I am so glad you guys are back! I guess it was kind of busy these last few weeks with two kids (and murder scenes, if I read that correctly). But anyway, Sherlock, John, why don't you tell us a bit about your childhoods? Does the way you were raised influence the way you raise Amelia and Hamish?
We’re happy to be back! -HWH
Well I had a rather happy childhood, something John was a little surprised by due to my history of drugs and the relationship I had with my brother at the beginning of mine and his relationship.
But overall my childhood was a happy one, though some of my parents’ decisions (like trying to socialise Mycroft and I with other children!) I do find to be a little silly. Did they not see that we were not the sort of children parents wanted their children to be friends with? -SH
My childhood was…. it was alright. My parents were not as well off as Sherlock’s so both my parents worked a lot so Harry and I were often left home alone (not when we were very young, but since I was about seven and she was ten). Harry and I have never gotten along because she had a lot for responsibility to look after me when she was too young to do so and therefore she resents me. She got into alcohol at the age of fifteen so my teenagehood was filled with her being the centre of attention because she needed to be as my parents needed to focus on trying to get her better.
My parents tried their best in hard circumstances, but I don’t agree with a number of parenting decisions they made. -JW
My childhood has had an influence on the way I raise Hamish and Amelia. I find that many of the tricks my parents used, I am using. For example bribery for good behaviour. It may seem silly to some, but seriously, when you are about to go on a tube at eight o’clock in the morning (rush hour) with a four year old boy, you need to bring vital equipment to a smooth journey. You need to bring a toy that is not so small as to be dropped and lost easily, not so big that it upsets other passengers, not so loud so that it disturbs anyone else, but also something your child is interested in. And as a last resort: sweets.
I usually do not care what strangers think. Especially when it comes to my children. If my children are loud on a bus or train or tube then people should know that children are like that. But once John and I were on a bus and Hamish was 2 and bored and wailing his head off because he wanted to go home. It was only the afternoon but there was a drunk man on the bus and he took a swing for me and shouted at me to control my child. Thank God John was there, in seconds he’d caught the man’s fist and had him on the floor with his arms behind his back.
I just didn’t want something like that to happen, so I try my best to keep Hamish and Amelia occupied on public transport. -SH
My childhood has also influenced my parenting methods. I feel like I am more patient than my parents because I’ve always wanted not to be them, so from quite an early age I’ve had a lot of patience. And I am also very stern about not leaving them alone in a house. We always find a babysitter or ask Mrs Hudson to help out if Sherlock and I need to go out. I just couldn’t bear the thought of them being lonely. -JW