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Why Young People Suck and Old People Rule

Dec 9, 2010#1

GasBandit

My own variant on a chain letter that's been sent around for a while.

People born before 1970 are awesome. Why?

Their mothers smoked and drank while pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for gestational diabetes. And then their mothers put them to sleep on their tummies in baby cribs absolutely covered by brightly colored lead-based paints. They rode bikes with no helmets or pads, rode in cars with no seat belts, carseats, airbags, ABS, or crumple zones. Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. Water was drunk from a garden hose, not a bottle, and an ice cream cone could be shared with the dog. They ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. They drank Kool-Aid with real honest-to-god sugar. And they didn't get fat. Why? Because they played outside. They left home in the morning, stayed out all day with friends (completely out of contact of the adults) and it was all ok so long as they were back before the streetlights turned on.

They built go karts and tree forts out of scrap and rusty metal (hellooooo tetanus!). They crashed and fell down and smashed into things, earning cuts and bumps and bruises and abrasions and broken bones and knocked-out teeth, and when they skinned their knees there were band-aids, not lawsuits. They got beaten with sticks, paddles, belts or just bare hands and it was considered righteous discipline, not child abuse. Teams had tryouts, and not everybody made the cut. Those who didn't had to learn to live with the disappointment. Your self-esteem was not an issue - you were expected to be able to feel good about yourself once you'd done something to merit the feeling, not vice versa. When you got in trouble at school, you got double at home. And if you got arrested, Dad would let you stay the night just so you'd get the message not to screw up like that again.

Now a kid can't play in the padded-plastic playground unless his mother has direct line of sight contact with him at all times. I remember my playgrounds being rusty steel contraptions for climbing. It was considered an innovation when the seats on the swings started being rubber instead of wood. Schools bend over backwards to make sure a kid suffers no growth of character, and if by some accident he does, the parents are there to swoop in and shelter their precious snowflake and sue the school.

No wonder young people suck so much now. Compared with today, upbringings of the past must seem like homicidal rampages. How could anyone raised in the coddled comfort and sheltered safety of the post-70s be anything other than an emasculated, wussified sack of crap with a lack of character and a misplaced sense of entitlement?

Dec 9, 2010#2

Piotyr

Ahh, the old "I turned out fine so it must not be a big deal" defense.

Dec 9, 2010#3

Jiarn

I dunno about post 70s, I was raised in the 80s and did almost everything posted in that letter....

Dec 9, 2010#4

Shakey

GasBandit said:
Their mothers smoked and drank while pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for gestational diabetes. And then their mothers put them to sleep on their tummies in baby cribs absolutely covered by brightly colored lead-based paints.

That's not so awesome. Infant mortality rate

Dec 9, 2010#5

GasBandit

Shakey;458956][QUOTE=GasBandit said:
Their mothers smoked and drank while pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for gestational diabetes. And then their mothers put them to sleep on their tummies in baby cribs absolutely covered by brightly colored lead-based paints.

That's not so awesome. Infant mortality rate
[/QUOTE]

Maybe you misunderstood me. It's why people who SURVIVED are awesome. Yes, we have lower infant mortality rates today... but I was not arguing that things were perfectly SAFE back then. I was arguing the conditions created better people in the survivors.

Dec 9, 2010#6

makare

Meh.

Dec 9, 2010#7

Shakey

GasBandit;458960][QUOTE=Shakey;458956][QUOTE=GasBandit said:
Their mothers smoked and drank while pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for gestational diabetes. And then their mothers put them to sleep on their tummies in baby cribs absolutely covered by brightly colored lead-based paints.

That's not so awesome. Infant mortality rate
[/QUOTE]

Maybe you misunderstood me. It's why people who SURVIVED are awesome. Yes, we have lower infant mortality rates today... but in my opinion, a great many of these people shouldn't have survived childhood.[/QUOTE]

Ah, I see. I'd think that all that drinking and smoking while pregnant would have negatively impacted your development, making you less awesome, even if you did survive.

Dec 9, 2010#8

GasBandit

I reworded my reply a little to make it sound less genocidal.

What I'm trying to say is that if you're thrown into a bear pit and make it out, it makes you awesome. It does not mean that it was awesome that you were thrown into a bear pit.

