Childhood memories of parents and grandparents through the generations

‘My grandparents were very severe. We dreaded their visits as we just had to sit nicely for hours until it was decided that we could leave.'

I have regularly heard similar recollections and stories of disapproving and formal parents and grandparents, part of the childhood memories from an older generation.

Here’s another memory. Last week, my storyteller recalled one of the three times that she hugged her mum (yes, she can only remember being hugged by her mum three times). This memory of hers was bold and clear. She recalled a moment while she was going through a difficult time in her marriage - a moment with which her mum could empathise - when her mum hugged her. I think that maybe her memory of this event was so clear, as her mum’s warm hug was so unusual.

Another chap recalls going off to boarding school. As a young boy, he would set off by train, halfway across the country, knowing that he would not go home, or see his parents until the next holiday. He would say a formal goodbye, and after a firm handshake from his dad, my storyteller would get on the train, and with a wave that was that. While his memories are unique to him, the experience was not unusual.

I find the stark contrast to the huggy, warm and kind grandparents that we think of today so intriguing. Within a generation or two, we have all collectively changed our behaviour. So this is a question I've been thinking about. Sixty, seventy, or eighty years ago, hugging was, I guess, slightly frowned upon, it was just not the done thing. Today, most grandparents seem to love to hug their grandchildren When did this change, and why and what's next? What sort of relationship will parents and grandparents of the future have with their grandchildren? Let me know your thoughts, I am intrigued, I really am!

That aside, If you have memories from your childhood or your younger life of your parents or your grandparents do consider recording them, or at least sharing them with your family. While they may not seem much to you, your children or your grandchildren have lived in different times and your childhood memories, your childhood stories should be known, preserved and shared.