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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Raising Children Thread

mendelman said:
That's my presumption as I have 200% more teenagers than @Faust_Motel
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Bill Hader Barry GIF by HBO
 
I have one nightmare teenager who was a great kid - usual they know everything and parents are all stupid and one great teenager who was a horrible kid with tantrums non stop.
 
Today is the first day of jazz band rehearsal for my oldest this school year so it's always fun to drop her off before school and then roll down the window and yell to her to "Have a jazzy day!" as she's walking in. Even though her back is turned to me, I can see her cringe and know that she's rolling her eyes.

This is what being a parent is all about!
 
One of the women in my old planning office, has a kid who is in their HS Marching Band that was invited & marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade this yr.
Talk about a life time experience.
 
Dad took son and friend canoeing on near record swollen river. Don't try this at home.


By Joe Johnson


Three people were rescued Thursday night from the Middle Oconee River in Watkinsville after falling from a canoe and being swept away by water made turbulent by a winter storm that had blown through the area.


"It was an adult with his son, and the son’s friend who fell out of a canoe," Oconee County Fire Chief Bruce Thaxton said. "They were stranded on tree debris and needed help out of the flooded river."


According to the fire chief, 25 Oconee County Fire Rescue personnel responded to a 6:25 p.m. report of people yelling for help in the area of the river where it flows by the Ryland Hills subdivision.


Also responding to the water emergency were personnel from the Ooneee County Sheriff's Office and National EMS.


A fire officer noted in an incident report that the river was in flood stages with its edges exceeding about 50 yards outside of the banks.


The rive's current was said to be very swift.


When firefighters made their way by boat to the victims they noted that the man and two boys were clinging to the top of a tree and none of them wore a life vest.


The rescuers tossed out personal flotation devices for the victims to use and with ropes and water rescue techniques they ferried the victims to safety.
 
In a quandary about what to do with Itty Bitty's schooling.

She currently goes to a small private school that is about a 30 minute commute from our home. The teachers are nice but it is a small transient pool of potential friends. Itty Bitty hasn't had much luck in the friendship department.

The school has another campus that is larger so more after school activities and larger pool of potential friends. Itty Bitty would have to transfer here to complete 11 & 12 grade when the time comes. However, it would be about twice as long a commute in heavy traffic.

We don't have many kids Itty Bitty's age or that speak any English in our neighborhood. So school is Itty Bitty's primary opportunity to make friends.

But I don't want to be spending an additional 2 hours a day in the car while working full time. Hubby has some availability to help with the drive home but not every day. And we don't want to move because we really love our house, neighborhood and town. Ugh.
 
dandy_warhol said:
In a quandary about what to do with Itty Bitty's schooling.

She currently goes to a small private school that is about a 30 minute commute from our home. The teachers are nice but it is a small transient pool of potential friends. Itty Bitty hasn't had much luck in the friendship department.

The school has another campus that is larger so more after school activities and larger pool of potential friends. Itty Bitty would have to transfer here to complete 11 & 12 grade when the time comes. However, it would be about twice as long a commute in heavy traffic.

We don't have many kids Itty Bitty's age or that speak any English in our neighborhood. So school is Itty Bitty's primary opportunity to make friends.

But I don't want to be spending an additional 2 hours a day in the car while working full time. Hubby has some availability to help with the drive home but not every day. And we don't want to move because we really love our house, neighborhood and town. Ugh.
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Is there an option to carpool with other families?
 
dandy_warhol said:
In a quandary about what to do with Itty Bitty's schooling.

She currently goes to a small private school that is about a 30 minute commute from our home. The teachers are nice but it is a small transient pool of potential friends. Itty Bitty hasn't had much luck in the friendship department.

The school has another campus that is larger so more after school activities and larger pool of potential friends. Itty Bitty would have to transfer here to complete 11 & 12 grade when the time comes. However, it would be about twice as long a commute in heavy traffic.

