009 by dizziedame]

I guess my childhood was blank xD I mostly dont remember anything untill 6th grade.
What I can remember is that I was made fun of because I had lice :S (mean kids though some of them where nice) and the day I was hit by a car, oh and some Christmas.

Yeah I can't remember anything.

reply to post by Danna


I remember when I caught lice in 4th grade. A bunch of the kids in the school started getting it and low and behold, I caught it too. And the kids definetly werent nice about it. And its a pain in the A** to get rid of!

reply to post by Jess_Undefined


Yes my mother tried everything even vinaigrette, my head smelled so bad!
second line

[edit on 10-8-2009 by Danna]

well, I had terrible parents, but a generally great childhood..

They told me I wasn't theirs, nearly every days of my life, which now I see was not so nice, my mom was an alcoholic, and when we moved to a small town, after the divorce and her spending 2 years in the funny farm, at about 5 we moved to a town where she was the town drunk..

My father did the most dispicable, and the least dispicable he did was when he was "STUCK" with me, instead of getting daycare, he would leave me locked up in his van outside various warehouses during the day, and varoius houses of skanks or homwreckers during the night....which is why mabey I can undrstand a little bit why when we moved, my mom turned into the town drunk...

Well, somehow I managed to stay a sweet child, and just spent all my time drawing and my cat and dog were my "family"...I treated THEM like they were MY kids, and treated them the way I wished my dysfunctional parents would treat me....

When I was about five, things took a turn for the better for me. My dad married my step mom, and so for the first time inmy life I had a decent "parent"....(thank God)..She was the ideal parent inmy eyes...actually made FOOD for me, so I didn't have to just eat dried cereal out of boxes, and whatever I could reach in the fridge...an actual ADULT was taking care of me now (onlyon the weekends and school holidays though, but I still LOVED it and felt like such a princess when she would make me get to the table for breakfast, lunch or dinner) I was in awe of her......my mom was still the town drunk for the rest of the week when I had to go back to her, but I escaped into fantasy about going back to my stepmom every second weekend for my tim eof feeling like a princess.....

Then at around 6, she had my first little sister......It was the best thing to ever happen to me as well....I had someone to sing to, and love when I wasn't with my dog somewhere in the other town now too.....and then a second when I was 8.... I loved them like they were my own......singing and playing with them was my biggest honor....


Then, in the other side of my life, in the small town, things started looking up too...my aunt and my cousins moved to town, and then I had people to be with there too......so even thoguh I would come home after school, and my drunk mom wqas never there (which I prefered) now I had someone to call after school and play with..... My oldest cousin, 6 months older than me, took me under his wing, and started teaching me sports and things....I looked up to him like a prince. It felt so good to hae someone try to teach me thiungs and talk to me, like I talked to my little sisters.

The rest of the time, by this point I had friends as well, so after school, I had lots of different places to go for dinner and things....life was awesome in my eyes! I was really figuring out nhow to take care of my self by having friends....

Everyone in school took care of me too....the teachers allways noticed, since grade one, that I never had a lunch, so if anyone in the class had something they didn't like in their lunch, they would give it to me. I felt so special that these people were so caring to make sure I ate a lunch...kinda like the whole towns little orphan.

I have sooo much mnore to add, but my son wants to play hungry hippo's right now, so I will add more later.

reply to post by LiveForever8


Dont worry about it! Happens to me too! =]

I remember I use to play school alot when I was a kid. I would use my stuffed animals as students and everything. And since I didnt have a dollhouse of my own, I took a big shoebox, and made the furniture and everything out of just paper.

I even had a little paper TV and paper couches.