This is an issue of The Wonder Reader, a magazine in which our editors recommend a set of stories to pique your curiosity and delight you. Register here get it every saturday morning.
When children spend time together, they create their own traditions and customs, Julie Beck wrote in 2022—“basically, their own folklore, or, as researchers call it, ‘childhood.’” A child may think he is creating a game of tag or the concept of cooties, but these pastimes and languages are shared across time and place. As we get older, Julie says, we begin to forget the story of parenting: “The thrill of rebellion, the fierce friendship, the drive to pass on that knowledge (and pretend you came up with it yourself)—all of those things wear off over time.”
Children will make that feeling come alive for us, Julie writes. But today, take a few minutes to reflect on your favorite recess game, or the time you learned how to make a Cootie catcher—and take comfort in knowing that children now and in the future have just as much fun.
On Childhood Rituals
Why Did We All Have The Same Childhood?
By Julie Beck
Children have their own folklore, with games, poems, fashions and legends that span many children across time and space. (From 2022)
What Adults Lost When Children Stopped Playing in the Streets
By Stephanie H. Murray
In many ways, the world built for cars has made life more difficult for adults. (From 2024)
To play or not to play with your child?
By Amanda Ruggeri
It shouldn’t be too hard to decide. (From 2024)
Still Curious?
Other detours
PS
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that evokes their sense of wonder in the world. Courtney M. sent this photo of “frozen windblown snow in February on Second Roach Pond” in Maine.
I will continue to focus on your responses in the coming weeks.
— Isabel
