One of the great joys of having kids is introducing them to the world. Child, this is world, world - child. Is that how it goes? I wouldn’t know. But stories like the one I am bringing you today make us recall how magical life seemed back in the days when we were little.
A grandpa revealed his age-old secret to making the everyday a bit more magical for his children and now grandchildren in a TikTok video captured by his daughter. This will be one tale that the sea cannot take hold of!
Before we dive in (excuse the pun), make sure to leave your stories below as to how your parents or grandparents made your childhoods awesome and what you’ll be implementing yourself once you have kids of your own. Always remember to upvote and follow the writer to make their day better, you gorgeous panda!
More info: TikTok
A day at the beach may seem magical as is, but this grandpa takes it up a notch for his grandkids by using a trick he's had ever since his kids were little
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
A video posted on TikTok shows Mikki’s dad and her two kids, Anastasia (10) and Maxwell (5), walking along a seafront, dunking their toes in the cold, salty water. The children seem to be finding something hidden in the sand.
The little treasures are shells in varying shapes and sizes; however, they’re not necessarily gifts from the sea itself, but a very creative grandparent.
The kids were out seashell hunting on the seashore, but these shells weren't there by chance
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
His daughter, Mikki, witnessed something that made her connect the dots with her childhood
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
The captions in the video say that her dad would always take them seashell hunting when they were little and only at 32 years old did she find out his secret.
“He went to the souvenir shop to purchase a bag full of beautiful shells and planted them for us to find. And now he does the same for his grandkids,” read the caption.
The wholesome video captured the hearts of many, reaching 3M views and over 600k likes. It was recently shared on the MadeMeSmile subreddit, garnering over 178k upvotes, many sharing their own stories of things their parents did to make regular things appear magical, but we’ll get into those a bit later.
Grandpa bought the seashells at a local souvenir shop, hid them in his pocket and, whilst the kids weren't looking, he threw them into the shallow water
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
Then, as if nothing happened, he watched the kids rejoice in finding them, pointing to some which they might have missed
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
Mikki recalled her dad making their adventures fantastical and wondered how many more secrets were up his sleeve. She told Bored Panda that as dad was part of the Marines, "growing up was hard on us at times."
"He was deployed a lot but always tried to make special memories for us when he came back. He would say 'let’s go on an adventure!'"
She recalled a time when they lived in Southern California, "in the desert and never saw snow."
"One Christmas he made sleigh prints and deer tracks in the sand, used his combat boots to look like Santa had been there, and blended up some ice to put next to the marks to make it look like snow fell off the sleigh. It was so sweet and even though some may look at it as 'lying' it’s nice to look back and see the effort he made into making us happy."
Even though it's a small gesture, it will leave a fond memory for the kids to look back on forever
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
Mikki told Bored Panda that they "had not been able to visit my dad for a few years due to COVID. I’m a nurse practitioner and have been working through the pandemic." However, now they've been able to enjoy each other's company once more and the kids absolutely love the beach, especially after this trip.
She brought us closer into their lives and told us about her two children: "Anastasia is a natural artist and just won her school district art show for a sculpture she made! Maxwell is a little jokester and also enjoys coloring/painting. He tells me he loves me a thousand times a day and picks dandelion flowers for his sister and me."
Mikki was incredibly honest, saying " I’m a single mom and sometimes I wonder if I’m enough, then I realize how such simple easy things made life so magical."
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
So let’s dive a bit deeper into the magical realm of childhood and the importance of parents making it so.
What is magic? How does our understanding of it change over time? Well, to children under the age of 9, literally anything can seem magical, even understanding it as a plausible mechanism rather than make-belief.
When we start learning about how things work, magic turns into physics, chemistry, or trickery of the eye, yet even with that understanding, we can still feel a sense of wonder. A rainbow is still as magical whether we know that it’s the cause of sunlight reflecting in rain droplets or not.
Ashley Jones discussed the benefits of kids believing in magic, stating that experts have shown it to encourage creativity and feelings of empowerment. There are even some benefits of kids believing in magic that carry over into adulthood.
However, it’s not just making children believe in a mythical character like Santa or the Tooth Fairy. It can be much simpler, such as wishing on a star, throwing a penny in a wishing well, or finding glorious seashells on the seashore.
As the kids look to the sea for more gifts, Mikki and her dad can share a moment of joy and nostalgia
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
As discussed by Chase Scheinbaum, many parents try to build childhood memories through adventures with their children, however, it may seem that they have no recollection of it. Although your child may not be able to remember specific things that they’d seen, they retain a different, more mysterious kind of memory - one that lasts a lifetime.
Fort Worth Moms state that reading to your children, regular family traditions, such as dinners, movie nights, celebrations, and taking the time to imagine, play, and relax with your kids will build a lasting memory of a magical childhood.
According to Nora Newcombe, PhD, a psychology professor at Temple University and co-director of the Infant & Child Laboratory, children’s recall breaks into two categories: explicit memory (conscious and factual) and implicit memory (unconscious, emotional recollection). Both are forms of long-term memory that begin very early.
So that’s why many of us feel a sense of nostalgia when thinking about our childhoods; even if we don’t recall each nook and cranny, there is often a group of feelings associated with it.
We wish Mikki and her family all the best and hope to see them all again soon!
Image credits: hey.its.mikki
If all that your kids take from childhood adventures are the feelings of magic, safety, and positivity for the world around them, then that’s more than enough.
If Mikki could tell one thing to her dad, it'd be: "I see the effort you made. I see the little things you did without even taking credit. Thank you for the adventurous life, and I fully plan to pass it all onto my babies!"
We wish Mikki and her family all the best and hope to see more of their adventures soon!
You can watch the full video here
Leave us your thoughts on the story in the comments, as well as, again, leaving your own stories and good memories from your childhoods.
I wish you all the best, dearest readers. But for now, au revoir!
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