Ah, childhood. The one place we all experience but can never go back to once it ends. Never again in our lives will we have a period where nothing really matters except having fun and exploring the world. Without the stresses and problems of adulthood, everyone can truly enjoy themselves in a carefree manner—and that’s probably why so many of us think of our childhoods as “the good old days.” Although we can never physically go back to the times that we grew up in, at least we can ensure that the good times will always live on in our memories.
1. Wishing That Song Was Here
As a kid, I used to wake up some days to my dad playing “Wish You Were Here” on the guitar downstairs before making breakfast. Any time that this happened, I knew it was gonna be a good day. It's been a long time since I've heard him play that song though. I would do anything to wake up to it one more time.
2. Something to Always Remember Her By
My most cherished childhood memory is of my mom pulling me around in the snow on a sled when I was just four years old. Unfortunately, she passed away a few months later and life has basically been all downhill from there. I will always remember that day.
3. What Summer Is All About
There was one day in the summer of 2003 when me and all of the neighborhood kids just hung around outside for the entire day. We flew kites, played sports, got ice cream from a truck, etc. We just spent the whole day outside, doing fun stuff. We didn’t have a care in the world. I remember going to bed that evening thinking that it was a perfect day.
I still look back on it sometimes, with nothing but joy in my heart.
4. Speaking Truth to Power
My greatest childhood memory was watching my step-dad confront the principal of my school back in fourth grade, when I had been struggling and he had been falsely accusing me of all kinds of ridiculous things. My step-dad called the principal out right in front of me, even calling him a “jerk who doesn’t do his job properly” and telling him to get his head checked.
He completely broke through the level of authority and respect that the principal had been using as a weapon against me. So why was this my favorite childhood memory exactly? Because it was the first time in my life that I had ever had a father figure who actually cared enough about me to stand up to someone on my behalf. I’ve never forgotten it.
5. Getting Carried Away
When I was about three or four years old, I remember once being driven home from someplace and falling asleep in the back seat of my parents’ car. I then remember waking up to my father lifting me up and carrying me to bed. Half awake and floating in his arms left me with a dreamy, safe feeling that has stuck with me all these years as one of my favorite childhood memories.
6. The Wheel On the Bus Go Round and Round
Without question, my greatest childhood memory is the time when eighth-grader Amanda, who happened to have been my first hard crush, told fifth grade me that I was cute one afternoon on the school bus ride home. I don’t know if I’ve ever been quite that happy again in the entire rest of my life.
7. In the Still of the Night
My favorite childhood memory took place when I was maybe around five or six years old. It all started when I woke up in the middle of the night because I needed to go and use the restroom. It was that perfect time of night where everything just seems so quiet and dark, and it all just feels so perfectly still. Like time doesn't exist.
When I walked through the living room on my way, I saw my grandfather sitting in his chair at the table, drinking some whiskey and eating some buttered saltine crackers. He invited me to sit down with him and have a snack, which felt amazing to me since individual time with him was extremely rare in our busy household.
The room was lit only by the warm glow of the nightlight from the kitchen. I don't remember if we actually talked, except for the point when he told me that I'd better be back off to bed. Either way, I distinctly remember the way I felt while sitting with him. I remember his strong presence. I remember how big his silhouette looked as he sat across from me.
I remember how calm and soothing it was just to be there at that time of night. It's that kind of memory that just wraps itself around you and envelopes you in warmth every time you think of it. It's one of those moments where everything in the world just falls away and nothing else exists. All there is in your world is just darkness, quiet, and some buttered crackers.
My grandfather died of cancer not too long after that, and that's one of the only memories I still have of him.
8. All the World’s a Stage
My step-father was a set designer for a local theater. My favorite childhood memory is the day I came home to find that he had installed a jungle design in my room, using some of his stage sets after the play was over.
9. If Tomorrow Never Comes
My favorite childhood memory is the feeling of not having to ever think or worry about tomorrow. I miss the days when we just woke up, hung out with friends, spent the whole day playing stupid games, laughing, fighting, and discovering the world around us. Nowadays, if I ever have even half a day to myself, I just think about how I can use it to do something work-related so that I can take it easier on the working days.
