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My "kids" are 28 and 25, healthy and both unvaxxed of their own free will. Not concerned about them from a health standpoint, but the younger one sometimes ventures into large cities with friends. The increase in lawlessness in major cities since the George Floyd riots is a minor concern, but then I remember that I survived the 70's in NYC while tempting fate quite often.
I've been in one continuous conversation with my kid since the day they were born. The topic changes, and there are short+long pauses, but we've never stopped talking about the world, our place in it, what the future holds, and what the past means and what you remember of it. Is there Life after Death? Do animals have souls? Can plants feel or communicate? Why are so many people so damn crazy? If a jellyfish doesnt have a brain, why and how can it even move or eat? (are some people jellyfishes or NPCs?)
Pick up a newspaper from 100 years ago. The politics are no more polarizing now than they were at any point in history. It's a fallacy that I've been hearing my whole life- whether politics, environment, economy... "[fill in the blank] is so bad right now, it's the worst it has ever been!". Life is fine.
^^This.
I believe in leading by example, so if I want my kids to be resilient and adaptive in the face of turmoil, the adults in their life need to do so. And that starts with having a healthy, rational perspective on current events… as well as knowledge of the past.
Not really. Once we got past the first few weeks or so we as a family and friends never really shut down and did stuff anyways. Ran away to the beach and mountains a lot. Visited each other, traveled with friends and visited family.
The online schooling was tough for my son but my daughter thrived. Son is extraverted so the online stuff was much harder for him. ...But it's been three years so he rebounded some time ago. If you were to ask them they would probably say it was a good time because there was less expected of them as far as schooling goes (It definitely was a time of sub-par teaching).
We pretty much treat our kids the same way we were as kids in the 70's and 80's. They run around and do stuff with friends. Never gave us a reason to be concerned. The pandemic was just a blip, but we weren't in a state that was militant in nature so we were fortunate.
HOWEVER, my wife and I have noticed a lower level of common decency in public spaces since the pandemic. Church is "noisier". More conversations going on. People in the theaters will talk out loud and scroll on their phones in the dark room. In general, it just seems that for whatever reason simple manners have vanished from the 30 and under crowd. Though I don't think that was specific to your question.
The political polarization is the thing that stands out the most to me, though arguably it was already becoming that way pre-pandemic. It's disappointing and bothersome to me how nasty and heated the rhetoric is, and how quickly conversations devolve into hostile quips and name-calling about people on the other side of the political aisle, even if the topic at hand is not inherently political. Trying to either shield my son (elementary) or use those conversations as teaching moments for how to respond appropriately is frankly a heavier lift than it would have been for parents back in the glory days of parenting where apparently parents were much better (or so I'm told and read).
I've also noticed a significant uptick in reckless and aggressive driving, and if drivers are not angry then they are distracted. My mom used to always say "watch for cars!" when I went bike riding or somewhere else. I worry much more about my own son getting hit by a car in our neighborhood, and he was a few years older than I was before I started letting him walk to a friend's house by himself. At the risk of having rose colored glasses, neighborhood streets were just not this dangerous when I was growing up. The speeding and aggression and distraction is a very real concern for me as a parent.
The major benefit of the pandemic for me was that my company sent us all to remote work from home when it hit. We are now hybrid, but it's optional and most people wfh most of the time, and the company supports that. That has been a great benefit, because now I'm home when he gets off the bus and I have more flexibility for daytime appointments as needed. (Out of scope for this thread, but I love wfh/remote).
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I'd only be concerned if I had vaccinated my kid for a condition that had very little impact on kids. Tho I'm vaxed (due to international travel requirements) I know several who have very serious permanent disabilities and medical conditions attributable to vax.
Socially / academically, the kids I know who's parent's used the Covid Pandemic as a teachable moment have excelled in relation to peers. One Indian national family nearby had their kids research and formulate Covid related medical responses and treatments and pandemic control. The CDC would have done well to enlist the very effective pandemic response many kids knew and utilized far better than our 'professionals'. Parents should also consider learning from thier kids.
The political polarization is the thing that stands out the most to me, though arguably it was already becoming that way pre-pandemic. It's disappointing and bothersome to me how nasty and heated the rhetoric is, and how quickly conversations devolve into hostile quips and name-calling about people on the other side of the political aisle, even if the topic at hand is not inherently political. Trying to either shield my son (elementary) or use those conversations as teaching moments for how to respond appropriately is frankly a heavier lift than it would have been for parents back in the glory days of parenting where apparently parents were much better (or so I'm told and read).
I've also noticed a significant uptick in reckless and aggressive driving, and if drivers are not angry then they are distracted. My mom used to always say "watch for cars!" when I went bike riding or somewhere else. I worry much more about my own son getting hit by a car in our neighborhood, and he was a few years older than I was before I started letting him walk to a friend's house by himself. At the risk of having rose colored glasses, neighborhood streets were just not this dangerous when I was growing up. The speeding and aggression and distraction is a very real concern for me as a parent.
The major benefit of the pandemic for me was that my company sent us all to remote work from home when it hit. We are now hybrid, but it's optional and most people wfh most of the time, and the company supports that. That has been a great benefit, because now I'm home when he gets off the bus and I have more flexibility for daytime appointments as needed. (Out of scope for this thread, but I love wfh/remote).
The bolded drew my interest as you can't escape how society has devolved, re: Angry and aggressive people out and about everywhere. I belong to a FB local highway group and just reading the entitlement of some of the road bullies is enough to keep me home (people literally trying promoting aggressive tail-gating and other road games - I don't know how you could reconcile this with teen drivers - what do you tell them? "Everyone's crazy now?" (Same on airplanes with all of the people fighting and having fits in mid-air).
I'd only be concerned if I had vaccinated my kid for a condition that had very little impact on kids. Tho I'm vaxed (due to international travel requirements) I know several who have very serious permanent disabilities and medical conditions attributable to vax.
Socially / academically, the kids I know who's parent's used the Covid Pandemic as a teachable moment have excelled in relation to peers. One Indian national family nearby had their kids research and formulate Covid related medical responses and treatments and pandemic control. The CDC would have done well to enlist the very effective pandemic response many kids knew and utilized far better than our 'professionals'. Parents should also consider learning from thier kids.
The bolded must be difficult for thinking parents to grapple with and reconcile. I would imagine it would cause a lot of parental stress that wasn't there before.
Our kids are grown, and they all did fine. Ups and downs, but all trivial.
The young kids of the family? They did well too. They loved all the activities at home, and the camping and stuff. I would say some fell behind where they should be regarding education, but nothing that can't be made up.
Generally speaking, things like the pandemic, inflation, etc. are things that test your resilience and adaptability. Can't do what you normally do? Find alternatives. Can't buy what you normally buy? Find alternatives. It's also the opportunity for lots of life lessons.
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The bolded drew my interest as you can't escape how society has devolved, re: Angry and aggressive people out and about everywhere. I belong to a FB local highway group and just reading the entitlement of some of the road bullies is enough to keep me home (people literally trying promoting aggressive tail-gating and other road games - I don't know how you could reconcile this with teen drivers - what do you tell them? "Everyone's crazy now?" (Same on airplanes with all of the people fighting and having fits in mid-air).
Every time someone starts bellyaching about how kids these days don't want to get a drivers' license, my reply is "Can you blame them? Have you seen how people drive these days? I wouldn't want to learn either on these streets."
I often see groups of kids walking along the road, and OMG they never look both ways, they just step out to cross busy streets like they are the only ones in the world. Especially teenagers. Almost makes me never want to let my kid go hang with his friends (at the very least, will be a significant source of worry for me when he arrives at the teenage years).
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