Children are born into history. They have no memory of it, yet they find themselves in the middle of a story that began before they became one of its characters. Children also want to have a
\nplace in history\u2014their first historical questions are: \u201cWhere did I come from?\u201d and \u201cWas I always here?\u201d These two questions contain the two main meanings of history: It\u2019s the story of people and events, and it\u2019s the record of times past. And because it\u2019s to us that they address these questions, we are in the best position to help prepare our children to achieve the lifelong task of finding their place in history by helping them learn what shaped the world into which they were born. Without information about their
\nhistory, children don\u2019t \u201cget\u201d a lot of what they hear and see round them.<\/p>\n
Although parents can be a positive force in helping their children develop an interest in history, they also can undermine their children\u2019s attitudes by saying things such as: \u201cHistory is boring,\u201d or \u201cI hated history class when I was in school.\u201d Although you can\u2019t make your child like history, you can encourage her 1 to do so, and you can take steps to ensure that she learns to appreciate its value.<\/p>\n
To begin, you can develop some of the following \u201chistory habits\u201d that show your child that history is important not only as a school subject but in everyday life.<\/p>\n
Habits are activities that we do on a regular basis. We<\/span> acquire<\/span> habits by <\/span>choosing to make them a part of our life. It\u2019s worth the time and effort to <\/span>develop good habits because they enhance our well-being. The following <\/span>history habits can enrich your life experiences and those of your child.<\/span><\/p>\n\n