Question for the week of 4/28

[sarahisis]

Ive kinda felt out of questions recently, I went over a year or so without a repeat !! so I thought I'd try something a little different... maybe a question of the week or two a week... more thought provoking things to get us all talking again since it seems a little slow in here So here's my first....


What do you think is the most difficult aspect about being a child? And as an adult? (how about for us as children and now as adults... compared to our children now, and then them in the future......)

[sharon]

Ooo deep. I will have to give this sone thought.

[sarahisis]

Yup me too.. just cant make these types of questions daily ones lol

[ReneeW]

This is pretty "old news" but I think our kids are too over scheduled these days. There's too much homework (my kids started getting a significant amount--like 45 minutes a night-- in FIRST grade) and they simply do not have enough time to simply "be." We only have our kids in one sport at a time with a music part of the year, and they still are so busy it's ridiculous! And the whole thing about kids having to specialize in one sport early on--it's really stifling to kids, in my opinion.

The other thing I grieve over is that I'm too cautious to let my kids run around outside in nature alone. At their age I was doing that no question but I just can't seem to let myself take that risk, even if statistically they'll be fine I just can't do it. It makes me sad, truly it does. I want them building forts and crossing streams and all of that fun stuff … (sigh) … but between the risks of some predator harming them, Lyme Disease, West Nile … when they're in nature it's very structured and an adult is close by. Which I've read stifles their independence and problem-solving abilities, but their safety comes first, even though I'm afraid it's at the expense of some cool self-confidence and personal growth they could be experiencing.

[sarahisis]

When I was a child things were a whole world of different... as it was for probably all of us, compared to the world our kids are living in now. The only difficulty I can think of was moving around a lot and my parents separating.... but even that didn't seem to effect me too much. We were allowed to play outside til the sun went down w/o supervision. We didn't watch TV or have game systems. We got dirty and read books.

Nowdays, I fear letting my kids outside and out of site even for a minute. When did it become SO unsafe to do so
I think our children's generation has a lot more difficulties they will need to face as they grow up... bullying and fitting in was non existant when I was in elementary school, but now... kids are so mean. It's the age of technology, which can be good and bad in a lot of ways. I'd love to see kids play less on tablets and computers and watch less TV and simply play more... too much screen time can lead to other things like lack of exercise and laziness, poor health.

As an adult, I've found it most challenging for me to live away from my home state... family is so important and I feel lost w/o them most of the time. Money and weight are always things that are challenging for me too... finding time to exercise when all I want to do is sleep!

When our children are adults, I cannot even begin to think what they may have to deal with... thing will either be way better or way worse IMO Its hard to predict which way our economy will go. I just hope that they will afford to be able to get a higher education and that this country doesn't see a WW3

[sarahisis]

Renee, I'm the same way... we used to play in the woods, and skip stones in the creek behind our house and climb trees and roll in the dirt as kids. But now there is no way I could let my kids do any of that w/o being there. It's sad

[apryllraye87]

I agree with Renee. We are majorly over-scheduled. Which is partially my fault because I have a hard time saying "no" and I want DS to experience everything he can. With everything we have going on between work, school (for both DS and me), sports, school activities, appointments, birthday parties, baby showers, weddings, etc. I need to learn which things we HAVE to do and which we can miss. I'm at that age where my good friends are starting to get married and have babies so it's hard to pick which of those I think I can miss out on, but it ends up being too busy and EXPENSIVE buying all those gifts.

My childhood compared to DS' is also a lot different because of technology and the fact that I work full-time and my mom was a stay at home mom. When I was his age we didn't have cable, rarely watched TV, didn't have a computer, video games, netflix, etc. When I was bored, I entertained myself - I built forts, colored, made crafts, listened to music, played in my room, played outside, etc. I know it's mainly my fault for keeping him so busy all the time but DS always wants to be watching TV or playing on his tablet. We limit how much he does those things but my time to get things done is so limited sometimes it's easier just to give in and let him watch cartoons so I can clean the house or get homework done rather than listen to "I'm bored!" 20 times.

I guess what I'm trying to say is being an adult, although rewarding, is EXHAUSTING

[dara1012]

I was just thinking about the playing outside alone situation recently. When I was in elementary school (probably 4-6th grade) one of my favorite things to do was go on "adventures" as my friends and I called them and we would explore the woods leading to the lake a 1/2 mile from my house. My parents knew who I was with, though sometimes I went alone, but had no idea where we went. DS is allowed to play outside with friends without me, but only where I can see him, he knows that he needs to stay in our yard or his friends yard. I can't imagine him going to the park or trails near our house alone.

For DS I really wish that he had a couple really close friends. I hope that comes as he gets older. He gets along with all his classmates and has a few kids he plays with in the neighborhood, but no really solid friendships. I feel like this is partly my fault. I am so busy with work and DS's activities (and for a few years grad school) that we haven't done many play dates. Part of this was because DH and I work full time, when DS is home from school/daycare we wanted family time. It's hard with how spread out our "neighborhood" school is to help build friendships outside of school.

The responsibilities of being an adult are hard. I am a person where if I agree to do something I will always follow through, which sometimes means I am stretched thinner than I would like. The biggest pressure I feel is the responsibility to ensure all of our bills are paid and we are building a savings. I feel very alone in this as this is not a strength for DH so I make all the spending, budgeting and saving decisions myself. Then if we aren't making our goals in that area I get stressed. Part of it is hard b/c DH's job isn't always timely in paying him and he is hourly without consistent hours so his pay fluctuates. I also wish I had someone to clean my house. I love a clean house, but it's the last thing I want to do when I get home from work.