Henry Winkler is known for his successful acting career, but what many people don’t know is the difficult childhood he had to endure.
The memory of Henry Winkler’s grandparents has been lost. Winkler learned about their sad deportation to concentration camps only through rumors.
In addition, the actor grew up listening to his classmates at school talk about how their parents took them on trips and how much fun they had. It seemed incomprehensible to him and he was unable to relate to such an incident.
If there was one thing Winkler loved about his parents, it was that they left Nazi Germany in 1939 to start over in America. Thanks to their escape, he can live the life he does today.
Although he sees this as a positive, he cannot deny the suffering he went through as a child.
He claimed that he was never heard as a child and that his parents were emotionally toxic.
The actor revealed that he had only seen his mother laugh twice in his life, decades apart, when his son Max urged him to remember her.
Winkler vowed that after all he had been through as a child, he would be a better father than his parents had been to him. He showed his children that he was willing to listen, even if they never paid attention to what he had to say.
Winkler took every opportunity to impart life lessons to his children and even their friends. He recalled how his children’s friends stopped by and said they were having problems. Winkler spent time with his children and asked them to talk to him about their concerns, even though they would have preferred him to just say hello and leave.
He would try to instill in his children the value of listening. He noticed that the “listening” aspect of the connection between adults and children is usually missing because people think that children are too young to understand what they are going through. However, he believes that this is not the case at all.
Winkler tried his best to provide the best possible environment for his children. He removed them from the limelight and ensured that their family life was “regular and stable”. Moreover, he was careful not to bring up his parents’ shortcomings with him, especially their strict and “sometimes ugly” behavior.
The actor recalls how, as a young man, he dreamed of a different father than the one he had. Despite being given hands and even a hairbrush as a child, he eventually kept his promise and never touched his child.
As Winkler ate breakfast, he put his ear to the bowl to hear the “crack, crack, crack” of the cereal he was eating. This action left him with scars. In an interview, he described his mother blowing and chasing him around the table.
Henry Winkler, despite having a successful career, moved from California to New York to care for his sick mother, who was strict with him when he was a child. Although Henry’s mother scolded and scolded him, he worked around his schedule to take care of her when she needed it.
The actor admitted he “felt terrible” when he couldn’t be there for her despite it. Even though there were times when he had no choice, Winkler didn’t think it was right to help someone from a distance.
He remembered witnessing her lose the will to live under such circumstances. She saw his mother’s illness differently than he and his sister did, even though they wished for her recovery.
When Winkler’s mother died in 1998, he wanted to get involved in stroke awareness campaigns, particularly those dealing with upper limb spasticity, as his mother had a terrible case.
He thought it was worth highlighting Botox as an approved treatment because 7% of people with upper limb spasticity suffer from it and nearly a million people suffer a stroke each year.
Winkler has often expressed his admiration for caregivers, describing them as having a fantastic, noble job that involves many sacrifices and sleepless nights. As for advice for caregivers in difficult situations, she encourages them to embrace their painful feelings.
According to Winkler, it’s important to be open about your emotions because suppressing them could cause them to explode.
Throughout his life, Henry Winkler faced many challenges, but he always managed to turn them into opportunities for growth and learning. He used his experiences to become a better parent and a passionate advocate for those in need. Winkler’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, determination, and compassion and serves as an inspiration to us all.