Here is an interesting editorial about homeschooling... http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=274594&pub=1&div=Opinion
I liked that! I wish I had a serene look on my face when I take my boys to the store. They're good kids, they don't beg and I do not threaten, but peaceful is not a word I'd use to describe a shopping trip with all three of them! Lisa
I, too, liked the article. And I do believe people often resent us because we represent what they are not willing to sacrifice for the sake of their children. Hobby parents. That's what I've begun to call them. And I also have to admit that the opening paragraph is not my shopping experience, either!!
I like that!!! "Hobby Parents!!!" What? Your kids don't behave like that? Well, no wonder Children's Services has your number!!! MY KIDS walk (not run, skip, dance) right next to me, always pleasant, friendly, polite, always saying "please and thank you m'am", NEVER fighting with each other, never asking for candy or junk food.... LOL!!!!
I would love to go thru a store with out the I wants. I have yet to see a toddler/preschooler or young child go thru a store and not ask for at least one thing she or he wants and knows it's gonna be a no no
Great article. My girls don't have braids and we wear a lot of second hand clothes, all clean and in good repair. I don't have to worry about the "I wants" though. They will ask politely to have something and if I say no that is the end of it. They have more fun helping me find good buys than anything.
Very nice article...and I might add that we homeschool our children and both my husband and I work out of necessity, homeschooling really only uses up some of our time (time that we would otherwise waste really) so really if one wants to school their child it can be done, you just have to be willing to sacrifice some time to do it!
Cute article. However, I would not say that parents who send their kids to school should be called "Hobby Parents". I also cannot say that all consider themsevles as putting their kids on the sacrifical alter of the State. I mean, we all should have the right to raise our kids as we see fit. I went to school all my life and I don't feel my parents were "hobby parents." The back and forth banter of who are better parents...the stay at home, home schooling ones or the working, send the kids to school ones is useless. We all want freedom to choice...right? I have known plenty of parents on both sides and I have yet to find that either lifestyle was the determining factor in how good a parent is. I have seen awesome working parents and terrible home schooling parents...and the opposite. Now, I personally am not offended by the term "hobby parent". I am also not trying to argue or make anyone feel bad. I only mention it because we can't have it both ways...we can't be offended when some reject home schooling and then offend those who send their kids to school. One of the best moms I know works full time and sends her kids to school. Her kids are VERY well behaved and very smart. Sure there are "hobby parents" out there but more than sending them to school goes into that. I personally know a few moms who I would consider "hobby moms" and they both stay at home. LOL.
I gotta agree with Ava Rose. I WAS one of those parents till this year, till you look below the surface. There are so many different reasons people choose the things they do for their families, and there are no hard fast rules that make anyone better because of them.
Ava Rose, my comment "hobby parents" for sure has a tinge of bitterness because it comes on the heels of my being reported to human services on the 11th. One thing is for certain, it was a neighbor who had to have placed the call, and it was based on either complete lies or extreme exaggerations of the truth. So in my obsession to determine for sure who it could've been, I have exhibited the typical human, if not unfair, response of comparing my parenting to that of ALL of my neighbors. One of the accusations was that I left my children alone for hours. I don't leave them ever, and if I wanted free time, wouldn't I just send them to school? It makes no sense. . . So, as I look around my neighborhood and see those who have only one or two children and who spend only a few hours a day actually parenting those one or two children, and think that one of them is the person who is trying to make me look bad without any merit to their claims, yes, I am going to lash out and consider them "hobby parents". Normally, I am a live-and-let-live type of person and I couldn't agree with you more on the "we all have the right to raise our kids as we see fit." I just wish everyone believed that and reserved their calls to human services for children who are very obviously being abused, not to target a mom whose philosophies on parenting go against the grain. So, that is why I am so quick to use the term "hobby parents". Fair, no. But I am still fuming and still hurting. . . Just wanted to explain, because I normally am a live-and-let-live type of person.
Hey, Kyzg...I am sorry. I was not trying to attack you...which I am sure you know. Actually, when I read the post I didn't even remember who wrote it...had I..I would have understood your frustration better. I can totally understand your lashing out. I have lashed out at less things, believe me! LOL. I also called the public school administration building in my other post the enemy's lair! LOL. I just wanted to clarify a bit because I knew whoever made the comment must have said it out of frustration or thinking of a small group of parents and I didn't want anyone feeling bad or isolated if they happened to be one of those parents who sent their kids to school or were planning on it. I am sorry about your experience. I can see why you would be upset and still hurting. I pray that your trial ends and whoever had the nerve to judge you will shut their mouth from now on.
Don't worry, Ava Rose, I took no offense at all and didn't feel like you were trying to attack me. I am just in a defensive emotional state right now, so even though you did NOT make me feel defensive, I figured it was best to explain where I was coming from because I really am the kind of person who tries hard not to judge others and wouldn't want anyone to think that I was!!
kyzg, all I can say is that I am so sorry for all the hardship you are going through! I hope it will all turn out well in the end. I am happy now that my man is such a hermit and has decided on a property that is far out into the desert and will build our house as far from the road as possible... I am more of a people person, but hearing what you have to deal with makes me give a sigh of relief that we won't really have neighbors at all!
Yeah, it kind of makes me glad we are forced to rent a place in MI for the first year or so. That way, I can check out various communities in the area and hopefully find something that's a bit off the beaten path for our permanent home. People in our Dearborn neighborhood seem nice, but we are "the new people" and I've already noticed that people there seem really preoccupied with dumb stuff like their lawns. Even people with kids won't let their own kids play on the grass. When I registered for HSing up there, during some chit-chat with the lady at the desk, she said, "Yeah, this way you're covered if a neighbor or somebody driving by, maybe the principal of the local school, sees your kids out and calls to report it." What the heck? It really bugs me to think people could see kids, NOT misbehaving and obviously in their own yard, and feel the need to report it rather than just accept that the parents must be aware of them and allow them to be outside playing. People really need to mind their own business. It's amazing how people nowadays are so concerned with putting their 2 cents worth in on someone else's business, but are ignoring the problems on their own doorstep. As for the thought of the principal driving by, he or she is probably irked by the loss of tax dollars they're NOT getting for those kids! Well, I guess I'm getting this thread off topic, so I'll shut up!! Sorry!!!
