Hi, Long time reader first time poster 😂
My eldest is 10 and is starting to become inquisitive about life, what my childhood was like, family dynamics, etc. I was wondering how much do you share with them?
From my side I had a very difficult upbringing; grew up on the poverty line, Alcoholic mother, Pain killer addicted father, this led to an emotionally and verbally abusive upbringing (Also occasionally violent for good measure), I also took a lot of this to protect my younger sister from it (age gap of 6 years, she never saw the worst of it as when she was becoming more aware was the point where they were starting to get help). Coupled with being bullied in school due to it.
I moved out at the earliest point I could and I have drawn a line underneath it, the past is the past and have not let it define me. I am happily married with 2 kids who I have been there for at every step. I have even started to reconcile with my parents as they have started to overcome their addictions over the last decade or so as I have realised that a lot of their behaviour was down to that, not who they are. Not a normal relationship, not that it ever will be, but it's at least civil now.
So the questions from my son about, what was your childhood like, why do we not see grandparents as often as my cousin's do, etc all harmless questions. But how much of the un filtered truth do I give?