Dec 9, 2010#9

makare

They used to hitchhike back then too.... people don't do that so much any more.

Dec 9, 2010#10

Hylian

Just because people survived doing stupid/dangerous things doesn't mean it is a wise thing to do.

(And just becuase it seemed relevant)

Dec 9, 2010#11

Dave

Hard as it is to believe, during the early Twentieth Century, a whole school of mental health professionals decided that unconditional love was a terrible thing to give a child. The government printed pamphlets warning mothers against the dangers of holding their kids. The head of the American Psychological Association and even a mothers' organization endorsed the position that mothers were dangerous—until psychologist Harry Harlow set out to prove them wrong, through a series of experiments with monkeys.

A quote from This American Life. Link is to the program in question.

Unconditional Love | This American Life

Dec 9, 2010#12

Shakey

GasBandit said:
I reworded my reply a little to make it sound less genocidal.

What I'm trying to say is that if you're thrown into a bear pit and make it out, it makes you awesome. It does not mean that it was awesome that you were thrown into a bear pit.

I still think all it means is that most of you were handicapped from the start, and therefore less awesome than those that weren't fed poisons from the start.

Dec 9, 2010#13

GasBandit

Shakey;458974][QUOTE=GasBandit said:
I reworded my reply a little to make it sound less genocidal.

What I'm trying to say is that if you're thrown into a bear pit and make it out, it makes you awesome. It does not mean that it was awesome that you were thrown into a bear pit.

I still think all it means is that most of you were handicapped from the start, and therefore less awesome than those that weren't fed poisons from the start.[/QUOTE]

Spoken like a true pantywaste. Shaddap and drink your poison.

Also - your avatar makes this discussion ironic.

Dec 9, 2010#14

Shakey

Oh, and I was born in 79 and still ended up in the hospital with lead poisoning, was cut/stabbed with rusty metal objects multiple times, and was often given a hatchet and some twine to go build a fort out in the woods as a kid. Am I doubly awesome for having done that stuff and survived even though people supposedly knew better?

Dec 9, 2010#15

GasBandit

Shakey said:
Oh, and I was born in 79 and still ended up in the hospital with lead poisoning, was cut/stabbed with rusty metal objects multiple times, and was often given a hatchet and some twine to go build a fort out in the woods as a kid. Am I doubly awesome for having done that stuff and survived even though people supposedly knew better?

Was your lead poisoning in 79? Yeah, I guess you're ok then. But I think we better get you to hit yourself in the crotch with a crab mallet a few times just to make sure.

Dec 9, 2010#16

drifter

GasBandit said:
Spoken like a true pantywaste. Shaddap and drink your poison.

It's pantywaist. Yo mamma shoulda drank less.

Dec 9, 2010#17

GasBandit

drifter;458995][QUOTE=GasBandit said:
Spoken like a true pantywaste. Shaddap and drink your poison.

It's pantywaist. Yo mamma shoulda drank less.

[/QUOTE]

But then I'd be less awesome.

Dec 9, 2010#18

Tress

ITT: Gas does some obvious trolling, yet people still fall for it.

Dec 9, 2010#19

makare

it's not really hardcore trolling.

What the hell else do we have to do all day?

Dec 9, 2010#20

drifter

GasBandit said:
But then I'd be less awesome.

Touché

Dec 9, 2010#21

Steve

People born before the 70's were awesome because they had sex with whoever they wanted whenever they wanted. You could be shopping and see some cute redhead and mount her right there in the middle of the store and nobody cared. They would just maneuver around you while the clerk stood by with a mop to clean up the mess. Yeah, 70's were awesome. Thanks AIDS for raining on our parade.

Dec 9, 2010#22

HCGLNS

You know what's awesome? Getting a wood burning kit for your birthday and a chemistry set for Christmas! One Christmas, when money was tight I was lucky to get a bag of broken glass as a present so I could learn about refraction.

Dec 9, 2010#23

North_Ranger

Gaseous Leslie Bandit! Whatchoo doin' in 'ere, boy? Git back to dem Political pages now, 'fore I whoop yer ass so red they gun' use dat as a street light!

Damn kids...

Dec 9, 2010#24

D

Dubyamn

Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

If anybody remembers my statements of disgust about Europeans double it and apply it to old people.

