To share a movie, a toy, or a book from your own childhood days with your kids today is a special bonding experience that every parent must get the chance to enjoy. Over the past several months we have exposed our daughter to several of my wife’s favorite characters and movies from the early to mid-eighties, when she was a little girl herself. We have all the original Strawberry Shortcake videos, not the glossy, hip ones that are produced today but the sweet, pastel classics from the 1980’s. Titles such as Big Apple City, Housewarming Surprise, and Pets on Parade are delighting our little one today just as they did for a certain young redhead 20 years ago. The bond that they can now share with these simple shows is incredible. They must always snuggle up to watch “their Strawberry Shortcake” together.
We have also brought into the house two full length feature films that I never saw until I met my wife, but that she was in love with while growing up in Philadelphia: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins. We have the Anniversary DVD edition of each along with the soundtracks. She absolutely loves the characters and stories in these two films, but more than anything she adores the music. It makes my wife and I beam with parental pride to hear our two and a half year old singing such classics as “A Spoonful of Sugar”, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, “Me ‘Ol Bam-boo” and “Toot Sweets”, among many others from the movies. This past Christmas I purchased and gave as a secret gift to my daughter (and wife) the car and eight-piece figure set from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. These toys are the first things she plays with each morning and saying goodnight to Mr. Potts, Truly Scrumptious, Grandpa, the kids and Edison the dog is the last thing she does before retiring each evening.
There are a million or more plastic toys, animated or other children’s shows and movies, and books available to share with the youth of today. What makes these old videos, toys, music, or books stand out from the crowd and makes them most special is the story behind them. Share with your kids important information, if you remember, about who bought you your first Strawberry Shortcake doll or the first time you remember being able to actually pronounce Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Share with them more than the thing itself, but the experience of falling in love with a song or a character in a book. Few things are more fun than seeing your child respond to a film or toy the way you did decades ago and that connection you two will share as a result will never be lost.
Personalized Storybook – preserving childhood memories