Ask Amy 9-8

Matilda77 wrote:

It's just a fear of mine in having kids. I want to be able to boot them out of the house and have them come home for dinner or when the streetlights come on. I don't want them to be like the people from Wall-E, all zombified out from not moving all day. I want them to have a ton of unstructured free play, outside, with kids they're not related to, with adult interaction happening only when there is bloodshed. ;-)

Mary Lieber wrote:

What is wrong with parents that they want their 8 year old to stay clean? They should come home dirty, sweaty and with a huge smiles on their faces.

Jess in NJ wrote:

E is going to be 2 on the 22nd. He is upstairs playing with trains right now. I can't see him, but I can hear him running the trains along the tracks and talking to himself. I think that it's great that he is comfortable playing where he can't see me.
Ry laying on the floor behind me reading a magazine (National Geographic Kids came the other day) and singing to himself. I told him that I'd make dinner in 15 minutes, then we are heading off to a playdate with his best friend tonight.
I love this age :)

squishymama wrote:

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There's a book called "Free-Range Kids" where the author uses statistics to help parents get over the fear of letting their kids out unsupervised, due to things like fear of kidnapping, etc. Haven't read it yet, but I will. She even includes a note template in case the kid get stopped for being alone.

Based on surveys Barnes collected, the top five worries of parents are, in order:

1. Kidnapping
2. School snipers
3. Terrorists
4. Dangerous strangers
5. Drugs

But how do children really get hurt or killed?

1. Car accidents
2. Homicide (usually committed by a person who knows the child, not a stranger)
3. Abuse
4. Suicide
5. Drowning

Aisle Sitter wrote:

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could even be a re-bounding thing if it happens when they're older...? when i was growing up, we didn't have pop/chips/cookies/etc. at home. it was a treat when mom would bake something, had to eat veggies first, apples when we got whiny-hungry (on the theory that if you're truly hungry you'll eat anything offered), ONE sprite with dinner at a restuarant (another treat), and stuff like that. by the time i got to HS and had pocket money, yuo bet your ass i was spending it on junk food... there was a 7-11 near school, and i can remember getting a 64 oz. big gulp of mt. dew and slurping it from my locker during the day (and people wonder why the cavities kicked in at HS).
but, wtih teh younger kids, who knows why it happens that some are bigger than the rest of hte family. maybe they're sneaking stuff, maybe they're not moving as much on hteir own, maybe there's even something borderline wrong medically...
fast forward to my mid-30s, i'm now struggling to find the balance of teh way i was raised and feeding my cravings... ugh. i hate being the adult! ;-)

Jess in NJ wrote:

E is going to be 2 on the 22nd. He is upstairs playing with trains right now. I can't see him, but I can hear him running the trains along the tracks and talking to himself. I think that it's great that he is comfortable playing where he can't see me.
Ry laying on the floor behind me reading a magazine (National Geographic Kids came the other day) and singing to himself. I told him that I'd make dinner in 15 minutes, then we are heading off to a playdate with his best friend tonight.
I love this age :)

RACE wrote:

Ha! E is 100yrs and 1 day younger than me!
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Judged:

1

RACE wrote:

Ha! E is 100yrs and 1 day younger than me!
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TamoraRose wrote:

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????

RACE wrote:

if we were the same age, then E would be one day younger, but since I already have like 100yrs on E...
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RACE wrote:

if we were the same age, then E would be one day younger, but since I already have like 100yrs on E...
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TamoraRose wrote:

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Well then, you look pretty fan-freaking-tastic for being nearly 102, old man!!