We don't have many kids Itty Bitty's age or that speak any English in our neighborhood. So school is Itty Bitty's primary opportunity to make friends.

But I don't want to be spending an additional 2 hours a day in the car while working full time. Hubby has some availability to help with the drive home but not every day. And we don't want to move because we really love our house, neighborhood and town. Ugh.
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Any other good areas where she can make friends outside of school. I know that's probably where she spends her time, but an hour commute each way every day is rough.
 
bureaucrat#3 said:
Any other good areas where she can make friends outside of school. I know that's probably where she spends her time, but an hour commute each way every day is rough.
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Good idea and also worth pursuing. We have her enrolled in a dance class with a different group of kids but it only meets 1x/week.
 
Planit said:
The degree enhancement opportunity is fantastic. I want to make sure she's thought of certain things. It's not meant as discouragement.

Sometimes she doesn't think everything through.
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The greatest thing about children is watching them become who they are. This sounds like an amazing opportunity, and she's going to love it.

My Goldie is planning to live with my uncle and his family in Vienna, Virginia for the summer, just to have some kind of experience away from the valley here. She just wants to see more, and I think that's great, but I have these "dad" doubts about it. You're quitting your job? Are you coming back to do fall semester at community college or not? I want to know everything about it and have a definite plan. I'm a 50 yo dude, and that's what we want, a plan. She just wants - no, needs - to see a different life, a different place. She says we'll just see about the rest of it. She might want a job out there, stay a while longer. I'm honestly afraid she'll meet somebody and never come home. Isn't that so petty of me, but it's how I feel. I have to get righteous with that, with all my kids, but my Goldie? Who'll watch season four of "Only Murders" with me if she never comes home? But it's more important that she grow, and feel free, and love her life. So I'll grow up and be cool about it. I will.
 
Talk about letting go of your child -

Freshman year - Mom flew out with me from NJ to Utah - set me up at Utah State, said see ya at Christmas.
Next 3 years - let me drive from NJ to Utah in a Plymouth Duster.
 
JNA said:
Talk about letting go of your child -

Freshman year - Mom flew out with me from NJ to Utah - set me up at Utah State, said see ya at Christmas.
Next 3 years - let me drive from NJ to Utah in a Plymouth Duster.
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same here but it was Fla to NC in a Toyota Corolla
 
ursus said:
The greatest thing about children is watching them become who they are. This sounds like an amazing opportunity, and she's going to love it.

My Goldie is planning to live with my uncle and his family in Vienna, Virginia for the summer, just to have some kind of experience away from the valley here. She just wants to see more, and I think that's great, but I have these "dad" doubts about it. You're quitting your job? Are you coming back to do fall semester at community college or not? I want to know everything about it and have a definite plan. I'm a 50 yo dude, and that's what we want, a plan. She just wants - no, needs - to see a different life, a different place. She says we'll just see about the rest of it. She might want a job out there, stay a while longer. I'm honestly afraid she'll meet somebody and never come home. Isn't that so petty of me, but it's how I feel. I have to get righteous with that, with all my kids, but my Goldie? Who'll watch season four of "Only Murders" with me if she never comes home? But it's more important that she grow, and feel free, and love her life. So I'll grow up and be cool about it. I will.
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Baring possible life complications, she can go back to school at 25/27/29, but she can't be 18/19/20 and responsible for just herself again.

Explore (safely) while young, I say.
 
ursus said:
The greatest thing about children is watching them become who they are. This sounds like an amazing opportunity, and she's going to love it.

My Goldie is planning to live with my uncle and his family in Vienna, Virginia for the summer, just to have some kind of experience away from the valley here. She just wants to see more, and I think that's great, but I have these "dad" doubts about it. You're quitting your job? Are you coming back to do fall semester at community college or not? I want to know everything about it and have a definite plan. I'm a 50 yo dude, and that's what we want, a plan. She just wants - no, needs - to see a different life, a different place. She says we'll just see about the rest of it. She might want a job out there, stay a while longer. I'm honestly afraid she'll meet somebody and never come home. Isn't that so petty of me, but it's how I feel. I have to get righteous with that, with all my kids, but my Goldie? Who'll watch season four of "Only Murders" with me if she never comes home? But it's more important that she grow, and feel free, and love her life. So I'll grow up and be cool about it. I will.
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Sounds a bit like Amish "Rumspringa." I understand about 90% of those young adults 'return into the fold' afterwards.
 
