Do you like kids?

[columbus]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma;

the very best is when the grandkid lives two doors down.

I'm closer to my granddaughter than I was to my kids.....probably because I don't have the responsiblity of raising her. I don't have to worry about bathtime, homework, chores, school. Altho, I do volunteer in her class, so she gets no slack cut there.

Its just nice to have her come over and have fun........

What it's all about

[Ceili]

yah yah, I was going to go with the bbq sauce, but thought since it's almost summer, salt and vinegar would be best

Truthfully, while I never wanted (or want) any of my own, I truly enjoy the time spent with my nephew. He's funny and engaging (like most of the men in my family :P) but I don't have to clean up after or for him We just get to hang out, tell jokes* and have fun!



*our current favorite:

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Gorilla
Gorilla who?
Gorilla me a cheese sammich and I'll be right over!

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

the very best is when the grandkid lives two doors down.

I'm closer to my granddaughter than I was to my kids.....probably because I don't have the responsiblity of raising her. I don't have to worry about bathtime, homework, chores, school. Altho, I do volunteer in her class, so she gets no slack cut there.

Its just nice to have her come over and have fun........

My parents are much more affectionate with their grandchildren than they were/are with their own children.

As a daughter, it's downright painful to watch.

[rebarnmom]

I love 'em, especially my one & only. I treat her friends like an extension of our family! I wish I could have more! Maybe if this old barn were done, we'd have plenty of room to adopt! Hopefully I won't be too old by then!

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

My parents are much more affectionate with their grandchildren than they were/are with their own children.

As a daughter, it's downright painful to watch.

I imagine it is.

When we were raising you, there was so much to worry about. Keeping jobs, paying the bills, keeping you in clothes and away from bad influences, making sure you did well in school. Single motherhood.

Keeping food on the table. Trying to make sure that paycheck lasted the week. Worrying about who was taking care of you as an infant. Would the car break down yet again.

Coming home exhausted from a day/week at work, and being expected to cook, clean, do the wash/ironing, bathe you and make sure you were ready for the next day.

Crying ourselves to sleep because we had no idea how we would get thru this. Loving you beyond belief and being too tired/worried/distracted to show it.

I am amazed we had any time at all for fun.

Realize this is just my perspective.

The pot at the end of the rainbow is this.......someday you will have grandchildren. You will be able to give to them what you could not to your own.

[RickyMaveety]

I didn't like kids even when I was a kid. They were too noisy for me then, and they are too noisy for my now. I still prefer cats, dogs (now, not then so much), and good books.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by BookishDreamer

Until my nephew was born (he's 12), I fell into the "don't like children" category. I think that was primarily because I had very little contact with children and they were usually grumpy, fidgety, or screaming during the encounter (and the parents weren't too happy either). Now I'm in the "they're ok" category. I have to admit that it is flattering when my friends' kids are happy to see me.

Wouldn't that have something to do with your nephew now being older? I don't like small kids, but once they're older, I don't mind them too much (provided they're well-behaved). But even now my nephews are 12 and 10, I'm happy when can go home to my childfree house...

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I'm childFREE, not childless. By choice.

Wouldn't have my life any other way.

Same here!

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

the very best is when the grandkid lives two doors down.

I'm closer to my granddaughter than I was to my kids.....probably because I don't have the responsiblity of raising her. I don't have to worry about bathtime, homework, chores, school. Altho, I do volunteer in her class, so she gets no slack cut there.

Its just nice to have her come over and have fun........

My mother lived next door to my brother. They had a shared garden, so the kids could just walk from backdoor to backdoor without leaving the garden. And she (my mother) felt exactly the same as you do. At the end of the day, you can hand them back to their parents

But, my mother moved to Hungary, and the hardest part (or so she says) is not having those two kids close every day. She makes up at the summer holidays when my two nephews will stay the summer in Hungary (she has a huge garden with a swimming pool in a country that has a much warmer climate than we have...)

[DixieGal]

We were never able to make kids, but just let me get my hands on one and I don't want to let go. I could hold a baby and watch it sleep and wiggle all day long. Lately, many of my friends are becoming grandmothers and I'm so jealous of them! But in a good way.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by ravenne

At the age of 2-4 life is full of wonders and mysteries. Besides, children are a perfect excuse if you like to do things like playing with cars and trains, buying worms to see them change into butterflies or building multistorey tree houses.

At the age of 38, life is still full of wonders and mysteries.

And, um, I have a train set that I, um, play with

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

I didn't like kids even when I was a kid. They were too noisy for me then, and they are too noisy for my now. I still prefer cats, dogs (now, not then so much), and good books.

It's so nice to know I'm not the only one who felt like that as a child and now. Although now I don't mind the quieter, more curious children.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i don't have any children and i'm not at all sure i want any. i am positive that i don't want children in any absolute sense, just for the sake of having children. depending on future circumstances, i might want to have a family, but thanks to my neighbours and the school on avenue Claude Vellefaux, that possibility seems less and less attractive every day.

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

At the age of 38, life is still full of wonders and mysteries.

And, um, I have a train set that I, um, play with

i don't have a train set but i do have a few little toy cars (i used to carry one in my jacket pocket all the time, until it fell out somewhere and i lost it. now i keep one in a pocket of my bag), a metal clockwork duck, and i have a tiny wooden train which i keep around mainly for sentimental reasons. i've also got some other toys around which i am not embarrassed to admit are my own.

and a friend of mine once described me by saying "she hasn't lost her sense of wonder."