10. It’s Not Where You’re Going, It’s How You Get There
My favorite childhood memory is our family vacation to Colorado for a ski trip. My grandma and grandpa piled all of the grandkids—including me and all seven of my cousins—in the back of their van. To make fitting us all possible, they removed the bench seats and replaced them all with a couple of air mattresses.
They hooked up a TV and a VHS player in the car and we all watched the original Scream movie while eating road trip snacks and annoying the life out of our grandparents as they drove along the highway. We stopped the car and piled out the moment we got to where there was some snow, and we all had a giant family snowball fight.
We constantly took pictures for the entire ride on our disposable cameras. I think that at one point if I remember correctly, my older cousins even got up and mooned a couple of unsuspecting strangers who were passing by—just to make us all laugh. 18 hours there and 18 hours back, and the ride was just as good as the actual vacation. I’ll always remember it fondly.
11. A Day on the Town
My favorite childhood memory is one day when I got to have lunch and get ice cream with my Mum and Dad when I was nine years old and I was in London on a school trip. My school had organized the trip, and had given me special permission to go and see my Dad instead of going to the science museum with the rest of my class.
We rejoined them later to go see the play Cats. Dad had always worked in London, away from home. Back then, this meant that we didn't get to see him very often, maybe only a couple of times a month if we were lucky. On the day of the trip, we all got lunch in a place near Portobello Road and then we went to get some ice cream.
My Dad got a particularly huge one. As far as I recall, it was something like seven scoops—but then again, everything seems massive when you're a kid, so it may have been slightly less. While he was eating it, it accidentally slipped over and the whole thing fell out onto his tie. We laughed our heads off, talked about music, and they told me all about their lives in London before getting married and having kids.
We walked down the street holding hands, with me in the middle. I know that by objective standards, it's such a non-event kind of memory. Nevertheless, I'm the youngest of three kids and this was the first—and possibly also the last—time that I ever spent alone with my parents, just us three, like I was their only child.
It made me feel special in a way that nothing else ever has. I cherish this memory so much.
12. Drumming Up a Storm
My favorite childhood memory is when I first figured out how to play the drums. It was such a stereotypical "movie moment." I used to always play around on an electric kit—not very well—but as soon as I sat behind an actual kit for the first time, something just clicked in my brain and my hands could suddenly move as they had never done before.
If that moment hadn't taken place, I don't think I would be where I am today.
13. Little House on the Prairie
When I was a kid, my parents’ house had a huge prairie field beyond its backyard. There was a lot of wildlife, a giant pond, and a bunch of tiny forests scattered throughout a giant plain. As an introverted child, I remember going on so many adventures there for hours on end until the sun went down. One particular moment that sticks with me was a time when I was sitting on my fence, looking out over the fields and watching the sunset with my dog after a long day of playing in the forest.
It's not a particularly eventful moment, but I remember thinking that the moment was absolutely perfect. As a kid that grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes, I feel so fortunate that I got to grow up in the area where I did. It felt at times like I was really living the life of my favorite comic. Let's go exploring!
14. The Calm Before the Storm
This is kind of sad, but my favorite childhood memory is that shortly before my brother died by suicide, he and I spent a whole day playing with Lego and building cool things. It really impacted me positively. I was only about nine years old at the time, so having that day to look back upon when things got rough really made a big difference in my life.
15. Nothing Like the Dog Days
Back when I was 10 years old, my parents made me help with clearing out the weeds that had taken over our backyard. It was clearly going to take a while because of how crazy it was, but I was taking even longer to help because I was so distracted by the cute puppy that our next-door neighbor had. Shortly after that day, I found out that my neighbor’s parents were going to be taking the puppy back to the shelter because their son hadn’t been taking good care of him as he had promised to.
They offered to sell him to me for $20 and I had that saved up, so I went back and forth begging my parents for permission to buy him. After a few weeks of relentless pestering, they finally caved in and the puppy became our family pet. I named him Snoopy and I have never been as happy as I was the day we got him. I was also an only child, so I looked so much forward to finally having a companion to play with and go on adventures with.