Alarming video of ‘arrogant’ tourist endangering children at Yellowstone sparks outrage: ‘People like that are infuriating’

Darwin Award Candidates.
 
Securing my ADHD medication is tough enough, I can mostly manage when I am low or forget a dosage. But it is tougher with my kid, different maturity levels, life experience, and rationality. We had to switch pharmacies once before last summer from CVS to a small PNW grocery chain, I remember calling and calling until I found his meds that day.

Now today, we had to do the same thing. I am down to one obscure, non-chain store, pharmacy after my wife and I called 9 of them today. Hoping the timing goes well and the Doc can send it quickly to get filled.

This shortage is tough, but doing meds and therapy has been a night and day difference from 2nd to 3rd grade.

Just needed to vent it out.
 
zman said:
Securing my ADHD medication is tough enough, I can mostly manage when I am low or forget a dosage. But it is tougher with my kid, different maturity levels, life experience, and rationality. We had to switch pharmacies once before last summer from CVS to a small PNW grocery chain, I remember calling and calling until I found his meds that day.

Now today, we had to do the same thing. I am down to one obscure, non-chain store, pharmacy after my wife and I called 9 of them today. Hoping the timing goes well and the Doc can send it quickly to get filled.

This shortage is tough, but doing meds and therapy has been a night and day difference from 2nd to 3rd grade.

Just needed to vent it out.
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I feel you. I went most of December and part of January with out any medication and it was rough. So noticeable that I got a few comments from the administration about my lack of focus and follow through.

My daughter is starting to struggle at school. She's in 2nd grade. Smart as a whip, but really struggles with attention. Her recent tests were pretty rough, she got every question right that she answered, but just forgot to answer a few or skipped over them. She's a super calm introvert, so I don't think people realize that half the time she's off in her own thoughts.
 
Modern day school fundraisers are so annoying, they entail an app that you have to download and then you need to upload your contacts, resulting in online begging. Yeah, I am not doing that. It also gamifies the student’s results by having an indicator bar to show if you’ve met your arbitrarily determined goal. Fuck off fundraiser - you get what you get and that’s all you get.
 
SlaveToTheGrind said:
Is it wrong to want your 17-year old the day they turn 18 (winter 2024) to move out of the house? Asking for a friend.
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Are they self supporting - above a minimum wage to afford their own housing (deposit & monthly rent), car (gas & insurance), employer health insurance, some savings, and other ?
 
Wannaplan? said:
Modern day school fundraisers are so annoying, they entail an app that you have to download and then you need to upload your contacts, resulting in online begging. Yeah, I am not doing that. It also gamifies the student’s results by having an indicator bar to show if you’ve met your arbitrarily determined goal. Fuck off fundraiser - you get what you get and that’s all you get.
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When ours were in elementary school I always felt it demeaned their teachers by making them pitch sales to their students that were then bound to bring home flyers selling candy bars and other crap. For a while they sold flower bulbs which we liked better. After elementary level those pitches dropped off, tho.
 
^^^
AIB
Parents bringing into work the order sheets for Girl Scout Cookies, or band, sports team, or dance candy or the those chocolate bars.

I did not mind giving money for a kid in their HS band, which was invited to march in Rose Parade - a life time experience.
 
I'll buy a couple GS cookies from our Finance Director (daughter) but that's really it. I need to keep her on my good side anyway.


I remember one time I gave the school $20 in the fund-raising envelope for something they were getting the kids to sell with a post-it-note that say it was easier this way.
 
