As time passes, many childhood memories start to fade. And that is completely normal since our brain needs to make room for new information and experiences. Hence, we often turn to photos, memory boxes, and other tangible things reminiscent of our childhood as a portal to the times we lived without a single care in the world. One can’t help but have that bittersweet feeling about memories from childhood—happy it happened, sad that it’s over.
What everyone should aspire to in life is to be rich in memories, and if memories of childhood are part of them, one is pretty much halfway there. The many quotes about childhood emphasize that childhood memories, so fragile and distant, are timeless treasures of the heart, carrying so many firsts and special moments of life. Perhaps this is why so many live with platonic hope of wishing to return to “the good old days.” And although time travel has not been invented (just yet), reliving one’s childhood is very much possible. It’s not just reliving sweet memories through photos but doing things you enjoyed doing as a child: building sand castles, collecting shells, swinging on the swing, blowing out candles on your birthday cake, or reading children’s books. There’s no such thing as being too old to do the things you enjoy or things that make you happy. So if a childhood memory of you making daisy chains and wearing them around your head has you smiling from the inside, go ahead and relive it as soon as the first daisies come to bloom.
Below, we’ve compiled heaps of childhood memories to help you reconnect with your inner child and recall the pure joy and innocence of the early days. To make the post even more inspiring, under several entries, we’ve added some quotes about childhood memories that hit right in the feels. And if any of them did, give them an upvote! Also, do you have a favorite childhood memory? What is it? Share it with fellow Pandas and us in the comments!
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Building Sandcastles
“We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it.”
Building sandcastles and digging holes. We dug holes so much at the beach to fill it and sit in it.
Going To Your Grandparent’s House
“Childhood is the best of all the seasons of life, and the longer it lasts with happy memories, the stronger the emotional stability in adulthood.”
Watching Children’s TV
“What one loves in childhood stays in their heart forever.”
Collecting Toys, Cards, Collectibles
“I miss being the child whose eyes shone brightly at the thought of seeing the simplest of things.”
Ice Cream Van
“Childhood is where dreams are born, and time is never planned.”
Playing Outside Until It Was Dark
"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood."
Teeth Falling Out And Putting Them Under Your Pillow
“What was wonderful about childhood is that anything in it was a wonder. It was not merely a world full of miracles, it was a miraculous world.”
My family would put them in a cup if water, except me because grandma made me a tooth faerie box out of a matchbox, which sat on our bedside table or in the kitchen.
School Field Trips
“Sometimes, it’s better to bunk a class and enjoy time with friends, because today, when I look back, marks never make me laugh, but memories do.”
Going ‘Back To School’ Shopping At The End Of Summer Hols
“Children are magic because they look for it.”
Getting Up Really Early In The Morning To Go On Holiday
“The memories we make in our childhood are the ones that will carry with us for the rest of our lives.”
Not in my house. Mum was always running late with packing/leaving and I hated it.
Sleepovers With Friends
"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends."
Going Camping
“Sometimes my childhood memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks.”
Playing Car Games On Long Journeys
“Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time, we grew side by side, our roots will always be tangled.”
Getting Pocket Money
“Children need models rather than critics.”
Counting Down The Days Until The Summer Holidays
“Children are one-third of our population and all of our future.”
Skimming Stones
“Sometimes I wish I could go back to my childhood and capture all those happy memories.”
Going Out With Your Friends For The First Time Without Your Parents
“Childhood is like a mirror, which reflects in later life the images first presented to it.”
Watching Films Which Were Above Your Age Rating
“Childhood is a time of rapidly changing emotions, and the growth process is often painful.”
First M (mature audience, recommended over 15) movie I saw I was 13 and it was Sugar and Spice
Being Read A Bedtime Story
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
Your Parents' Favorite Music
“Nothing is as nostalgic as remembering your childhood memories.”
I was born in 1990, so when I got to school, Spice Girls were really popular. My grade 6 buddy (when I was in prep) and her friends kept calling me Baby Spice. I hated Spice Girls and just wanted to listen to the golden oldies music my dad listened to.
Hide And Seek
"I miss being a child and doing practically senseless stuff and yet having the time of my life."
Fishing For Tadpoles In A Pond
“Remember, childhood only lasts 10–12 years. There's a lot that has to be squeezed in to make for a lifetime of happy memories.”
Making Daisy Chains And Wearing Them Around Your Head
“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”
"Scratch And Sniff" Stickers
“Cleaning the house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.”
Singing In The Back Of The Car
“The best childhood memories are the ones stitched together with love.”
Christmas Dinner
“Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke.”
Learning To Ride A Bike
“Every time you miss your childhood, ride on a bicycle!”
Getting A Pet
“Childhood friendship is the most beautiful memory that can never be replaced.”
