When I was growing up I spent endless days playing in a creek, now my kids hardly leave the house, save to go to activities as a family. of course where would they go? and they are a bit young, or so I figure... but do you ever feel like you're not giving your child enough "life experiences" ?
Cuz well... sometimes there's this feeling that niggles my brain... most of the time I just want to slap it silly... DO kids really even need "life experiences"? Or is that psychobabble creeping into my consciousness?
--Ray
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Need them or not, life experiences come to all of us. There's no escaping them.
I like the idea of getting children out into nature as much as possible. And nature is not some perfectly manicured strip of unnatural green lawn trimmed to perfection with a plastic little tykes slide gizmo on it. (Although we have one of those.) I like to get them out on the shore of the Great Salt Lake, up the canyons where the ladybugs and praying mantises roam, out in the weather - snowstorm, rainstorm, whatever, out on walks with the dog or on horseback rides. I think it makes them better people. You can't B.S. animals or nature.
And I like to expose them to a variety of people - Grandpa's in the hospital and he's wearing O2 and doesn't look good, we better not go there... Heck, no! We ARE going there. Welcome to life. Drink it up!
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I think "life experiences" change by generation and location, but they're still good memories for kids. My dad used to speak sadly about how much we were missing out on because we didn't grow up on a farm, so we didn't play in a creek, jump out of the hayloft, and run from the cows (except when we visited grandma). But we had a vacant lot nearby, bikes to ride, and an abandoned gravel pit up the street. I never felt like I missed out because I wasn't on a farm daily. We played in the gutter, since there was no creek handy.
Chase the kids out of the house every so often, and they'll find their own magic places to play. Then when they grow up, they'll worry that their kids aren't building the exact same memories they have.
It's sad that even having them outside the house in some areas, or even nice areas (recall cat and ponch's daughter's experience with weirdo in her own neighborhood) it's just not a safe option. We have to watch them all the time, it seems. How did our parents even survive?
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
I live on a farm with my family so this really isn't a problem. My son is so filthy some days that I can barely bring myself to hug him.
I grew up on a farm.
I wish I were wealthy enough to have a farm for my kids. I own 8 acres in Utah, but I rent it out to a farmer.
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
Chase the kids out of the house every so often, and they'll find their own magic places to play. Then when they grow up, they'll worry that their kids aren't building the exact same memories they have.
Yeah... and The kids have created a whole network of caves in my Rhododendrons they can crawl through under the cover of the broad leaves, but once in a while, someone falls through leaving this big ugly hole... :)
More than anything I think I'm just nostalgic for the days when it was me crawling through the hedges... wish I could go back to enjoying the simple things as much as my kids seem to...
--Ray
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I'm not slow; I'm special. (Don't take it personally, everyone finds me offensive. Yet somehow I manage to live with myself.)
Sunrise, Sunset.... you know the rest of the song...
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
I'm already planning for summers in the far reaches of Wyoming for my kid, where cell phone coverage and paved roads are scarce.
I have a brother and sister in law who moved to Wyoming last year. They are waaaayyy out in the boonies. No land lines for a regular telephone, no towers for a cell phone, but they do have a satellite phone. Their house at first had no electricity or running water (I think it does now). They have a gas-powered refrigerator. They're nearest neighbor or relative is about 2-4 miles away I think. Oh and yeah, forget about paved roads around their home. They have 9 children. They moved there from Ohio. (And they were out in the boonies there too). Their kids were pretty much divided about how they felt about the move. They liked the fact they were moving close to my sister-in-law's family. Cuz this house is on her family's land and they had never lived close to them their whole lives, but others didn't like the fact that they were leaving modern civilization. But for the most part, they don't mind it, because that is what they have known most of some of their lives. If any family has ever experienced true life experiences they would be it. My nieces and nephews would get excited just to have boxed cereal, cuz they never have that.
Mine I guess consisted mainly of searching the Puget Sound beaches for interesting finds... crabs grabbing your fingers, getting squirted by those big horseclams, tossing starfish back in to try to save them, sand in the swimsuit (rule was, if it was over 80* we could swim) and putting pennies and "things" on the RR tracks to experiment... That, mingled with a nice 4-6 hour trail ride with my Dad every Saturday.
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
It's a good thing Father doesn't allow me to decide very many of the life experiences my kids get to partake of... I would have "saved" them from most of the things that make them who they are...
One life experience I truly wish we could have avoided was Son2 being struck by lightning at BSA camp... It wasn't really worth the extra "merit badge" he got later...
I have a brother and sister in law who moved to Wyoming last year. They are waaaayyy out in the boonies. No land lines for a regular telephone, no towers for a cell phone, but they do have a satellite phone. Their house at first had no electricity or running water (I think it does now). They have a gas-powered refrigerator. They're nearest neighbor or relative is about 2-4 miles away I think. Oh and yeah, forget about paved roads around their home. They have 9 children. They moved there from Ohio. (And they were out in the boonies there too). Their kids were pretty much divided about how they felt about the move. They liked the fact they were moving close to my sister-in-law's family. Cuz this house is on her family's land and they had never lived close to them their whole lives, but others didn't like the fact that they were leaving modern civilization. But for the most part, they don't mind it, because that is what they have known most of some of their lives. If any family has ever experienced true life experiences they would be it. My nieces and nephews would get excited just to have boxed cereal, cuz they never have that.
Um...Poncho...dare I correct you in saying that the house at the muddy is 8 miles from the highway and the main ranch...
....um...and...possibly....my son would be sending his summers with your nieces and nephews...
Maybe...was your brother in a serious car accident 10 or 15 or so years ago??
Could the world be this small??
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"My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
This was my reaction also, followed with falling off my chair.
Then, with no set-up or introduction, I read your post to my husband who immediatly recognized his cousin who, apparently, is married to your brother.
Though neither my husband nor I grew up in Wyoming, we both--through different circumstances--spent our summers there. I am quite familiar with the area and house to which you refer, not to mention the family.
THis is the creepy part where virtual-reality starts blending with actual-reality...I'm always little uncomfortable when my multiple personalities meet...
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"My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
I'm related to almost all of Southern Alberta, which really means I'm one of those "ethnic" Mormons. I joke that I married hubby because I desperately needed some fresh blood in my line - no kids with six toes for me!
Y'all may have ancestors from Scotland or Italy or elsewhere, but my ancestors are from the United States.
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They might not look it, but bunnies can really take care of themselves.
"It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all!!! It's a small, small world!" ? 
oh, Raymond! That's it. 
