Whether it be from lack of funds, lack of parenting, too much hovering, too much discipline... whatever the case may be. Would you change something about your own childhood if you could?
I was raised in a pretty strict house and there wasn't a ton of extra money to go around, but I never felt like I was lacking. While I didn't agree with everything (as a teenager), I totally get it now! I wouldn't change anything about my childhood!
honeydew / 7917 posts
Yes. I'm making up for it by making my kids' childhood awesome. 
I'm also living vicariously through them.
pomelo / 5093 posts
I would. I had too little discipline, too few boundaries, parentification from an early age. Just general terrible parenting. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to come back from that, and it really informs my parenting. I'm trying really hard to give my child the loving, caring discipline and boundaries that I always wanted as a child.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Money was tight, but I wouldn't change my childhood. It was good, we were loved.
persimmon / 1128 posts
No. From an adult lens my childhood wasn't perfect, but it was all I knew, so to me it was pretty darn good!
pomegranate / 3917 posts
Ummm. I am definitely glad about some parts, but my Mom didn't parent because she wanted to, but because she had to, and she and my 1st step father beat my sis and a little too hard at times, so of course I wish that was different. It would have been nice to be in a two parent household for more time than not, but I like the trade off now of being very self-sufficient and crazy independent. The financial hardship with my Mom on her own with two girls was a lot at times, and I hated feeling like such a burden.
Lots of reminders of what I won't be doing with my own child(ren)!
There are some biggies that I wouldn't change, getting the opportunity to have a farm, grow up there and learn so much about managing it (at 12 years old, lol!) and the work and dedication that took, I would never trade that!
coffee bean / 47 posts
Yes and No.
I don't wish it were different, because I think it molded me into the responsible, appreciative person that I am...but that's where it ends.
When I was 8, my mom and dad split up. I lived with my mom & brother for about a year, but then my father demanded that we live with him (and my mother could not afford us, honestly).
Being that I was the oldest, I became "mother" to my brother by age 10. My dad had to work, so I had to look after my little brother, cook supper, clean house, do laundry, Christmas shopping, etc. We were really poor and it was rough.
Financially, things turned around by the time I was a teenager, but my father was emotionally abusive. Don't get me wrong, I love him SO much, but he really did not have the tools to raise children, as he is mentally comparable to a teenager himself. He often had parties at our house, and I would be the one to storm downstairs and plead with him to turn the music down so I could sleep as I had to work the next day...
He was also very negative towards women. Had lots of nasty things to say about my mom, and would compare me to her, which damaged my self esteem. He forced me to go on birthcontrol at 14 (even though I wasn't even sexually active until I was almost 18) and would not let me go out and spend time with friends. It was awful to be at home every weekend, unable to participate in dances or parties with my peers. I had very few friends because of it (it's really hard to form bonds when you cannot spend time with friends outside of school).
This experience did leave me VERY driven to do well in school so I could get the hell out there as soon as I graduated, which I did. I now have the life I always wanted, and have a daughter who I will always make sure has a wonderful life.
Unfortunately my brother did not end up with the same drive. My father babied him and he was never made responsible for anything he did. He was allowed to come and go as he pleased, never had responsibilities, and that reflects in who he has become as an adult. Apparently my father was much harder on me because my brother took the breakup of our parents a lot harder than me ... 
coconut / 8234 posts
Sometimes. More money, more space, and more freedom. My mom was strict and also worked 2 jobs at one point so my sister and I had to pick up the slack with our younger brothers.
pomegranate / 3759 posts
Well it made me who I am today so no.
BUT, I really wish I didn't have to be the middle man in my parents divorce. I felt incredibly awkward if the had to be in the same building.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Yes. There are a lot of things I will be doing differently with my children. Same with DH.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
Nope. Not a thing. I feel very fortunate to have had a pretty idyllic childhood.
honeydew / 7303 posts
Yep, the vast majority of it I would change. I actually have very few memories from childhood. I blocked them out.
coconut / 8475 posts
@rahlyrah: @yellowbird: 
Well, my dad was physically abusive (not to us, to my mom) so....yeah...I can't unsee what I saw. Other than that (was shortlived), I had a GREAT childhood. Things really looked up after my mom left him. I am very lucky.
papaya / 10343 posts
Actual childhood (like before I was 13), no not at all. My parents didn't have a ton of money but we always had plenty and it was fine. I loved my childhood. My mom took most summers off with me or worked jobs where I could go with her. Plus my grandma and grandpa lived across the street and I'd spend a ton of time there learning how to sew and garden and cook. And my cousins lived next door so we were always outside running around.
My grandma got sick and died when I was 13 though, and it was really hard on my mom and she went through a rough patch that really strained our relationship for a while (I'm sure my being 13 didn't help though either..).
persimmon / 1171 posts
I just wish I would have been more confident. I was super insecure and still am but I learned how to fake it better and that makes all the difference. Aside from that, my childhood was pretty awesome. I didn't think so at the time, but thinking back, it was a fun time. (:
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
@hellocupcake: this. I had an amazing childhood with unlimited opportunities, and my parents genuinely helped shape who I am today. But I wish I would have been more confident and had higher self esteem. I want to yell at my fifteen year old self.
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
I want to say yes...but no. I had a crappy childhood and will probably never have anything more than a chilly relationship with those in my immediate family that I still talk to, but it shaped who I am and ultimately brought me to D. My life with him and E is much, much greater (length and otherwise) than my childhood, and I wouldn't change a single thing that brought me here.
papaya / 10570 posts
I loved my childhood from 0-6 and I wouldn't change a moment. My dad was a musician and we spent May-Oct every year in the Channel Islands on summer season. We lived in single room "digs" and I spent my time on the beach or behind the scenes at shows - it was pretty unconventional but everyone was happy.
6-12: I do wish I could go back and make this period happier for my mum. We had to settle in one place because I needed to start school. My dad wouldn't get a normal job and turned heavily to drink. He treated my mum pretty badly. She once told me it was my fault he drank because "he needed to travel". I wasnt unhappy though because I had my BFF. We met aged 5 and I have so many happy memories of playing with her at school and at her house.
12-18: If I could wipe this entire period clean I would. My dad left my mum and she had a breakdown. I cared for her, basically, while getting myself up and out for school every day etc. Then at 14, exhausted, I plummeted into depression just as my mum found a new lease of life. She started partying hard, brining all sorts of rif raf back to the house and accused me, her depressed daughter, of "keeping her like a bird in a guilded cage". I quote. She forgot my 16th birthday - she was in bed all day with a hangover and I sat downstairs alone, wondering if she knew what day it was. At 17, I moved out. I still have a lot to come to terms with from that period of my life.
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
I wish my parents let me have a more social life as a kid. I rarely got to go to birthday parties or random friend outings.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I wish I had done some things differently, like being involved in more activities from a younger age. I think part of it was a lack of experience on the part of my parents, in terms of getting me involved in things and part of it was that my mom really did have her hands full with the three of us.
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