What makes for an idyllic childhood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We all have different definitions of idyllic. For me idyllic childhood means...

Mom and Dad that love each other (no divorce or broken family)

Living in a suburb/town with a great sense of community. Think lots of annual town events to look forward to.

Friends that live in your neighborhood and time/space to play with them outside.

Good schools

Family dinners every night

House decorated for the holidays

Church on Sunday

Being involved in a sport or some other after school activity

A mom that bakes with you and lets you lick the bowl

or Dad! but yeah true on licking the mixer.

A lot of people are saying "holiday traditions" but I would add in seasonal traditions as well. Like going apple picking and baking a pie at the beginning of fall, going sledding in the winter after a big snowfall, taking a walk to see the Cherry Blossoms, renting a house at the beach every summer, things like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I disagree that growing up near family is necessary for an idyllic childhood.

Aside from having sane, stable, and loving parents who provided for us, growing up in an area surrounded by natural beauty with lots of time outdoors made my childhood idyllic. I spent summers sailing and swimming, ice hockey on frozen ponds in the winter, and hiking and biking nearly year round. My parents had a core of very close friends/“chosen family” that provided wonderful extended family-type relationships.

Aside from my wonderful parents and siblings, it was the opportunities to be in and explore nature that made my childhood idyllic.

Sure but think about having that plus loving grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins your own age around too.

You can have both, there's no reason to say that if you live near nature, you can't have family nearby. Lots of grandparents move to be near their grandkids when they retire. That's what both of our parents did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We prioritized:

Siblings
Frequent get togethers with local, extended family
House in a nice, quiet, safe tree lined neighborhood with lots of kids
Close in suburb to cut down on DH’s commute and time spent in traffic
Relaxed pace of life with SAHM, no daycare
Lots of family time; weekly movie night, game night, nightly dinners together
Family hobbies: skiing and hiking
Frequent travel and new experiences
Lots of holiday traditions

I think this poster is due for some tree crashing or robber taking a crap!

aww are you jealous?

[Anonymous]

I had to look at the date of this post as there was a thread about this theme not so long ago.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/796233.page


This theme comes up here too:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/285/875460.page

If you are interested op....

[Anonymous]

My childhood was not idyllic as I had a very abusive father - but he was not all bad and I have very fond memories. Some of those I consider aspects of an idyllic childhood:

Growing up in a small town or suburbs where I could ride my bike anywhere. I would go out after school and come back for dinner without having to tell "where" I was going besides "I am going to ride my bike>"

Play with other children on the streets games like hopscotch, steal the flag, tag, etc.

Lots of fruit trees in my yard and just gorge myself on them anytime I wanted.

Holiday traditions - a big deal in our family with tons of food/preparation and open house for anyone who was invited and anyone who was walking by and just wanted to come in to celebrate with us. Those were amazing...

Going every summer to spend time with my grandmother and relatives - it was wonderful!

My grandmother - I miss her so much! She was the best....

Freedom to explore and roam around without hovering parents.

My father letting me watch or watch late night movies with me all night long.

Sitting at the kitchen table with my father just talking to him until late hours while he drank (drinking was a problem, but when he was not violent as a result of the drinking, I really enjoy those times - he was a wonderful conversationalist and we would talk about almost anything. He would tell me stories of his childhood, is youth, him protesting military dictatorship, etc. We would talk about politics, history, current events. And he could be funny too).

My parents (my father more than my mother to tell the truth) making tons of time to spend with me and including me.



Besides giving my kids time, including them and giving them freedom to explore, I can't really replicate much of that.

[Anonymous]

I didn't read all four pages, but read quite a bit and didn't see one that said, living in the intense, nerd-filled rat race that is Washington, D.C. It's the way my husband grew up and he foisted it on me and my children. My oldest will graduate this year and cannot get away from here fast enough. He will look back on his childhood with nothing but resentment because his dad is a weirdo he made us all live here. I did the best I could do provide lots of happy family moments, vacations with extended family, and the freedom to roam the city on their own. But the high intense atmosphere of their riborous school with a bunch of elitists clouds their vision of anything that could seem idyllic. It's sad. My idyllic childhool was in the Philadelphia suburbs with most of my time spent outdoors and lots of freedom.

[Anonymous]

Pleasantly surprised to see that many posters agree with my version of idyllic: the freedom and independence to roam in nature and the neighborhood. It seems so unusual for kids to do that these days.

I had all the other good stuff mentioned in this thread like loving parents, extended family close by, cherished holiday traditions and homemade baked goods. But when someone says “idyllic childhood” it just transports me back to exploring the woods and playing in the creek near my house when I was little.