ABSTRACT

Adults working with young children have always helped them to explore the past and the passing of time, although they may not call this history. We talk to children about changes in their own lives and in the lives of their families, why things change and their implications – moving house, a new baby. We help them to tell us about events in their lives, to sequence and explain them. We talk about ways in which the past was different – when you were a baby, when granny was little. We help children to measure the passing of time: birthdays, seasons, months, weeks, days. The language of time is integral to such talk: before, after; then, now; yesterday, tomorrow, next week. Witherington and Neate (2003) show how children’s own stories can extend to finding out more about grandparents and great-grandparents.