We went from just one parent working with usually mom at home
full time with the kids or waiting for the kids to get home to
a point where most families can't afford to eat without both
parents working full time.
We had to make some hard decisions when we had our first child over
> childcare. It almost made more sense for my wife to stay home instead
> of paying most of her salary for childcare. We chose to work, which
> paid off handsomely down the road, but it was a serious choice.
Yes, you can never know which choice will be best in the long run.
My mother was home for much of my childhood but later my father
started up a business and for the first couple of years she was
running the office for him while he was out on the road until he
was successful enough to hire other people.
That said.. It was decided Long before that that my mother wouldn't
get up to make breakfast and such before we left for school.
Dad said that she wasn't a good morning person and we were just
as well off lookimg after ourselves.. B)
And another thing is we've gone from tiny allowances so the kid
can buy a little candy or something to kids being given a large
amounts of money to do with what they like, probably out of guilt
due to parents having little time for the kids..
Look at inflation, the cost of living, and the way kids have been
> marketed to. My daughter's favorite go-to is hanging out with friends
> at a Starbucks, not riding bikes to friends' houses or hanging out at a
> park. And, that candy that was $.35 is now $2.49.
I was thinking back to when I was about 12 years old and I agreed
to cut almost an acre of grass at home with a push gas lawn mower
to get my allowance up from 25 cents a week to a 75 cents..
Then I watched my niece not having an allowance but able to casually
ask for $20 or $30 to buy something she liked and almost always
getting it unless it was really not a good idea.
We were taught so young about handling money it was a bit of a
shock when we found out the niece at age 10 or so had no idea
about limits on money at all. She figured you could buy anything
you wanted, you just went to the magic machine to get more money
out if you ran short..
Also, when my mother was still around, she found it almost
impossible to find a kid to mow her lawn for her, and she
was quite willing to pay $50 an hour or more for their time
and it was impossible to find a kid willing to work.
We were different kids, though. For us, it was all about building a
> sense of independence - I could ride my bike wherever I want to go,
> don't need to ask my parents for much, and head home when it started
>to get dark. (My family had a locked-in dinnertime of 7pm)
Yes, between age 9 and 17 our house was out in the country and
it was miles to a friend's houses, but we'd ride our bikes there
without thinking about it. I remember once biking to a friend's
place 7 miles away, then home for lunch, and then back again
for the afternoon without thinking much about it, and once
riding 15 miles to a town fair..
I definitely wanted to get my own transportation though once
I was old enough to drive. I bought my first motorcycle two
months before my 16th birthday, and I had my licence within
2 weeks of that birthday.
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* SLMR Rob * I've GOT it together... You should have seen it APART!
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/107)