It's definitely my favorite memory because that dog meant so much to me in the almost 17 years that he was a part of my life for.
16. Finding the Right One
My favorite childhood memory was witnessing the first time that my mum was properly happy with her new partner. She had gone through a very painful divorce after my dad had cheated on her twice and taken some of her most precious belongings away. She had barely been able to get custody of me. After that, she dated a very sweet and kind man who tragically passed away in a car accident shortly after they had started dating.
Sadly, she then ended up with a very abusive boyfriend for a little while. Finally, after many years, she found the man of her dreams and was clearly the happiest she had ever been. They are still together to this day and, because of him, I have had the privilege of enjoying a real childhood and a proper family.
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17. A Bird’s Eye View
There are many examples that I could give of my favorite childhood memories, but just last night my husband said something that helped unlock this one in my mind. My dad was always—and still is—an absolutely avid bird watcher. He would regularly teach me little things about birds such as how to identify them by sight and call.
We had a little ritual every night after dinner where we would walk outside in the darkness, all the way to the barn and back, hooting like owls to try and get the owls in the area to hoot back at us. Sometimes it worked. Most of the time it didn’t. But every time, regardless of the result, I got to spend precious moments with my dad that still make me so happy to think about to this day.
18. A Day in the Life
I remember exactly what my favorite childhood memory always was. I was in seventh grade at the time. My childhood crush kissed me for the first time—and last. We then went out and spent the entire day together, roaming around our neighborhood and holding hands while watching the sunset. We recently met up again for the first time in almost 19 years.
We've grown up differently now, but the memory of that day is still one of the happiest ones that I have.
19. A Spectator Sport
My favorite childhood memory is me and my brother sitting inside on a cool summer day with the windows open and the smell of freshly cut grass in our noses. Our parents would usually be outside doing yard work in our rather large yard. My older brother would play Mario Kart and all sorts of Lego games on the Wii, and I would just watch because, first of all, he rarely let me play and, second of all, I was terrible at all of the games.
As you can probably guess, sitting around and just watching someone else play games isn’t the most exciting thing in the world to be doing. But over time, it grew on me. I came to enjoy not playing. I sat there watching and he sat there playing for hours on end. We would eat popsicles like nobody’s business, and tall glasses of lemonade would go down like rocks.
We loved it but, as time went on, we sold the house, we lost interest in the Wii, and our parents got divorced. I now look back on something as simple as watching my brother play a video game and really miss those days.
20. The Plane Truth About That Movie
My favorite childhood memory is the time when my dad took me to see the movie Snakes on a Plane as a kid. I'll never forget that crazy scene where a snake bites the lady in a less than PG fashion. Seeing that as a kid was definitely an experience! Thanks, dad!
21. We All Scream for Ice Cream
I have so many awesome childhood memories to choose from when picking a favorite, but for my number one choice I’m going to have to go with the time when my mother got my brother and myself out of school early to go to Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone. It was just a sweet, simple gesture that led to a really nice and fun time.
Doesn’t get much better than that in this world!
22. Fun Can Come in Unexpected Ways
What’s my favorite childhood memory, you ask? Well, weirdly enough, it starts off with my mother doing what she was best at. My dad arrived home from work on a very snowy night, and she immediately picked a fight with him about something or other before he had even gotten in the front door. I rushed to the door when I heard his car as I always did but, to my horror, I saw her hit him in the face on the front doorstep.
I then saw him simply turn around and get back in the car to drive off—but not before calling me and my brother over to get in with him because, obviously, he knew that leaving us with her at a time like that would result in another black eye for one of us—which probably meant me, as it was basically always me. We drove a couple of miles off in his company car, an MK2 escort, which was possibly the dullest vehicle that ever existed.
We were slipping and sliding all over the roads because, in those days, when it snowed, it SNOWED! We ended up stuck in the woods where we went all the time with him, two or three times a week if we were lucky, and in the darkness. He opened that escort up and started to do what he called “rally driving” in the car park, skidding all over the place, handbrake turns, the works.