Dec 9, 2010#25

North_Ranger

Dubyamn said:
Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

If anybody remembers my statements of disgust about Europeans double it and apply it to old people.

I don't.

But please, do tell. I'm all ears.

*taps a crowbar against his hand*

Dec 9, 2010#26

D

Dubyamn

North_Ranger;459013][QUOTE=Dubyamn said:
Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

If anybody remembers my statements of disgust about Europeans double it and apply it to old people.

Dec 9, 2010#27

V.Bond

Dubyamn said:
Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

So what you are saying is that old people literally rule.

Dec 9, 2010#28

makare

Dubyamn;459024][QUOTE=North_Ranger;459013][QUOTE=Dubyamn said:
Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

If anybody remembers my statements of disgust about Europeans double it and apply it to old people.

I don't.

But please, do tell. I'm all ears.

*taps a crowbar against his hand*[/QUOTE]

In short everywhere Europeans touched in their exploitation of the world where they didn't slaughter the natives has turned into a horrible place in the name of spreading civilization. It got kinda heated last time and a thread was locked so I'll just take my beating and not go into any major detail.[/QUOTE]

Wait is that Europeans today or Europeans in the past? I think most of them sit around watching Futbol now.

Dec 9, 2010#29

ThatGrinningIdiot!

As a young person I have vigor, mobility, virility, potency, and passion. Any time an "senior" begins ranting about how superior he or she is, it's usually because they envy these qualities which they no longer have.

Looking at my comment and GB's I can see that ego does not diminish throughout one's life, it only changes.

Dec 9, 2010#30

North_Ranger

Dubyamn;459024][QUOTE=North_Ranger;459013][QUOTE=Dubyamn said:
Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

If anybody remembers my statements of disgust about Europeans double it and apply it to old people.

I don't.

But please, do tell. I'm all ears.

*taps a crowbar against his hand*[/QUOTE]

In short everywhere Europeans touched in their exploitation of the world where they didn't slaughter the natives has turned into a horrible place in the name of spreading civilization. It got kinda heated last time and a thread was locked so I'll just take my beating and not go into any major detail.[/QUOTE]

I'm not gonna beat you. All I'm going to say that you should really consider your terminology. Try "major powers" or "European empires" instead of "Europeans". There's a whole bunch of us here that were actually under someone else's boot, you know.

Dec 9, 2010#31

makare

North_Ranger;459036][QUOTE=Dubyamn;459024][QUOTE=North_Ranger;459013][QUOTE=Dubyamn said:
Old people suck. They sent our economy into the shitter, turned all regulation into a joke, nailed every single one of us onto a cross of Iron, turned the inner cities into ghettos, turned Africa into a shithole and spent our country damn near into oblivion.

If anybody remembers my statements of disgust about Europeans double it and apply it to old people.

I don't.

But please, do tell. I'm all ears.

*taps a crowbar against his hand*[/QUOTE]

In short everywhere Europeans touched in their exploitation of the world where they didn't slaughter the natives has turned into a horrible place in the name of spreading civilization. It got kinda heated last time and a thread was locked so I'll just take my beating and not go into any major detail.[/QUOTE]

I'm not gonna beat you. All I'm going to say that you should really consider your terminology. Try "major powers" or "European empires" instead of "Europeans". There's a whole bunch of us here that were actually under someone else's boot, you know.[/QUOTE]

So basically they are all into some really kinky shit.

Dec 9, 2010#32

North_Ranger

Ehhh... Tired mind, couldn't think of a better expression. Too many classes on the colonial process...

Dec 9, 2010#33

makare

Don't apologize now.. *wink wink*

Dec 9, 2010#34

North_Ranger

Don't get me started, mak.

Dec 9, 2010#35

makare

:sneaky: *poke*

Dec 9, 2010#36

North_Ranger

*shirt off*

Dec 9, 2010#37

Shakey

Tress said:
ITT: Gas does some obvious trolling, yet people still fall for it.

I was just bored at work and felt argumentative. I'm gonna go back to eating some 40 year old paint chips I found in the basement.

Dec 9, 2010#38

makare

North_Ranger said:
*shirt off*

Poke was VERY EFFECTIVE.

Dec 9, 2010#39

North_Ranger

Hey, it's been a while, okay?

