Ukraine is terrorist now!

[bigb]

Forgot a couple points:
My kids play pretty well with each other. We have a trampoline, swing set, and jungle gym in our backyard. They don't dare complain about being bored. They tried that one time and it resulted in an extra chore. Now they find other things to do.
But my wife and I have always been persistent in instilling a strong sense of family unity in our kids. I didn't grow up with that, and as a result I'm not on speaking terms with either of my brothers. My kids rarely see or get to play with their cousins because of that. It's usually only when my parents host something. I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening to my kids.

 

[Stoked]

Forgot a couple points:
My kids play pretty well with each other. We have a trampoline, swing set, and jungle gym in our backyard. They don't dare complain about being bored. They tried that one time and it resulted in an extra chore. Now they find other things to do.
But my wife and I have always been persistent in I stilling a strong sense of family unity in our kids. I didn't grow up with that, and as a result I'm not on speaking terms with either of my brothers. My kids rarely see or get to play with their cousins because of that. It's usually only when my parents host something. I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening to my kids.

Oh heck yes! I am a huge proponent of this. I was raised with it and preach it on a level with respecting their mother which is an absolute.

 

[bigb]

Oh heck yes! I am a huge proponent of this. I was raised with it and preach it on a level with respecting their mother which is an absolute.

We were sitting at the dinner table one day and my oldest son said something to my wife that was completely disrespectful. I knocked him to the floor at about the same time he finished the sentence and gave him a tongue lashing that lasted about ten minutes. My wife does the same thing if they try to disrespect me (without the violence).

 

[QuinSnydersHair]

I have to say, I really like the dialogue over the last page or two. It's a refreshing retreat from the debates, Jazz talk or frat party humor which makes up 99% of this site.

 

[[size/HUGE] boobs [/size]]

You really suck at this whole staying in character thing.

It appears you hang onto every word I type. White dudes in Utahr are ****ing weird.

 

[DutchJazzer]

I dont own a smartphone.
i own a mobile phone a nokia 100.

i almost never take it with me outside the home.

 

[Stoked]

It appears you hang onto every word I type. White dudes in Utahr are ****ing weird.

Don't flatter yourself. It is pretty easy to see when you are or are not maintinaing your pretend eastern european accent.

 

[Stoked]

We were sitting at the dinner table one day and my oldest son said something to my wife that was completely disrespectful. I knocked him to the floor at about the same time he finished the sentence and gave him a tongue lashing that lasted about ten minutes. My wife does the same thing if they try to disrespect me (without the violence).

Right on. My brother once swore at my mother and told her to shut up. My Dad literally backflipped over the coach and chased him down the hallway. Picked him up by his neck and slammed him against the wall.

I didn't need any other lessons lol.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Oh heck yes! I am a huge proponent of this. I was raised with it and preach it on a level with respecting their mother which is an absolute.

This. Because I have 4 boys in the house, I feel the need to be especially tough in the 'respect your mother' department.

They are not even allowed to refer to her as "her", "she", etc.. it can only be "mom."

I'm not very strict (thankfully it hasn't been required.. but there are definitely some absolutes.

 

[ema]

In the trend this convo has taken there is a video out there by a Bristish guy. It is a poem about tech and how it is destroying the social aspect of our lives and all that we are, and could be, missing. It is very good and he makes some great points.

It's been all over FB. Cannot look for or link it from here. Anyone up to the task of finding and linking it?

Is it this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY

 

[Stoked]

That's it ECTYA. Thanks

 

[franklin]

I agree with everyone above.

As a soon-to-be-parent, I plan on being very strict with my own technology time. I don't want to be on my phone or laptop to the point that it detracts from my parenting or time spent with my child in any way, shape or form. I can go on when she naps or at night or at other times. Period. This is so I don't miss out on any time with her or am irresponsible in any way but also because as a parent, I should set an example. As she grows, while I think it's important for her to become tech savvy as it pertains to her education, I will not buy her a cell phone for quite a while. Quite frankly, if it were up to me, we wouldn't get one for her 'til she's 15 or 16 but I know that's a battle I'll lose to MsSerp and that we'll have to find a common ground. Once our soon-to-be-princess does get her cell though, there will be some ground rules. She won't use it at the dinner table or when we're out at restaurants just to name a couple examples. This is a huge turnoff to me when I see this at restaurants and a family's 12 year old is playing games on their PSP or cell phone. The parents meanwhile just sit like zombies, not talking to one another. It reeks of lazy parenting, a disrespect for what should be family bonding time, and an indirect signal to a child that the parents don't feel like dealing with them and that the kid can do whatever they want, so long as it's not bothering the parents.

Maybe I'm being harsh but I feel really damn strongly on this and will raise my child(ren) in such a fashion. Like anything in life, there's a time and place for certain things. Family time which comes in many forms is not one of them in this case.

Wait until you need a babysitter for sanity's sake.

-------

I thought I'd be the drill sergeant type of parent and I turned out almost the complete opposite. I don't mean that I'm against punishment or using the palm of my hand, but a lot of that stuff just doesn't do any good. Children are such good people who almost always want to do the right thing (if their parents aren't complete trash for role models that is), and mine always surprise me how they naturally pick up on wanting to "do the right thing".

As far as electronics go, my boys are on them a lot and it doesn't bug me one bit unless it's eating or bedtime. Everyone I knew growing up either played plenty of video games or they were weird. That didn't ruin the world. With the stuff available today, I can play MMORPG games with my kids and interact with them MORE than if they were playing some dumb *** video game with their friends. On top of that, it forced my oldest to learn how to read much faster than he otherwise would have because he had an incentive to do so. That in turn helps us stay in touch much more while I take breaks at work and we can talk in the chat boxes. My oldest has also learned way more than is normal for a 6 year old because of youtube. For example, I caught him watching an entire 2.5 hour WWII documentary the other day.