If you’re a parent, it’s probably happened to you.  You’ve finally found the toy, in mint-condition, that you played with as a child, but when you present it to your toddler she only uses it once before it becomes the property of the closet.  Or you take your child to see a park or a monument that you vividly remember visiting when you were just 10 years old.  Instead of expressing amazement and wonder your child asks if he can go back to the car to watch a DVD.  My son is only 23 months old and I’ve experienced a situation just like this.  As parents our fondest wish is that our children will have a childhood that is as happy or happier then the one we had.  We want to share our memories with them, to foster the same interests and loves that we value so dearly.

But as we all learn, you can’t force your children to have the same fond memories of childhood that you have.  You probably can’t even recreate the same situations in the hope that they will grab onto the same memories.  Maybe they don’t care about picking out the perfect Christmas tree or playing with that toy you found for only $150 on Ebay.  All we can do as parents is to give them the opportunity to create their own memories.  Each child is different and has their own preferences and desires.  I’m sure that when we look back in 20 or 30 years we’ll be amazed at the things that our children associate with their childhood.

Here are two great articles (here and here) from the Wall Street Journal that talk about the disappointment parents can feel when their children don’t have the reaction they expected.