Now, I have these handcuffs here...

Dec 9, 2010#40

makare

Oh man.. Europeans ROCK!

Dec 9, 2010#41

North_Ranger

And don't you forget it. Or there will be spanking.

Dec 9, 2010#42

makare

What was that... I forgot already! :whistling:

Dec 9, 2010#43

North_Ranger

Assume position.

Dec 9, 2010#44

makare

*assumes prime spanking position*

Dec 9, 2010#45

North_Ranger

Hold on a second, just gotta make sure no one gets any NSFW without warning...

Hah! Made you look, you perv! Now you get kittens!

Whooo... that was good.

Dec 9, 2010#46

makare

hehe.. I mean aw yeah >.>

Dec 9, 2010#47

North_Ranger

Was it good for you too?

Dec 9, 2010#48

makare

Dec 9, 2010#49

North_Ranger

DAMMIT!

Dec 9, 2010#50

makare

sorry.. ive seen it before

Dec 10, 2010#51

Element 117

You know what's awesome about old people? They die sooner.

Dec 10, 2010#52

strawman

You know what's awesome about old people? They tell us stuff, and we can learn from their mistakes.

"Yeah, one of my friends when I was little got polio. They were in an iron lung what seemed forever, then they died."

"I'm glad they got moms to stop drinking. I'm pretty sure that's why jimmy was never quite right in the head, but that could also have been lead paint - I remember they were so poor that their walls were constantly peeling. Who knows how that moron survives today, and he's got three kids just as dumb!"

"I learned algebra in college, there's no reason you young whippersnappers can't learn calculus in high school. Get to work, pansy!"

Nothing like a good example to push humanity forward.

Dec 10, 2010#53

Green_Lantern

Why Young People Suck and Old People Rule sounds like it could be a porn movie name. I just wanted to share this piece of mind bleach.

Dec 10, 2010#54

Disconnected

Green_Lantern said:
Why Young People Suck and Old People Rule sounds like it could be a porn movie name. I just wanted to share this piece of mind bleach.

I think i've seen that one.

Also:

young people came from old people. Old people dropped the ball by not raising them 'right'. Old people suck. young people suck.

I am old.

Dec 10, 2010#55

fade

You know something extremely strange, GasBandit?

I agree with you.

And I don't think you're doing any obvious trolling either. Sure. Some of your points are silly, but this country has certainly become psychologically and physically overprotective of their kids. I've actually been saying this for years. I think things like hand sanitizer stations in the hallways is one of the dumbest moves we've made. We sterilize our kids out of developing immunities. We protect them out of developing strong bones, ligaments, and tendons. We molycoddle them to the point they cannot accept any assault on their psyches. Like I say, I've been saying this for years, and now the media is finally catching on to how stupid we're being.

Anecdote: I've lived all over this country as an adult. I really see this crap in the Northeast. In Boston, I remember parents literally audibly gasping when I allowed my 1 and a half year old to climb up and slide down a playground slide. You know what? He had fun. He scraped his knees once or twice, but instead of crying to mommy, he got up and kept going. The other kids were terrified to play. The slightest bump would send them reeling.

I remember spending days outside in the woods. I salvaged scrap wood and nails from an old abandoned house I found down in the woods and I made a new one for myself. I was friggin' 10 years old. My parents know where I was. They were concerned when needed. BUt they didn't hover.

Dec 10, 2010#56

Jiarn

Pretty much the same feelings here fade. I raise my kids in that "old school" style and I get all kind of gasps and horrified looks, but you know what? My kids deal with alot of hardships without alot more strength than said children of said parents.

My daughter has knocked teeth out before, shedding tears but never throwing that crazy fit of psycho paralysis. My son has broken bones with a more confused painful reaction than a full police escort and ambulance. I'm proud of how I'm raising my kids and I hope they do the same when their time comes.

Dec 10, 2010#57

makare

Jiarn said:
Pretty much the same feelings here fade. I raise my kids in that "old school" style and I get all kind of gasps and horrified looks, but you know what? My kids deal with alot of hardships without alot more strength than said children of said parents.

My daughter has knocked teeth out before, shedding tears but never throwing that crazy fit of psycho paralysis. My son has broken bones with a more confused painful reaction than a full police escort and ambulance. I'm proud of how I'm raising my kids and I hope they do the same when their time comes.

