Single parents

[Caustic Burno]

It takes a village to raise a child. We lost a friend Tues night in a tragic accident, leaving behind a wife and 3 beautiful daughters, the youngest only 7 months old. I have no idea how she will have the strength to manage, survive & raise those babies but the entire community is rallying with fundraisers, donations, offers to help any way we can and she does have some family that live here. I can't begin to imagine . . .

Wife's mom raised four from 6 weeks to 5 years when the only support system was community and church.
That was at a time food stamps and welfare didn't exist.
I had a lot of respect for my MIL tough lady.

 

[TCRanch]

for 6 mos..then it becomes normal and if yer family aint in it for ya...it just gets harder...hows she gonna work? kids to school...with a 7 mo old....poor thing

She owns a salon so she's fortunate she can bring the youngest daughters to work but she'll most likely have to cut her hours in half. He owned a barber shop; his only 2 employees were an 80 year old man that worked part time and another guy that showed up late (every day!) so she'll probably sell it. They'll be living on a dime & a prayer.

 

[dieselbeef]

yea....lotta good intentions just fade away..im living it...it can become lonely also..work friends aint the same as a wife..husband..kids aint adults either..no atter what the age..not like talking or drinking with yer pals..same ole same ole day in day out...problems that seem insignificant wear ya out cuz ya got no time or way to control the outcome

 

[djinwa]

Who decides what activities kids have to do? Is it some kind of competition or something? All for parent's bragging rights?

Used to be kids would just go out, round up some friends, and play ball in the field. Now they have to be on teams in a league, with several coaches and uniforms, and travel across the state to tournaments, and get trophies and awards.....

Certainly they need to be busy and growing, but does it have to be so formal? How about growing some food or building something, or going camping and fishing or tearing an engine apart or whatever?

Why do we have to have so many programs?

 

[bball]

Who decides what activities kids have to do? Is it some kind of competition or something? All for parent's bragging rights?

Used to be kids would just go out, round up some friends, and play ball in the field. Now they have to be on teams in a league, with several coaches and uniforms, and travel across the state to tournaments, and get trophies and awards.....

Certainly they need to be busy and growing, but does it have to be so formal? How about growing some food or building something, or going camping and fishing or tearing an engine apart or whatever?

Why do we have to have so many programs?

Dj,
Many of the children playing league ball all year long are looking to do it at the next level in college and maybe further after that. It is virtually a must if a kid is going to compete collegiately for most sports. It is prevalent in virtually every sport: football camps, baseball camps, league basketball, swim clubs, wrestling camps, indoor track, etc. Your kid will be left in the dust if he/she doesn't train year round for the sport. That's how competitive it has become.

One brief example: one of my boys is a senior this year. Very small 1A school. He is an elite wrestler for our regional. Tomorrow, he travels north for semi state. His season almost assuredly will end tomorrow as it has the past few seasons. He will be wrestling against boys that wrestle all year long; club, camps, AAU, Hiway, and national competition. The caliber of wrestling tomorrow truly separates the wheat from the chaff. Many of the winners will be wrestling at D1 colleges next year.
Not condoning or condemning, just explaining. You are correct also...many parents ego is fueled through their children's athletic accomplishments. I am extremely proud of my boy and his athletic accomplishments in wrestling, track and football but more proud of his academic accomplishments(which coupled with his SAT score) have already 'punched his ticket' for a 4 year college education. The classroom is one of the fastest ways to land a college ride...less competitive than the sports side it seems as he will be my 3rd child who has earned full ride college education through academics, not sports.