This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Sharing Childhood Memories Builds Bridges

Whether by stories or trips to an old neighborhood, teaching kids about where their parents come from can help them better understand themselves.

A few weeks ago, my dad’s brother took a trip back in time. He decided to drive out to Allen Park with his grandson to the neighborhood he lived in when his dad (my grandfather) moved the family up here from Cleveland, to take a job with Cadillac division of General Motors.

That afternoon, Uncle Mike, had no real particular reason for visiting his old neighborhood, other than he had remembered a train track ran behind his old house, which he wanted to show Zach, his daughter Kari’s son. Zach has become rather enamored of trains, and I guess his newfound interest sparked something in my uncle that made him curious about his old house.

They were wildly successful that day in their mission. They not only found the old house — which my grandfather's family moved into when my dad was about 11 years old, and Mike was just 4 — but they also met the people who now live there and were invited in to look around and go out back to see the old train tracks. When I talked with him, Mike spoke very proudly and excitedly about the experience.

Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

From one childhood to another

Mike now lives in Canton with his wife, my aunt Judy. He has always been one of my favorite uncles – if not the –mainly because he spent so much time with my brother and I as kids, playing football and baseball with us, and has since become a great friend and mentor to my daughter Emma, 3, who is about a half-year younger than Zach.

Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mike’s adventure with his grandson really made me think about the importance of reconnecting periodically with our pasts and using these experiences to teach our children about where we came from. I don’t know if I am brave enough to take Emma out to my old neighborhood, and attempt to visit the house I grew up in, but I have begun to think that it might be time to talk with Emma about the place where her daddy grew up.

 My parents spoke frequently with us about their childhoods and the places they lived as kids. The stories they would regale us with were always enjoyable and taught me a lot about who they are. These stories helped shape me, my outlook on my own life, and how I have approached the relationships with my family members.

Shaping the future

Since I became a parent, I have come to realize how much like my wife and I our daughters are becoming. They, of course, pick up on our language and behavior, but they also seem to be developing some of our personality traits too. Emma often makes me think of my youth, of the times in my life when I was so much like she is now.

Aside from the personality benefits she can inherit from me, I think about the effect sharing my childhood with Emma can have on our relationship. Specifically, I want to continue to foster the open communication that we have with one another. Especially since Emma has started going to preschool, I have really begun to enjoy how eager she is to talk with me about what she is learning.

Every parent wants this. However successful we feel we are in our lives, or have been, watching our kids grow up gives u a sense of pride that not much else can. And as our kids move from one stage in their growth to another (and another and another), I think it becomes that much more important to be continually active in their lives, to have as many conversations with them about how much they remind us of ourselves.

It’s also important to help them discover themselves, to be sure, but every child – despite how much they yearn to distinguish themselves from their parents – needs to feel a constant connection to them too. Especially when they are young, when nothing but questions roll off their tongues, it is vital we take every opportunity to show them that we have some idea about what life is about – and can help them discover for themselves what it all means.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?