Memories and thoughts about childhood

I would like to start my first blog writing a little about my own childhood. I was born in 1968. I lived my entire childhood on a little farm with my parents and my three years older brother and my one year younger sister. On our little farm we kept some sheep, rabbits, some hen and a cock. Me and my sister Maria, spent most of our time outside with our animals. We often had great adventures out in the wood behind our house. We also played a lot outside and inside the house. Different kind of role-play was a popular thing to do together with friends. Our family had a big social network and we had many friends and good adults to look up to. My own childhood was nearly perfect and I really want my own children and other children to have some of it too!

What was so perfect then and what is the most important thing for a child? Well, I can’t just choose one thing. Here in Sweden we take many things for self-evident. Fresh water, food for the day, go to school and live in peace is basal needs which unfortunately aren’t self-evident for all children in the world. But if I play with my thoughts and determine that every child in the world has those big, basal needs I mentioned before, what is most important after that?

Let’s start with LOVE. Everybody needs to be loved by someone and they need somebody to love. Parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, friends etc are important for the child. A child needs to spend a lot of time together with their parents or other, for the child, significant people. The time families spend together has decreased mainly since I was I child. I think that’s very bad for the children. My own security is building on all the love and all time I get from specially my parents, brother and sister. If a child feels love then it will grow as a human and meet other people with love. A child who hasn’t been treated with love can’t treat others with love either.

Another experience I want to give all children is “time to just be”. I had a lot of that when I was a child. Nowadays children have so many things they must do. Many of them have play centre after school and after that different activity in the evening. With all this activities the demand on the children will increase. Many children feel stressed early in ages and some of them get stress related diseases in early ages. The adult world’s responsibility is to slow down for the children and take away most of the demands. Let the children be children and let them PLAY!

This first blog is a difficult but very interesting and really important question. As both a parent and a teacher I often think and try to do the best for the children. But what is the best? Well, I don’t really know and I wonder if anybody does? I look forward to read my friends blogs and maybe get some good advice there.

ewabloggen-09

This is my first blog ever! I look forward to meet my "englishfriends" here on my own blog!