<p>We all know that no one is perfect.
Like our parents. They have raised us pretty well, I assume. but you probably could see some flaws or shortcomings. How would you raise your kids to be based on parents mistakes, and your own vicarious wants?</p>
<p>If i had a son
he would start swimming by the age of 4. water polo a few years later. (great fitness for his whole youth)
He will learn an instrument at a young age, but I would let him experiment with toy versions first to see if he enjoys it. He'll be raised around an appreciation for classical music.
I will play catch with him. (lol)
we'll play lots of memory games while hes still young (develops memorizing skills).
I will NOT be a helicopter parent. I will encourage "doing the best he can", I'll try getting him interested in aiming for competitive colleges, but will not push him to go to harvard or something.
I'll let him buy nice clothes and shoes (encourage to hang out with a cooler crowd...). It is a pretty superficial way to get that to happen, but I dont want a nerd child. I'd let him hang out with friends often and give him money to go out. But i'll put limits...</p>
<p>Overall I would get my son to be socially happy, and talented (impressive). Grades will not matter to me that much as long as hes not doing poorly. But he will go to some SAT prep school, something i myself never got to experience...</p>
<p>My first thought on it was that I'm working as hard as I can now to give my kids a decent life. I've dealt with things I don't want them to deal with. I want my husband and me to have good earnings. I don't want my kids to have to rely on FA their entire life. </p>
<p>I have more, but I'm not really in the mood to type it up just yet. Maybe later. lol.</p>
<p>I would instill in them a strong sense of curiosity and independence and encourage their interests in the sciences from an early age (by showing them how fun it can be to experiment with things and whatnot). I would also have them partake in some physical activity (preferably one which I myself take pleasure in) and teach them basic nutrition.</p>
<p>I'd raise my child up to be a super amazing musician, very in touch with his/her feelings, and to have a basic trust in the world and not be afraid of things. But also to not take crap from anyone. </p>
<p>Though I'm not sure if I'd have kids anytime soon. Haha.</p>
<p>I'll read to my kid a lot and send him/her to a free school like Sudbury Valley where they can study whatever they feel like and I will be super low pressure (my parents are not high pressure just as a side note).</p>
<p>Since, I'm studying my ass off and will be for the next 10-12 years (I hope to become a doctor), I wouldn't want my daughter/son (I've already decided to adopt 3 girls and 2 boys) to stress about studies even a bit. They can get good grades if they want to, they can do poorly too- if that's what makes them happy. I just want them to be incredibly interesting people, but most of all- I want them to be very HAPPY! They can aspire to become maids and waitresses for all I care- as long as they are HAPPY!</p>
<p>Well i chose boy only for the swimming/water polo part. He'll be totally buff 4 year varsity player in HS lol. Don't want a beefy girl though..........</p>
<p>Lol I think about this a lot. I'm going to be cognitive/neuroscience major and am really interested in the idea of cultivated children's creative talents which are usually crushed from traditional schooling. I'd teach my kid piano, 3 languages (language instinct anyone), martial arts or something physical. It's all about the kid having a balanced and happy life. If you introduce them to many different hobbies/skills at a young age there's a good chance that they will really enjoy one and develop it into a lifelong passion. Sometimes gifted kids will develop an unusual interest or talent which should be encouraged. Helicopter parents or parents who push their kids too hard usually are unable to see things from a kid's point of view. They mean well for the kid but they can end up making him anti-social or unhappy.</p>
<p>Well obviously I'd want a buff, pimp boy and a really thin, pretty daughter.</p>
<p>Haha. I guess I'd just expose them to lots of different things--sports, music, art--and see what sticks. I like that my parents didn't force me to do sports (though I have to take piano, which I suck arse at, until I graduate, which is ridiculous), but I wish they had at least put me in a few group activities. And I'd make them work for part of the summer but not during the school year. I don't really know much honestly. It would mostly depend on the kid.</p>
<p>But, like my parents, I'd be sarcastic and light-hearted. And fair--not weirdly strict or laissez-faire.</p>
<p>i can actually make a list...hmmm
yea i agree with making your kid learn a classical instrument..
i'd make him/her FOCUS on everything..Yes...i'd be a STRICT parent lol
i'd buy him/her nice clothes, prep books, and anything that has to do with education [i would not spoil him/her]
i would make my child independent ..i would NOT be overprotective..since every one needs to know the reality of the world out there..he/she needs to tackle his/her hardships..although ill be by their side
yea i can go on with this..</p>
<p>I'd do it the way my parents did it for the most part.</p>
<p>When my kids were a young age, I'd let them take ballet, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, piano, whatever. If they liked something, they'd stick with it (I stuck with piano and ballet, my sister stuck with piano and soccer), if they liked nothing, we'd look harder.
I'd read to them. All the time. And later they'd read to themselves. My father always said that the one expense he would never limit was books, and he never has.
If I (or my future husband) worked for a company and it ever offered us a chance to live overseas I would go! My parents turned down Vietnam to stay here. Lame.
I think I would travel internationally a little bit more. My parents took me on a big, long European tour and we've done trips in North America, but nothing else.
We'd have a real tree for Christmas, with fantastic presents and we would have an Easter Egg tree (this is something that just my family does I think).
They would visit DC all the time. They'd go to every museum there and every monument by the time they were 10 and then start facetiously making fun of the tourists. (I go there for family visits.)
I'd send them to top public schools, unless all the schools in the area sucked, then I'd pay for private.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, the elementary school would definitely be Montessori or sim. unless we found that didn't work for a child. For high school, they can choose from a group we deem acceptable.</p>
<p>^ Ooh, I attended Montessori until 2nd grade. It was too expensive for an elementary school though =/.</p>
<p>I'd teach him or her discipline without employing cruel and unusual punishment. Besides that, I'm not going to plan out my kid's life. That's stupid.</p>
<p>While I wouldn't necessarily send my kids to public school, I think part of schooling is being exposed to people and real world situations. Homeschooling and Montessori schools seem to breed, in my experience, kids who think the world should come to them. And sure, everyone's unique in their own regard, but you have to bring that uniqueness to the world, not expect that everyone else will bend to your needs. Which is what I've experience with my once homeschooled or Montessori-ed friends.</p>