Arent you the one who wanted to nanny cam his kid?

Dec 10, 2010#58

Jiarn

Because of how they are around people they know they can get away with things. If you give them an inch, they take a mile.

Not sure how that relates to this subject at all.

Dec 10, 2010#59

makare

Just seems like hovering to me. That's all.

Dec 10, 2010#60

GasBandit

Hovering is ok if it's meant to facilitate the smacking of the kid. Not so much if it's to "protect" the kid.

Dec 10, 2010#61

Jiarn

Which is exactly what it was for. They know better, but they also know that if they can get away with it, they'll try it. I simply wanted them to know, like when they're in school, that if they try it... I'll find out and the consequences will be swift.

Dec 10, 2010#62

HCGLNS

Actual experience

My Mom watching from kitchen window "He's to young to climb that tree."
=I fall out of tree=
My Mom watching from kitchen window "Surely he won't try that again."
=I fall out of tree=
My Mom watching from kitchen window "Well at least he learned his lesson."
=I disappear for a while=
My Mom at the bottom of the tree "When your father learns that you used his good extension cord as a rope you are in serious trouble. Now come down this instance young man."

I was 6.

Dec 10, 2010#63

IronBrig4

This is why I'm glad to be involved in Boy Scouts. The boys play rugby in the mud, learn how to care for knives and guns, and hike all weekend with nothing to eat but Pop Tarts and trail food. They receive their share of cuts, scrapes, poison oak, bee stings, and all those other outdoor goodies, but they pick themselves up and keep on trucking. The parents are also great because they know it's how boys grow up. If a kid falls out of a tree his folks won't sue.

My troop had ONE parent of the type mentioned in the OP. Her poor kid couldn't do anything fun. No guns, no horseback riding, no rock climbing, no swimming in deep water, and no meat. Why not meat, you ask? He didn't have any health problems but SHE was vegan.

Dec 10, 2010#64

GasBandit

I hope you shared your jerky with him.

Dec 10, 2010#65

IronBrig4

Oh yes. The leaders might have felt bound to respect his mother's wishes but us boys certainly didn't. We gave him jerky, lent him our knives for whittling, and treated him like a normal kid because that's exactly what he was.

I'm an Eagle Scout and worked for the Boy Scouts for about three years, in addition to volunteering as an adult leader. It's nice to see at least some kids have childhoods that kicked as much ass as ours.

PS - Heh, I remember when I was about 3 and got chicken pox. Every mother in my neighborhood who had a kid my age sent them over to play with me. We all got chicken pox but we didn't care because our friends were together and having a great time. Do today's parents do that anymore? I honestly don't know.

Dec 10, 2010#66

strawman

IronBrig4 said:
Oh yes. The leaders might have felt bound to respect his mother's wishes but us boys certainly didn't. We gave him jerky, lent him our knives for whittling, and treated him like a normal kid because that's exactly what he was.

I'm an Eagle Scout and worked for the Boy Scouts for about three years, in addition to volunteering as an adult leader. It's nice to see at least some kids have childhoods that kicked as much ass as ours.

PS - Heh, I remember when I was about 3 and got chicken pox. Every mother in my neighborhood who had a kid my age sent them over to play with me. We all got chicken pox but we didn't care because our friends were together and having a great time. Do today's parents do that anymore? I honestly don't know.

Yeah. The last few times we had chickenpox in our house we had more visits from other kids than usual.

Dec 10, 2010#67

Frankie Williamson

Except for that all those awesome people born before 1970 are the parents that raised these current garbage generations, pursue the lawsuits for bumps and scrapes and in general made the world the current place it is.

In essence, fuck the baby boomers (I love you mom!).

Dec 10, 2010#68

LittleSin

I'm sick and tired of my parents telling me that things aren't "safe" my kid.

It's a god damn swing set, not a torture device! The cat is not going to smother him in his sleep. He is not going to be harmed by seeing his father naked.

It's enough to drive a person batty.

Dec 10, 2010#69

makare

I don't know gotta watch that cat thing. When my sister was an infant my mom would leave her in her crib and she would suddenly freak out. My mom would rush back to see what was going on but she was always fine when she got there. Finally once during one of those instances she just peaked around the corner to find our cat lying on top of my sister nibbling on her nose.