My brother and I were holding on for dear life. We had no seatbelts because, in those days, people in our family often thought that seatbelts were “for wimps.” The empty woods were ringing out with the sound of that poor little car’s engine struggling to do what he was making it do, and us kids were just sitting back there and squealing with delight.
He continued to do this for an hour or so, then he drove us back home via a Chinese takeaway restaurant where we got a nice order of chips with curry sauce. We ate our food on an abandoned railway bridge that overlooked our house. Eventually, we started to get tired. At that point, he let out a heavy sigh and told us it was time to go back home.
I don’t know how late it was exactly, but it was already dark out. By the time we got back to our house, my brother and I had both fallen asleep in the back of the car, so he quietly put us to bed and went to face my mother without us being able to see it. I asked him about all this a couple of years ago and he told me that he had just needed to blow off some steam that night and that he took us with him so that we would be all tired out when we got back home.
That way, we wouldn’t have to see what my mother was going to do to him in her fit of rage. Unfortunately, we still saw the after-effects of it the next day—i.e. broken dishes and a split lip on my dad’s face. He wanted to retain some shred of self-respect, at least in the eyes of his kids, and he didn’t want an incident like this to be one of the things that we would remember about our mother.
And, as weird as it sounds, that makes the memory all the happier for me. I had such brilliant times with my dad as a kid, and he did all of those great things so that we wouldn’t think badly of him or our mum. He really went above and beyond to keep everyone happy, even in the hardest of times. I love that guy.
23. Laying the Foundations of a Positive Attitude
My favorite childhood memory is probably just when I was still in that general phase where I was totally oblivious to the world's or even to my family’s problems. We used to be on food stamps and my parents would get us these TV dinners from a neighbor. Did I know anything was wrong? Not at all! In fact, I loooved those TV dinners and thought they were just about the best thing ever.
My mom never once made us feel like we were missing out on anything in the world, and it helped me eventually become very grateful for everything that I now have in life.
24. Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Growing up, I never realized how poor we were. My parents were amazing at keeping us happy and providing us with all of our essential needs. We always loved watching baseball games and I wanted to go to a game so badly. Unfortunately, we never could afford it. To make up for it, while we were at school one day, my mom made up make-believe “tickets” to that night's game and make-believe money for us to "spend."
When we got home, she had set up chairs in front of the TV and numbered them as if we were at the stadium. She gave us the tickets and money and told us to go clean up before the game. Come game time, we all lined up at the doorway. My dad took our tickets and told us how to get to our seats. After the game started, my parents went to the kitchen and prepared a tray of hot dogs, candy, and soda.
"Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs!" they called out. We got out the money my mom had made and “bought” whatever snacks we wanted. Best baseball game I've ever been to.
25. The Whole Routine
My best childhood memory is of the time when my best friend and I went to a 7/11, got slushies, and played Spider-Man on his PlayStation while eating beef jerky for the entire afternoon. It’s always the simple things in life that you appreciate the most when looking back!
26. Being Thankful for Good Memories
It was the Thanksgiving holiday of the year when I was in fourth grade. I was playing Minecraft online with my friend, which was already nice—but then I noticed that it was snowing outside. In South Carolina where we lived, snow pretty much never came that early. So, I got up from the computer with the phone and went outside. I told my friend about it and he also went outside at his own house.
We both just stood there in the snow, enjoying the scene. There's nothing that particularly stands out about that experience, other than just a general atmosphere of niceness. I don't quite know why it has stuck with me for so long, but I like it a lot regardless of the reason.
27. Hooked on a Feeling
My favorite childhood memory is just the overall feeling of being a child. Everything seemed like magic. Every adult was so kind. My parents were still young and healthy. I’d see members of my family so often. Each day seemed to last forever. Everything was free and it was enough to make one happy. It’s nothing like adulthood. I think I need a hug…
28. Time for a New Nanny?
When I was a kid, we once went to a goat farm and I bought some corn with my parents to feed them. The goats were so gentle and friendly. Even though they were excited, they didn't bite and only licked it off my hand. It tickled and was very sticky but they were soooo cute! It was always a good memory because it's one of the only ones for me that feels so misplaced—I honestly don't remember when, where, or why this occurred—but it for sure was a surprise that my parents took me there, and I have never forgotten how much fun I had that day.
