It’s Not Fair!
Childhood is tough. At least, that’s the perspective we have of it when we’re little people; life is so hard, going to school is a drag, nothing is ever fair.
Why, oh why do we even have to experience childhood – we yearn for the days when we have our independence, our own money, and we are in a position where we aren’t told what to do on a daily basis. Of course, we then get a job when we turn 16, and realise that independence is something that only really comes with winning the lottery or dreaming up a new invention!
Let’s go back to the start, first, however, and look at why childhood is such a drag.
Rubbish Toys
Children are supposed to play with their toys all of the time. Trouble is, as a child you quickly get bored with the same thing every day.
Parents, you want me to sit and play nicely for a few hours? Then don’t keep giving me the same action figure or Barbie doll repeatedly. Interact with me, engage with me, and give me something exciting to do.
Unfortunately, this is a trap that many parents fall into. Buy the child toys so they keep quiet and occupied for hours on end, despite the fact that children actually like spending time with their parents.
And when that fails? Time for the old virtual babysitter to take charge, and on goes the television and the cartoon channel.
School Days
The worst part of childhood, however, it undoubtedly having to go to school. How often did we sit in a maths lesson asking what some silly algebraic expression was going to mean to us when we grew up? I’m sure that 2x + y = 4x – y is probably mind-blowing, but is it necessary to try and drum it into our heads at nine years old?
Teenage Nightmare
And then comes the teenage years. That horrible time when you are too old to go to the park, too young to go to the pub, and going to the youth club will shred your street cred. What a life, eh? And just to make it worse, every family wedding you attend you have to put up with your Nan squeezing your cheek, and telling you that you’ll be next. Great.
Adult Life
Of course, the delicious irony is that, when we reach adulthood, we want to do it all again. We want the innocence and the ignorance of playing with our favourite doll or figure, we want to question what on Earth algebraic formulae means to us, and we want to go back to a time when others were sustaining us.
Whoever thought that independence also meant responsibility? Childhood is difficult, from the perspective of a child.
How we all learn.
A Girl for All Time provides award-winning dolls for girls, as well as novels and keepsake books that bring the past to life with cool fashions and exciting stories to share with the whole family.