Now that I think about it maybe that is why my sister is so messed up. :confused:

Dec 10, 2010#70

GasBandit

LittleSin said:
He is not going to be harmed by seeing his father naked.

Welllllll on that one, Dr. Thaddeus S. Venture might have some commentary to add.

Dec 10, 2010#71

strawman

makare said:
I don't know gotta watch that cat thing. When my sister was an infant my mom would leave her in her crib and she would suddenly freak out. My mom would rush back to see what was going on but she was always fine when she got there. Finally once during one of those instances she just peaked around the corner to find our cat lying on top of my sister nibbling on her nose.

Now that I think about it maybe that is why my sister is so messed up.

Actually your mom misread the situation. Your sister was, even as a baby, huffing kittens.

Sorry to break it to you so roughly, but there it is.

Dec 10, 2010#72

Hailey Knight

Frankie Williamson said:
Except for that all those awesome people born before 1970 are the parents that raised these current garbage generations, pursue the lawsuits for bumps and scrapes and in general made the world the current place it is.

In essence, fuck the baby boomers (I love you mom!).

Pretty much this. My grandpa had a similar mentality as Gas's OP, except his cutoff year is 1940.

Dec 10, 2010#73

Disconnected

escushion;459369][QUOTE=Frankie Williamson said:
Except for that all those awesome people born before 1970 are the parents that raised these current garbage generations, pursue the lawsuits for bumps and scrapes and in general made the world the current place it is.

In essence, fuck the baby boomers (I love you mom!).

Pretty much this. My grandpa had a similar mentality as Gas's OP, except his cutoff year is 1940.[/QUOTE]

i thought i said this. fucking kids never listen to their elders.

Dec 10, 2010#74

Frankie Williamson

I didn't notice there was more than 1 page of discussion when I clicked the thread originally.

Dec 10, 2010#75

PatrThom

I honestly feel like I'm at some sort of cusp. I've seen the big transition from analog to digital and been alive long enough to have strong roots in both eras. I had relative freedom to indulge in dangerous activities*, garbage pick the neighborhood for all manner of MacGyver-esque experimentation. I've blown a lot of fuses (physical and metaphorical). I've had some seriously lucky incidents (more of the 'didn't realize how dangerous that really was' than 'OMG did you see that?' type) and caused a certain amount of property damage (plaster will clog a vacuum bag when you try to hide the evidence, did you know that?), and you know what?

I learned. I learned a lot.

Most importantly, I gained XP at a rate quick enough to keep myself relatively unharmed (nothing more than the occasional 2nd degree burn or minor scar) by my subsequent adventures. My physical activity kept my body healthy, my experiments kept my mind healthy, and my caution and sense worked for both. IF kids aren't allowed a little leeway to kill rats in those early uncomfortable parts of Life THEN they will be unprepared for the boss battles which come later. I fully realize that my situation was atypical, but it allowed me to squeeze in a lot of useful self-training before that entire "growing up" thing got Nerf'd.

I have a son, now. He will be monitored, yes. But he will also be empowered, educated and encouraged. As a result, he will have an [STRIKE]unfair[/STRIKE] advantage over his peers.

I can hardly wait.

--Patrick
*Ask me about my many teenage adventures involving carbide, mercury, nitric/hydrochloric/sulfuric acids, various hydrocarbons, accelerants, fireworks, thermite, electric mains, flyback transformers, living in a tent in Winter, etc...and this was all *before* high school.

Dec 10, 2010#76

makare

I don't think there is a coddling problem in Sodak. Not in general anyway. I guess it might be a localized thing.

Dec 10, 2010#77

Morphine

Do you realize that those kids raised in the freedom and happiness of the 70's are the parents of today? You said yourself that the new generations suck... guess what, they are being brought up by the happy children of the 70's. Those kids are the overprotective, whining parents of today*. Guess they didn't turn out all that marvelous, after all...

*I'm not saying all parents are like that, don't jump and aim for my throat.