Still annoyed that I wasn't allowed a pet of my own until I turned 12, yet my older brother had two when he was 7, middle brother had one at 3, sister had one at 5 and youngest brother had one at 4!
Swimming Lessons
“For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be.”
Learning To Read
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so."
Handwriting Lessons
"It is only when we start enjoying childhood that we have stepped out of it."
I was the third person to get my pen license in my grade 4 class and I was so proud
Your Favorite Stuffed Animal
"Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.”
I got my favorite stuffed animal in like 1999. 24 years later and I’m still clutching him to go to sleep as we speak! He’s in relatively good shape as well!
Memorable Children's Storybooks
"Childhood is a disease - a sickness that you grow out of."
Being an early childhood teacher I love sharing my favourites from my childhood with new generatios.
The First Time They Saw The Ocean
"Growing up is a terribly hard thing to do. It is much easier to skip it and go from one childhood to another."
Collecting Shells On The Beach
"The older I grow, the more earnestly I feel that the few joys of childhood are the best that life has to give."
Climbing Trees
“I spent my whole childhood wishing I were older and now I’m spending my adulthood wishing I were younger.”
I have a photo of myself up my first climbing tree when I was 2.5 years old.
Paddling In The Sea
“The mud and dirt will wash off, but the childhood memories will last a lifetime.”
Ice Cream Floats
“Childhood is the light of our life, we must keep it safe within our hearts.”
Called spiders in Oz. My favourite was creamy soda, but I recently realised I can add ice cream to my gin and dry ginger!
Running Around Bare Foot Outside
“I miss being the child whose eyes shone brightly at the thought of seeing the simplest of things.”
Blowing Out The Candles On A Birthday Cake
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
Painting, Arts And Crafts
"Childhood is the one story that stands by itself in every soul."
Jumping In Puddles
"If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to avoid the lava, then you've never had a childhood."
Going To Theme Parks
"The story from childhood is like a flower pressed between the pages of a book - you touch it and it crumbles to dust."
I hated theme parks, found them so boring. Plus I couldn't stand the crowds.
The Smell Of Their Favorite Meal Cooking On The Stove
"Most of our childhood is stored not in photos, but in certain biscuits, lights of day, smells, textures of carpet."
Playing Hop Scotch
"Childhood is practically the most beautiful part of a person’s life, the most innocent too."
Sports Days
“The happiness never leaves me whenever I am reminiscing about my childhood days. I treasure them.”
Playing On A Rope Swing In The Woods
“Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can excel academically. Childhood is a small window of time to play, build friendships, and have fun while learning along the way.”
We didn't even need a rope usually, the weeping willow vines were strong enough!
Buying A School Uniform
“Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.”
Playing In The Paddling Pool
“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”
School Packed Lunches
“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.”
They were so boring when I was in school, 99% white bread sandwiches. Now kids get sushi, rice paper rolls, fried rice, quiche etc.
First Time Getting Told Off By A Teacher
“Adults are just outdated children.”
Staying Up Late For New Year’s Parties
“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back on your childhood everything is different?”
Buying Penny Sweets From The Village Shop
“Children are not only innocent and curious but also optimistic and joyful and essentially happy. They are, in short, everything adults wish they could be.”
Now most milk bars have either disappeared or had to branch out into other things, but I used to love stopping by on my way home from school on the rare occasions I had pocket money to spend. The lollies weren't that flash but were good enough at the time. Even better was the 'ye olde' lolly shop we would stop at on our way to some holiday places. Now I've moved not too far away from it, I still get to enjoy stopping in for some rock candy or nougat.
Being In The School Play
"Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child's eye - it is very beautiful."
The first school 'play' (more of a concert) I was in, I played goldilocks. I was so excited, until I found out I had to wear a ice cream container covered in yellow paper curls. Not sure why my own blonde curly hair wasn't good enough.
Family Holidays Abroad
“There is no land like the land of your childhood.”
Bath Time
"Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath."
A Day Full Of Surprises
"When you are a child, there is joy. There is laughter. And most of all, there is trust. Trust in your fellows. When you are an adult... then comes suspicion, hatred, and fear."
Recording The Music Charts On A Sunday
“Will you turn back time and let me live my childhood once more? I was happier back then.”
School Dinners
“When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood.”
Fighting With Siblings
“The happiness never leaves me whenever I am reminiscing about my childhood days. I treasure them.”
Sliding On The Grass In School Uniform
“I love those random childhood memories that make me smile no matter what is going on in my life right now.”
I don't know about this, but I remember rolling down the hill in my school uniform. We had this set of small hills in the schoolyard which were perfect!
Paper Rounds
“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”
Sitting Cross-Legged In Assemblies
“Great childhoods are made of feelings of connection and positive experiences, not things.”
Singing Hymns
“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.”
