If you want your kids to really roam free, raise them in the country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by undercoverbrother
What?
I've raised mine in City, well 5 1/2 years in a town, but we let those ####ers run free.
We gave them easy identifiable landmarks for the roaming area, but within that they were free to travel
Yeah, if I were raising crotchfruit, I would definitely be raising them in a city so they know how to get around and not get completely flummoxed by, y'know, navigating an urban center.
I'd be worried raising a country kid they'd end up pregnant or meth'd out by, like, 17. They seem a bit rough and racist when raised in the sticks.
My earlier comment was tongue in cheek, but it really doesn’t matter where you raise them, it’s how you raise them. I like the country because that is where I grew up. Definitely things city kids learn that country kids will not learn while growing up (at least until you move to a city), and vice versa.
I'd be worried raising a country kid they'd end up pregnant or meth'd out by, like, 17. They seem a bit rough and racist when raised in the sticks.
Country schools are certainly breeding grounds for prejudicial attitudes due to narrow views being passed down by families who don't see the diversity of urban places and live in an echo chamber of people with analogous backgrounds and upbringings.
But I think if kids are exposed enough to different people and raised well some of that can be countered.
The upside of having kids that are handy, resourceful and not allergic to the outdoors are positives that can come out of it.
Yeah, if I were raising crotchfruit, I would definitely be raising them in a city so they know how to get around and not get completely flummoxed by, y'know, navigating an urban center.
My wife is also glued to her phone a lot. I don't tell her how to live her life, but I've found myself naturally gravitating to going offline more and more. For example, I've made a soft commitment to myself to choose to pick up a book when I feel the urge to mindlessly scroll my phone.
Yeah I think doom scrolling and social media robs people of their energy to do real practical things (unless for the purpose of a social media post..). It overstimulates the dopamine pathways more than people are built for and then nothing else in the physical space provides nearly the same appeal or comforting distraction as the phone.
But that in turn robs people of presence in the real world and thought they can be putting towards their life, their relationships, or something they want to do that provides a deeper reward than pleasure (joy).
This is a generation of people just coping, but not in constructive ways.
Basically people are taking moments to dissociate throughout the day. And even if you're watching meaningful content that teaches something, if those concepts are not applied or revisited to solidify in long term memory (since we only retain a small percentage of something we consume just once) it can go to waste all the same.
I'd be worried raising a country kid they'd end up pregnant or meth'd out by, like, 17. They seem a bit rough and racist when raised in the sticks.
Based purely on anecdotal experience, my friends from university that grew up in the sticks were far more likely to have a DUI, been involved in a drunk driving accident as a passenger, or been the driver and/or passenger of a pickup truck that rolled while being driven drunk than my friends that grew up in the city. We did things like walk or ride our bikes from parties in high school.
Also you hit the nail on the head earlier, kids do too damn much and their parents suffer. We have friends whos 4 year old had 3 organized activities last Saturday. They played chauffer for the day and it's only going to get worse when their 2 year old signs up for everything too. I'm pushing for a firm one activity at a time rule. Swimming is mandatory and in between those sessions they can play some music or sports or whatever but not all at the same time.
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Based purely on anecdotal experience, my friends from university that grew up in the sticks were far more likely to have a DUI, been involved in a drunk driving accident as a passenger, or been the driver and/or passenger of a pickup truck that rolled while being driven drunk than my friends that grew up in the city. We did things like walk or ride our bikes from parties in high school.
Also you hit the nail on the head earlier, kids do too damn much and their parents suffer. We have friends whos 4 year old had 3 organized activities last Saturday. They played chauffer for the day and it's only going to get worse when their 2 year old signs up for everything too. I'm pushing for a firm one activity at a time rule. Swimming is mandatory and in between those sessions they can play some music or sports or whatever but not all at the same time.
Swimming is mandatory. Good point.
If your kids are not strong swimmers or progressing like they should, put them in private swim lessons. One session of K and K swim lessons did more for for a couple of my kids than years of regular swim lessons.