Dec 10, 2010#78

CrimsonSoul

Heck my kid (he's 5) has gotten kicked on the chin and hit with a stick at school (same kid different days) I had enough I told him (my kid) that if it happens again to start punching the other kid in the face, and I told his teacher that I told him that. I made sure to let him know that if he didn't start the fight that he wouldn't be in trouble at home even though he would get in trouble at school (in all honesty I'd probably take him to chuck e cheese for standing up for himself), so it's not all a bygone era

Dec 11, 2010#79

Bumble the Boy Wonder

This thread should be locked because I'm young and I'm worried the topic could cause emotional scarring or smother me.

Dec 11, 2010#80

Tress

Bumble the Boy Wonder said:
This thread should be locked because I'm young and I'm worried the topic could cause emotional scarring or smother me.

SUCK IT UP, WUSS!

Dec 11, 2010#81

makare

Someone turn up the Linkin Park

Dec 11, 2010#82

North_Ranger

LittleSin said:
I'm sick and tired of my parents telling me that things aren't "safe" my kid.

This.

LittleSin said:
It's a god damn swing set, not a torture device!

I'll have to work on this... but it's mostly because the kids at school pretty much tried to break their swings in the process

LittleSin said:
The cat is not going to smother him in his sleep.

Uhhh... Can't really verify this, Sin ol' gal. My mother, bless her heart, is quite afraid of animals, and one summer day when I was still a baby, she let me sleep outside in the stroller, outside the kitchen window where she could see me. Now, I have no recollections of this (I was about 3-4 months old), but mom tells she saw one of the neighbourhood cats lurking about. Afraid of animals as she is, she came outside and took me inside, leaving the stroller on the yard.

An hour later she looks outside, and sees that same cat lying in the stroller, right where my plump little baby face would have been. She panics and dad goes out, picks up the cat and gives him two sharp whacks on the hind-quarters with two-by-four before letting the hissing and spitting thing go.

LittleSin said:
He is not going to be harmed by seeing his father naked.

This I can vouch for. I grew up seeing both my parents naked (large bathroom + sauna once a week), and I turned out okay

LittleSin said:
It's enough to drive a person batty.

I'm sure it is. Hopefully, if I ever have the privilege of being a father, I remember not to take leave of my senses.

Dec 11, 2010#83

HCGLNS

A cat in the crib is not there to smother the baby, it is there to investigate the new human and possibly urinate in the crib to let the new human know that it is encroaching on it's territory.

Dec 11, 2010#84

fade

Or because the baby is warm.

Dec 11, 2010#85

strawman

I've found that there are a variety of things, but some of those that I noticed are:
- warmth
- smell of milk (on baby and baby's clothes, crib, stroller - everywhere you've fed the baby)
- The spaces made for babies are just the right size for cats to curl up and sleep, and generally warmly padded
- It appears that cats notice the lack of attention, and so hang out where things (ie, baby) get attention (don't know if cats feel jealousy, but the appearance of jealousy is there)
- Generally cats I've had like to be where people are - they are very social. Babies sleep a lot, and cats sleep a lot, so part of it may be sleeping with another creature that is warm and sleeps when the other humans don't.

But a newborn can't breathe with the weight or a cat on their chest, and doesn't have the strength to turn over, move the cat, etc if the cat gets in the way of the infant's face. So for the first few weeks we train the cat that the baby sleeping areas are off limits, and when the baby is not sleeping he is always within sight of an adult, so we don't worry about it otherwise. Now that our youngest is nearly 2, he tackles the cat, etc and he can handle the cat, but, of course, the cat is still trained not to enter the sleeping areas, even though we'd be ok with it now.

But then, we have an awesome cat, so, you know, my advice may not apply to every other cat situation.

I wouldn't allow a stray near my baby for the simple reason that I don't know what disease and/or bugs the thing may transfer, and even a small scratch can turn into a major infection depending on what the cat has been tracking through recently.

Dec 11, 2010#86

LittleSin

I should be mreo clear. For the first, oh hour months or so of life Jet slept in the room with us and the cat wasn't allowed in.

After that Jet started sleeping in his own room and I keep his door closed. The cat doesn't enter the room with out me being there.

We're out of the danger zone now anyways. Jet can now wrestle the cat and the cat will take off once he knows what's coming.

Dec 11, 2010#87

makare

I wasn't trying to say that cat's are out to get anyone or anything (they are though seriously)

I just thought it was a riot that ours was trying to eat my sisters nose.