29. Starry, Starry Night
Being a farm kid, my favorite childhood memory is sitting behind my older sister on a horse, ambling around our yard in the dark, and looking up at the stars late at night while my sister sang songs with the softest and most beautiful voice I have ever heard. One night, I fell asleep leaning on her back as she sang to me. It doesn’t get more peaceful than that, folks.
Epilogue: The next day at school, I tried to eat a stick of chalk to make my voice softer and sound like my sister's. It was a terrible failure—but it just goes to show you how much I really enjoyed that evening.
30. You Really Dodged a Bullet There!
I don't know if this is officially my best childhood story, but it’s definitely one of my favorites. Back when I was in the fourth grade, I had just moved to a new town and it took me until the fifth grade began to really start making any friends. So, that year, I got invited to my first birthday party for a new friend and I wanted to be sure and get him a good gift.
I had seen he had a Dodge Viper poster on his wall, so I got him a pretty cool miniature version of one. It was blue with a white racing stripe on the side, just like the one in his poster. My mom paid for half of it and I paid for the other half out of my savings and allowance. After we did the cake and stuff, I realized that my friend's mom and brother had gotten him gifts, but that none of the other friends had gotten him anything.
I was really embarrassed. I thought I had done something stupid like all 10-year-olds feel when they're not following the crowd. So, of course, I was feeling very sheepish when he got to open my gift. Thankfully, he really loved it when he saw what it was and I was so glad that I had gotten it for him. In the end, it was everyone else who began to feel sheepish for not bringing him anything.
I ended up bumping into that guy one time many years later as an adult, and he actually brought up to me how much he had appreciated getting that Viper gift as a child. How cool is that?
31. There’s No Kitchen Like Granny’s Kitchen
My favorite childhood memory is baking with my granny. I have never forgotten just how amazing it felt to be creating something with someone who loved me so completely. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was only 13 years old and I still miss her every day. And to this day, every time I bake I feel really close to her.
32. The Last Waltz
My favorite childhood memory is falling asleep in my dad's arms while he was dancing with my mom in the living room one night. They separated a few months later and my childhood quickly turned into an endless stream of neglect and psychological abuse. I still treasure that memory. It was one of the few times that I ever felt completely secure at any point during my childhood.
33. A Halloween to Always Remember
One year on Halloween, when I was in second grade, it was pouring rain outside and so no one was planning to go trick or treating. I was really upset about this because I had always really looked forward to Halloween every year. So, my father took my siblings and me to the nearest gas station. There, he proceeded to buy us whatever candies and chocolate bars we picked out to fill our entire buckets with.
My brother and I loaded up on full-size candy bars that night. Shortly after that year, my father ended up tragically dying by suicide as a result of severe depression that he struggled with due to his alcoholism. I still try my best to always let the happy memories overshadow the horrific tragedy.
34. A Major Breakthrough
My favorite childhood memory is picking up a book and reading it, only to realize for the first time that I was actually understanding what the words meant without having to ask anybody else. Okay, to be fair, it's made a little less cool by the fact that I do remember the specific book in question—and it was Winnie the Pooh. But for cryin’ out loud, I was only 5 years old at the time!
Yeah. Just like that, it clicked in my head: "I know what this means." It felt awesome.
35. Saturday Night at the Movies
My favorite childhood memory is the day when Star Wars: Episode III came out on DVD for the first time. I can remember me and my brother waiting all day by the door for it to be posted and, when it finally came, we were jumping around the room like wild animals. I don’t remember ever being that excited at any other time.
We couldn't wait for our dad to come home from work to set up the portable DVD player and connect it to our TV so that me and my brothers could lie down on the floor around this tiny little screen and watch it together. Best memory ever.
36. A Hard Day’s Night
My favorite childhood memory is helping my dad fix things around the house. I always loved tools and fixing things, and it was so satisfying whenever we got a job done. Then, after a long day at work, my mom would usually read us The Hobbit—one chapter each night, and we were always so excited for the next chapter. I re-read it as an adult, but it's not the same when you read it in a day compared to having it span the course of several weeks.