It's so nice to know I'm not the only one who felt like that as a child and now. Although now I don't mind the quieter, more curious children.

me too. the schoolyard during breaks was scary and intimidating to me because of the noise (and also those stupid footballs. i lived in mortal dread of getting hit in the face by one. this was not unfounded as i once saw a kid kick a ball straight up to approximately the stratosphere, and then it came back down accelerating all the way in a perfect arc and landed precisely on the head of a tiny girl who happened to be crossing the almost deserted yard at that precise moment. completely accidental and unpredictable, but she still got knocked out. she just crumpled like a paper cup when it hit her). i spent all the breaks reading by myself.

i like some of my friends' / relatives children, individually, because they're intelligent and interesting and funny, and not by default just because they're children. i prefer them when they can form complete sentences and actually communicate their thoughts, and ideally do not shriek at all.

i hate all my neighbors' children because they are noisy little hellions who either cry all day long (and frequently at night too) or run wild and spend their time at home in the courtyard shrieking at the top of their lungs (or some combination of those activities), while i am trying to work / sleep / read / have any semblance of normal life (i hate my neighbours more, because they do nothing when their children cry, and allow their obnoxious little hellions to run wild and spend all day shrieking in the courtyard). i know i sound like a cranky old lady when i say this but when i was a child, playing did not involve screaming just to see who can make the most noise (there is no other apparent motivation) and i see no reason why it ever should. in fact i hate *all* loud, undisicplined children who are being allowed to run wild / have screaming tantrums in the métro / grocery store / street / etc.

i also have a strong (STRONG) aversion to Children whenever they manifest as an undifferentiated mass of more than, say, 2, because there is a schoolyard behind my building and... well, here is an mp3 of what i actually hear all day, every day (attached, in zip because mp3 is not a legal attachement format, and when you've listened to it you'll understand why). don't say i didn't warn you. imagine that in an endless loop, about a thousand decibels louder.

[vivaldirules]

SHUMS!!!!! RUN AWAY!!!!!!

I didn't feel any terrific need to have children but I can say without a doubt that I am a far better person for having them. Becoming responsible for others will tend to make you, uh, responsible.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

SHUMS!!!!! RUN AWAY!!!!!!

I didn't feel any terrific need to have children but I can say without a doubt that I am a far better person for having them. Becoming responsible for others will tend to make you, uh, responsible.

some of us have had to be responsible for ourselves as well as others starting from an age when someone else should really have been doing the heavy lifting. i don't personally need a kid of my own to learn about that, in fact i think i may have over-learned that particular lesson. plus, i'm already responsible for 2 cats and an orchid, and that is plenty for now.

[vivaldirules]

Me and "responsible" have never gotten along very well. Now that my kids are adults, I'm thinking of giving it up for dryer lint (whatever).

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Me and "responsible" have never gotten along very well. Now that my kids are adults, I'm thinking of giving it up for dryer lint (whatever).

frankly i am tempted to copy your plan for myself, it sounds fantastic. i think there should be some sort of maximum level of responsibility any one person should be required to furnish in one lifetime, and once they reach that level, they should be allowed to slack off completely if they want. also, in order to even things out a bit, i would be quite happy to pass some of my responsibilities to whatever air-headed lunatic has the largest deficit. obviously, any troubles resulting from this person's irresponsibility would be wholly and exclusively their, ah, responsibility.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by rebarnmom

I love 'em, especially my one & only. I treat her friends like an extension of our family! I wish I could have more! Maybe if this old barn were done, we'd have plenty of room to adopt! Hopefully I won't be too old by then!

Never say never!! After my third miscarriage, the doctors told me I would not be able to have anymore children. Then, at 41, I got pregnant again and 9 months later, I had Ryleigh, a true gift from God. People keep telling me she will keep me young. I just tell them, "well, she keeps me tired!" I wouldn't change it for the world!!

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

I imagine it is.

When we were raising you, there was so much to worry about. Keeping jobs, paying the bills, keeping you in clothes and away from bad influences, making sure you did well in school. Single motherhood.

Keeping food on the table. Trying to make sure that paycheck lasted the week. Worrying about who was taking care of you as an infant. Would the car break down yet again.

Coming home exhausted from a day/week at work, and being expected to cook, clean, do the wash/ironing, bathe you and make sure you were ready for the next day.

Crying ourselves to sleep because we had no idea how we would get thru this. Loving you beyond belief and being too tired/worried/distracted to show it.

I am amazed we had any time at all for fun.

Realize this is just my perspective.

The pot at the end of the rainbow is this.......someday you will have grandchildren. You will be able to give to them what you could not to your own.

How beautifully said and how absolutely true. I look at my parents now and wonder where the people I grew up with have gone. They spend time with my children and are so much more patient with them than they ever were with my siblings and me. If I could give you Karma (Darn Karma Police) I would.

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

<SNIP>
i hate all my neighbors' children because they are noisy little hellions who either cry all day long (and frequently at night too) or run wild and spend their time at home in the courtyard shrieking at the top of their lungs (or some combination of those activities), while i am trying to work / sleep / read / have any semblance of normal life (i hate my neighbours more, because they do nothing when their children cry, and allow their obnoxious little hellions to run wild and spend all day shrieking in the courtyard). i know i sound like a cranky old lady when i say this but when i was a child, playing did not involve screaming just to see who can make the most noise (there is no other apparent motivation) and i see no reason why it ever should. in fact i hate *all* loud, undisicplined children who are being allowed to run wild / have screaming tantrums in the métro / grocery store / street / etc.
<SNIP>

One of the things I find completely frustrating is watching parents completely ignore their misbehaving children or make excuses for their bad behaviour. At Ryleigh's recital practice tonight, I watched small children running up and down the auditorium aisles, almost knocking over expensive recording equipment and making a general nuisance of themselves. Where were their parents, ignoring their children and talking so loudly that others couldn't hear any of the procedural announcements the dance instructor was making. I love children and can easily handle one who is misbehaving, but I also know that their behaviour can generally be laid at the feet of their parents.