Dec 11, 2010#88

strawman

Didn't you know?

Noses are the tastiest part of the baby.

Dec 11, 2010#89

Officer_Charon

My wife seems to be distressingly like OP's descriptions. Of course, that might just be because she's still adapting to how tough kids really are, but she's already trying to get me to promise that if anything even HINTS at being dangerous for Rhiannon, we'll both make sure and protect her from it.

However, she was raised old-school, was something of a tomboy, and is generally a GRITS, so I have a feeling that she'll grow out of that stage, about the time Rhiannon starts running into walls, falling over and laughing. Sorta like her daddy did, back in the day. *grins*

Dec 11, 2010#90

Hailey Knight

I've found kids to handle bumps and bruises better when the reaction to them hurting themselves when they're not really hurt is to laugh and joke with them instead of gasping in horror, rushing over and crying "Are you okay? Oh my poor baby!"

Dec 11, 2010#91

Bones

you and me both charon, I also ran into door frames.

Dec 13, 2010#92

GasBandit

Oh, full disclosure, I guess... I should mention that when I was 4 I had my leg torn open by a swingset chain when I jumped off of it. Had to go the to hospital for stitches. I still have the scar on the back of my thigh to this day.

Dec 15, 2010#93

North_Ranger

GasBandit said:
Oh, full disclosure, I guess... I should mention that when I was 4 I had my leg torn open by a swingset chain when I jumped off of it. Had to go the to hospital for stitches. I still have the scar on the back of my thigh to this day.

Dec 16, 2010#94

Ravenpoe

escushion said:
I've found kids to handle bumps and bruises better when the reaction to them hurting themselves when they're not really hurt is to laugh and joke with them instead of gasping in horror, rushing over and crying "Are you okay? Oh my poor baby!"

Dec 16, 2010#95

Officer_Charon

Behold, the power of suggestion. It's amazing what we can do if we tell ourselves that we're fine.

Just sayin'.

Dec 16, 2010#96

sixpackshaker

Ravenpoe;460801][QUOTE=escushion said:
I've found kids to handle bumps and bruises better when the reaction to them hurting themselves when they're not really hurt is to laugh and joke with them instead of gasping in horror, rushing over and crying "Are you okay? Oh my poor baby!"

When I was a kid, any sort of injury was handled by my dad telling me that I was ok. Not asking, just straight out telling me.

Fall down the stairs? He'd pick me up by the arm, say "You're ok," and then drop me back on the floor. Being the impressionable kid I was, I just believed him.[/QUOTE]

I saw my nephew (about 3) fall on his bare knees on the sidewalk. He looked up with a little worry in his eyes, to see if it was OK to cry. Instead I told him not to worry, he did not damage the sidewalk at all. He laughed, took of running, and did it again on purpose. And he laughed some more.

My brother was both glad and angry with me at the same time.

Dec 16, 2010#97

GasBandit

North_Ranger;460760][QUOTE=GasBandit said:
Oh, full disclosure, I guess... I should mention that when I was 4 I had my leg torn open by a swingset chain when I jumped off of it. Had to go the to hospital for stitches. I still have the scar on the back of my thigh to this day.

But you'll of course tell people who ask about it that you got it while wrestling with a grizzly bear buck-naked and smeared with honey, with one hand tied behind your back uphill in the middle of the winter.[/QUOTE]

Actually, telling them it was ripped open by a swingset chain when I jumped off usually makes them cringe pretty dang well.

Dec 16, 2010#98

IronBrig4

When I was 7 or 8 my little brother and I were jumping off the couch. We'd just played with Hot Wheels a little while before so they were scattered on the rug. I mistimed a jump and my bare knee landed right on one of the hot rods (with the engine sticking out of the hood). It ripped through all the skin and I could see the cartilage underneath. You know what I did? I walked right to the neighbor's house because I knew my Mom was there. I barely made a sound the entire time, even though blood was dripping down my leg. I didn't start screaming until she started applying peroxide.

Dec 16, 2010#99

HCGLNS

When I was six I broke my arm badly. As in Tim Krumrie broken. I just walked up to my Mom and told her that my arm hurt. She just said "I imagine it does. Well no sense crying about it, lets go get it fixed."

Dec 16, 2010#100