Oh my parents so different from most commenting so far. As a result i was different with my parents, siblings, kids, close friends, and now my grandson. I don't overshare, but there's usually some relevance or point to what i do share with others.
Mama told us family stories, mostly her family but what she knew of Dad's and how she met him. She had a box of photos under their bed. I would take it out, look thru it, ask her about the people in them. Until i was six and ran to her in tears because one of my sisters told me ' You're not our real sister' whenever i asked Mom about old photos of my sisters, especially the one on a huge staircase with lots of other girls, she'd say "Before you were born, I'll tell you when you are older."
I should have had a clue, their mother and half sister by her would visit us, but i only sometimes wondered who they were. I was so hysterical at the idea my parents weren't really my parents, she had to tell me. I think that was part of why if my kids asked a question, i generally answered it. Age appropriately, of course, but i answered.
Dad talked to me/us a lot-- but not about real personal stuff. He laid out house rules, and consequences for breaking them. He taught us to swim, fish, do acrobatics, use tools. He explained basic science, physics principles (like leverage, momentum), history. He would tell us why he did things the way he did, in the process teaching us to think things thru before acting whenever possible.