Experiencing it that way always made it feel like a much longer and more immersive adventure.
37. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
My favorite childhood memory is that feeling of excitement and joy that you would always get right before you turn the corner on Christmas morning to see what Santa Claus has brought you this year. That experience is something only a child can feel—and that an adult never forgets.
38. Turning Lemons Into Lemonade
Road trips were always the best. My favorite was a trip we all took down to Florida. We had three tires blow out during the drive, but it ended up being such a fun night because of the frequent stops. My three siblings and I caught fireflies on the side of the road and just joked around with each other for hours on end.
Who would have thought that three blown tires could result in one of my favorite childhood memories?
39. The Gang’s All Here
My favorite childhood memory is of my family’s Fourth of July celebration from back in 2007. I was only 12 years old at the time. My grandparents had always hosted an annual barbeque at their house with all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins in attendance. All of my cousins, my siblings, and I would play Capture the Flag together every year.
It was always so much fun, and it was something that I looked forward to for months in advance. There was always good food, cold pop, popsicles, and some epic games of Capture the Flag. Just an all-around good time for everyone there. The barbecue of 2007 was the last year that my cousins and I ever played Capture the Flag.
One of my cousins got into a snowmobile accident the following winter and passed away. He was only 15 years old. From then on, we still had the barbeque every year, but us kids never felt like playing Capture the Flag again. I’ll always fondly remember that last time we all had together before it all went wrong.
40. It’s All in the Game
One afternoon when I was seven years old, my dad was yelling at me from downstairs. I got very nervous that I was about to be getting in trouble for something or other. He stomped up the stairs, opened my door with rage, and stared me down. He then smiled, pulled two hockey tickets for that night’s game out of his pocket, and said: "Get ready, we’re going to the hockey game!"
This was only a year before he passed away from cancer. I will never forget that hockey game for as long as I live.
41. A Hero’s Welcome
So the story of my favorite childhood memory that I want to tell is about me being an “Army Brat”—as in the child of an active military soldier. To sum it all up, it was my birthday one year and my dad was my birthday present. I was around eight years old at the time. Allow me to explain. My dad was overseas in the Middle East, where he was deployed for a total of 26 and a half months.
When he first left, I had only been six years old at the time and, when he finally came back home for good, I was already 10 years old. He always came home on leave each year for a week or two around Christmas time. So, one year, my dad somehow got the chance to come home for my birthday for the first time. We all went to the airport to pick him up.
I was so excited to get to see him that I was running around in the airport calling out his name and looking around for any sign of him. So, when I eventually saw someone who was in an army uniform, I naturally thought it was my dad and I start running up to him as fast as I could. I began to wrap myself around one of his legs, sat down on his foot, and started squeezing the life out of his leg.
Meanwhile, my little brother was simultaneously doing the same thing to his other leg as well. After a few seconds of this, my mom managed to pry us off of him. I looked up and, what do you know? It wasn’t my dad after all, just another soldier. After countless times apologizing to the guy, we left and found our dad for real a couple of minutes later...and did the same exact thing when we saw him.
Mom says that we actually made the other soldier cry a little bit, just because of our enthusiasm to see our dad. We were so excited that we didn’t even look to see if it was really him, we just saw a glimpse of a uniform and immediately bolted towards him. That year was my greatest birthday ever.
42. Age Is Just a Number
When I was a little kid, my great-grandma Emma was having a party and it was an "old people" party with all of her friends. So, to keep ourselves entertained, all that me and my cousins did the whole time was run around, hide under tables, play tag with each other, etc. Eventually, my great-grandma got annoyed at how much noise we were making, so she told us all to go play outside instead.
Not knowing what to do, we all went outside and just sat down at the top of the hill, talking to each other. Then, out of nowhere, my great-grandma—who was in her eighties at the time—comes storming outside, sees us sitting there doing nothing, and declares "That's not how you play! This is how you play!" She proceeded to fully barrel roll down the hill, in front of all of her friends at the party. We were all in shock—no one had ever seen anything that epic before! I really miss that lady!
