When I was a child we did not have a great deal of money. We lived in a two up two down terraced house with a small concrete back yard. My mum and dad took great care of us and compensated hugely in their attention towards us for the lack of money and space in our home. We were taken regularly to feed the ducks and walk by the river, we were allowed to play out on our safe little street a for house and hours. We were allowed to plasticine and paint at the all dining table in our lounge. We were also taken to the library often and never were without a book.
I had a beautiful and blessed childhood even if money was scarce. Love and creativity and a warm welcome to all filled my childhood home and I knew then how absolutely privileged I was.
I also know that there are so many things that we have now that I am grateful for and that have made parenting so much easier for me. Here are 3 things we didn’t have in my childhood but do now that have made life so much easier.
Central heating
Central heating is such a blessing, our whole house is warm and cos whenever we need it to be. We can dry our clothes over radiators without battling the Britsih weather or having to use our dryer all the time. There is no ice forming on the inside of our windows or need for scalding hot water bottles. Central heating systems were things just posher people had when I was a kid. Thank goodness they are more commonplace now today. So grateful for them.
Kids TV
Do you remember when it was on for maybe an hour and half each day and you had the choice between perhaps just 2 channels? The good thing about that was that we played out so much more than kids fo today rather than staring at screens. For parents, though this really can be a blessing. With streamed shows and catch up TV and 24-hour kids channels kids can be entertained when it is convenient not just 3.30-5 each day. They have so much choice there really is always something they would like to see. Carefully managed this access to ready entertainment can make life so much easier.
A washing machine
Now don’t get me wrong we did have a washing machine but it was a twin tub. It required lots and lots of effort from my mum (never dad) and it took an absolute age. My washing machine is speedy and efficient and simply requires one of us to load it and press go. It is so simple even my kids can use it. It also works really effectively to clean our clothes. What an amazing time saving and effort saving machine.
Being grateful
I do wish for my mum’s sake she had had central heating, access to kids TV when she wanted it and a washing machine she didn’t have to stand over. I wish she lived in a generation where domestic chores were more evenly shared. How hard she worked for our family.
I think it is so important to feel gratitude and respect for what we have and not just taking these things for granted. They really do work so well to make our lives so much easier.
collaborative post