The only thing we had to sell, thank goodness, were raffle tickets to the summer school/parish street festival. Tix were ten for $10 and a chance to win $10,000. The street festival was very popular in those days and folks around these parts do like to gamble, so it was a pretty easy sell.

(I actually won the $10K the year my oldest was an 8th grader. Every last penny -after taxes - went to catholic hs tuition. I was not amused.)
 
I am continually frustrated at the sorry state of certain aspects of raising kids in this country these days. While I allow my child to ride bike where ever, the parents of the friends do not have the same openness as I. Thus, those kids are stuck at home when their parents are gone, that is, their parents don't let them ride their bike. Enter the frustration: Child asks parent (me) to go pick up the friend and bring them to my house. Is this normal? Why does that other child not have the same freedoms as my child? Why is it on me every time to bring the kids together? I do it because I love my kid, but wow, the inadvertent imposition gets on my nerves. Am I alone?
 
Wannaplan? said:
I am continually frustrated at the sorry state of certain aspects of raising kids in this country these days. While I allow my child to ride bike where ever, the parents of the friends do not have the same openness as I. Thus, those kids are stuck at home when their parents are gone, that is, their parents don't let them ride their bike. Enter the frustration: Child asks parent (me) to go pick up the friend and bring them to my house. Is this normal? Why does that other child not have the same freedoms as my child? Why is it on me every time to bring the kids together? I do it because I love my kid, but wow, the inadvertent imposition gets on my nerves. Am I alone?
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Parents these days are weird and rude (present company excepted).
 
Wannaplan? said:
Modern day school fundraisers are so annoying, they entail an app that you have to download and then you need to upload your contacts, resulting in online begging. Yeah, I am not doing that. It also gamifies the student’s results by having an indicator bar to show if you’ve met your arbitrarily determined goal. Fuck off fundraiser - you get what you get and that’s all you get.
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That would be a hard no from me. I hate that one of my kid's teams went all-app on communications and schedulign a couple years ago so now i get a dose of Temu ads along with figuring out when practice is...

My kid's school does one fundraiser a year, you agree to participate in your parent contract (private school, so yeah, we knew what we were getting into) and you can buy out if you don't want to sell the stuff. It's not too bad because the thing they do (deliver baskets full of goodies the morning of Mother's Day) is pretty popular and not too hard to sell, and people really like it. There's no pressure on the kids, it's all about the parents. You give up one Saturday morning to make and deliver the baskets and it's over.
 
Wannaplan? said:
Modern day school fundraisers are so annoying, they entail an app that you have to download and then you need to upload your contacts, resulting in online begging. Yeah, I am not doing that. It also gamifies the student’s results by having an indicator bar to show if you’ve met your arbitrarily determined goal. Fuck off fundraiser - you get what you get and that’s all you get.
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What ever happened to selling (mostly self-purchasing) "World's Finest Chocolate?"

Your post reminded me of doing the MS Readathon...is that still an event?
 
Way back in the day before Boy Scout popcorn, I remember selling Christmas present wrapping paper.
 
We had to sell that "cardboard suitcase full of future plastic landfill crap" thing. It was so awful. The funny thing is, just now, I can actually recall the way it smelled when you opened it up.

With the prizes you would never sell enough of to get except that one kid in class with the rich uncle...

1710879461711.png
 
Wannaplan? said:
I am continually frustrated at the sorry state of certain aspects of raising kids in this country these days. While I allow my child to ride bike where ever, the parents of the friends do not have the same openness as I. Thus, those kids are stuck at home when their parents are gone, that is, their parents don't let them ride their bike. Enter the frustration: Child asks parent (me) to go pick up the friend and bring them to my house. Is this normal? Why does that other child not have the same freedoms as my child? Why is it on me every time to bring the kids together? I do it because I love my kid, but wow, the inadvertent imposition gets on my nerves. Am I alone?
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Nope. This is the byproduct of living in a low-trust society. I'm not running a limo service for someone else's kid, though. If they can't make their own way over, my kid isn't playing with them.
 
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