If your kids are not strong swimmers or progressing like they should, put them in private swim lessons. One session of K and K swim lessons did more for for a couple of my kids than years of regular swim lessons.
Full votes for mandatory life skills... such as swimming, being able to entertain themselves (not just with TV or video or TikTok) with mentally engaging stuff such as reading/art/outside, actually having social interactions with others of similar age, and actual physical activity (following a parent in the mall doesn't count).
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And as a society we’re probably lazier and less active than ever before.
I would agree and it really shouldn't be this way with all the advances we have now - groceries and shopping can readily be delivered, robot vacuums are common and affordable, convenient and cheap 24hr fitness centers are everywhere, great home fitness equipment is available and when things like illness or appointments pop up, a lot of people are able to arrange to work from home. So many things here save incredible amounts of time compared to maybe just 15 years ago when they were not at all common.
The amount of people that have cleaners come into their homes ~2 times a month is bizarre to me as well (we are as busy as it gets with 2 kids under 7 in school, sport, and working full time jobs etc). I get it can be overwhelming if you let it spiral, but there is a definite element of laziness to it when adults can't keep a house decently clean without paying for external help. Some of this may be high standards for cleaning and maybe it won't be absolutely spotless all the time, but the main living spaces, bathrooms and kitchen can certainly be presentable with a tiny bit of effort throughout the week.
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You take that back! Cleaners are worth their weight in gold.
First, your house is always clean.
Second, you've completely removed a point of tension between you and your partner.
Third, and probably most importantly, you've completely freed up a bunch of your time to do something you actually want to do. Sure, I could clean the bathroom after the kids are in bed. Or I could go meet some buddies at the pub or go work out. I could clean all the floors on Saturday. Or I could go snowboarding with the family or friends. Life is busy, 6am-8pm 5 days a week is working/getting kids to and from day care/cooking, the last thing I want to do with my few hours of free time is more chores.
Side note, you absolutely don't get cleaners to do a better job. It's passable at best with a side of damaged property on occasion.
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Yeah, having a stranger come into my home to pick up and clean stuff is strange to me. Nevermind the discomfort I would have with them in my home and possessions (with or without me in my home). I guess you become immune to that over time? Heck, I would probably feel the need to tidy up even more before letting strangers in.
Having somebody else pick up after you feels like something from my childhood. I get the theoretical savings in time but it not something I felt the need to have to pay for. I wonder how much it affect kids and young people, that they don't value being able to clean up after themselves or be responsible for simple chores. Or just unable to into adulthood.
I know a few coworkers that have weekly cleaners in their home. They are definitely lazier and more entitled people in the office lol.
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I hate cleaning so I hired someone to come do it every 3 weeks. At the time my kids were 6 and 2 so yeah...
It's no different than having a teenaged babysitter in the house? Why do parents trust a 15 year old girl with their 2 year old baby from 7pm to midnight?
What's the most valuable thing you have in your house that an old lady can steal? And why would she steal something to sully her reputation?
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Last edited by GirlySports; 01-31-2024 at 09:27 AM.
Yeah, having a stranger come into my home to pick up and clean stuff is strange to me. Nevermind the discomfort I would have with them in my home and possessions (with or without me in my home). I guess you become immune to that over time? Heck, I would probably feel the need to tidy up even more before letting strangers in.
Having somebody else pick up after you feels like something from my childhood. I get the theoretical savings in time but it not something I felt the need to have to pay for. I wonder how much it affect kids and young people, that they don't value being able to clean up after themselves or be responsible for simple chores. Or just unable to into adulthood.
I know a few coworkers that have weekly cleaners in their home. They are definitely lazier and more entitled people in the office lol.
Well, you definitely should tidy up before they come...that saves you a ton of money as you want them cleaning, not picking up your socks off the floor. Plus, being tidy is just part of running a tight ship. I don't find it difficult to keep things tidy. But the night before cleaning day we do a perfect job tidying to make their job easier/faster and to show them respect that they aren't picking up after us.
