My mother made me wear a babushka. (Not unlike the vintage dress in the above photo that I would prefer the tiny person wore every day:))

She thought it looked so crazy cute on a preschooler that I ended up with a whole wardrobe of ethnic head scarfs.

My grandmother loved it so much I acquired my first babushka doll about 10 seconds after she first saw me in it and ended up forgoing Barbies in my life for an entire collection of little dolls in traditional Polish wear.

My dad, more into getting me to dig Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Earth Wind and Fire and Billie Holiday, wondered when the next plate of perogis was coming out.

I was so stinking embarrassed – the kids down the block had nothing kind to say about my Polish heritage. I thought the only thing worse would be to find myself dancing to Bobby Vinton singing “moja droga jacie kocham,” which of course was the case as soon as my mother could dig up the album.

My parents L-O-V-E-D their wayback machine and, strangely, to this day I have to admit that I love their version of the time transporter too.

So, when the crew over at Parent Bloggers jumped in to talk about how they torture their kiddos with all of the things they loved from childhood, I knew I had to join in.

I am a professional retro mama.

If I loved it, our daughter definitely has checked it out – with lengthy plans for future love/hate good times.

I lived in my daydreams as a kid, whether it be the hordes of books I tore through or the beloved musicals I was allowed to watch the one time of year they came on TV.

So, now that our daughter is at the age where books have become launching points for lengthy stories, songs and other fun, I’ve pulled out all of the classics that consumed my every waking hour far too long ago.

Still searching for Goldbug among the pages, I started her off with my ancient collection of Richard Scarry books (Yep, I still have all of them). We quickly started down the road to Cars and Trucks and Things That Go – my all-time Scarry fave – and goldbug met his new pal.

Scarry lives right up there in the legendary childhood reads universe, right next to Highlights Magazine and Ezra Jack Keats The Snowy Day – incidentally given to me by my mother because Keats is Polish and beloved by me for so many other reasons.

Much to my happy surprise, the tiny person is neither embarrassed or shy about diving into my vintage books. Wait until I bust out the roller skates and Kool and The Gang for her when she’s 7.

My other big hand-me-down is most definitely the sachrin collection of 1960s musicals that, as a kid, I LIVED for because, unlike today when you can pop them in the DVD on a moment’s notice, I had to wait until the TV gods saw fit to interrupt prime time programming to show them.

If there is TV time that I cannot say no to, it’s a round of The Sound of Music. While I know some of you are groaning at the mere thought of Julie Andrews singing one more round of “Doe A Deer,” this movie has become one of the major connective forces in our house.

Our daughter first met the Von Trapp family late last year and that crew is all about us being kids together.

We rarely watch the whole movie – choosing more often to watch it by song or section.

And, together we sing songs, make up ones that we think would fit, plot puppet shows and throw fancy dance parties.

It inspires us to be silly and hum at the dinner table, connecting through something that creates a great, warm vibe that you can’t buy at Walmart.

Yeah, one day she might run from the DVD player screaming when I bust out the classics.

But, for now, childhood loves have bridged the generation gap.

Today’s comment challege: What are your childhood loves and how do you share them with your kiddos. Free Boynton books still up for grabs.