Snapped! Changing face of childhood
THE recent letters about disciplining children have made me think about our changing attitudes. On my wall I have class photographs of infants at Trowbridge schools dated about 1903, featuring my grandparents. Though beautifully turned out — the boys’ hair smoothed down, the girls wearing bows — not one of those children is smiling, and the male teachers look stern. Next to those photos are pictures of my two grandchildren, Lexie, aged eight, at her First Holy Communion, and Noah, four, in his nursery photo — and they are both smiling happily. Looking at the 1903 photos, you feel life is about surviving and you think of the horrors of World War I to come, which some of those young boys might not have survived. My grandfather, Clarence, was in the trenches and had a ‘whiff of gas’, as the family called it, which damaged his lungs. Looking at the modern photos, I see joy as these young children know they are surrounded by people who love them. But I question whether indulging every whim of today’s children is the right way to prepare them for adulthood. Loving family history, I often talk about my old photos to Lexie so she can see who her ancestors are and understand they were real people, too. ISABEL WOODWARD, Trowbridge, Wilts.