What I like most about cleaners is everything is done all at once. Top to bottom, every bathroom and living space is 100% clean at once and it gives me free time to enjoy life. The price is immaterial for us. My wife and I both do alright at work, so $360/month for two cleans is outstanding value. The best thing money can buy at a certain point is more time and less hassle. I don't need fancy clothes or a collection of shoes...I do truly enjoy living in a really clean house, though.
I consider their cleans to be maintenance cleans. Every week or two we knock off some other fixit type projects or deeper cleans. We'll move the couches and vacuum under them, I just repaired the ceiling last week where I used to have a projector mounted, I like detailing cars more than cleaning a house so I do that a lot, last week my wife unloaded the kitchen drawers, cleaned them all and reorganized them. Those are the types of things that get put off if you are scrubbing toilets and wiping baseboards.
Also, I don't think it's bad to be "lazy". Relaxing is great and super healthy. If we did take every minute the cleaners are cleaning and used that to watch a movie with a bowl of popcorn, I think that's still a great use of time. Winding down rules. I don't get why so many people think doing nothing is wasting time. I love chilling.
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Well, you definitely should tidy up before they come...that saves you a ton of money as you want them cleaning, not picking up your socks off the floor. Plus, being tidy is just part of running a tight ship. I don't find it difficult to keep things tidy. But the night before cleaning day we do a perfect job tidying to make their job easier/faster and to show them respect that they aren't picking up after us.
What I like most about cleaners is everything is done all at once. Top to bottom, every bathroom and living space is 100% clean at once and it gives me free time to enjoy life. The price is immaterial for us. My wife and I both do alright at work, so $360/month for two cleans is outstanding value. The best thing money can buy at a certain point is more time and less hassle. I don't need fancy clothes or a collection of shoes...I do truly enjoy living in a really clean house, though.
I consider their cleans to be maintenance cleans. Every week or two we knock off some other fixit type projects or deeper cleans. We'll move the couches and vacuum under them, I just repaired the ceiling last week where I used to have a projector mounted, I like detailing cars more than cleaning a house so I do that a lot, last week my wife unloaded the kitchen drawers, cleaned them all and reorganized them. Those are the types of things that get put off if you are scrubbing toilets and wiping baseboards.
Also, I don't think it's bad to be "lazy". Relaxing is great and super healthy. If we did take every minute the cleaners are cleaning and used that to watch a movie with a bowl of popcorn, I think that's still a great use of time. Winding down rules. I don't get why so many people think doing nothing is wasting time. I love chilling.
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Yeah, having a stranger come into my home to pick up and clean stuff is strange to me. Nevermind the discomfort I would have with them in my home and possessions (with or without me in my home). I guess you become immune to that over time? Heck, I would probably feel the need to tidy up even more before letting strangers in.
Having somebody else pick up after you feels like something from my childhood. I get the theoretical savings in time but it not something I felt the need to have to pay for. I wonder how much it affect kids and young people, that they don't value being able to clean up after themselves or be responsible for simple chores. Or just unable to into adulthood.
I know a few coworkers that have weekly cleaners in their home. They are definitely lazier and more entitled people in the office lol.
I don’t think having somebody come by once every few weeks precludes everyone in the household from still having to clean up after themselves. It’s not like you’re leaving dishes out until the maid comes, or leaving some juice that spilled on the counter for 3 weeks.
Anyway, at the hotels we tend to stay at, staff come in while we’re not there to clean. I have never felt concerned about something going missing. Maybe you can start there until you build up the confidence to have someone in the house. Haven’t you had plumbers or anyone in your house doing work? You don’t hover over them do you? They could also be stealing your stuff.
The biggest issue with kids and cleaners is that children grow up not learning to do any of that themselves, and that's how you end up with useless 20-somthings recording Tic Toc videos on how to wipe a counter.
My brother and I had our own bathroom, and for as long as I can remember we were responsible for cleaning it. I've had to show room mates who grew up with cleaners how to actually do it. my step sisters(younger) had their mom do EVERYTHING for them, and it's clearly a disadvantage to them.
Don't make your children someone's future roommate problem! I'm not saying getting a cleaner is bad, but I think some parents end up overlooking this important part of raising a kid. And that's your lecture from a non-parent.
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