Dungeon Master Forum

OT comments and discussion on kids from here - b.

I'm deeply shocked. This forum is for geeks, geeks cannot have children, or if they have one, they don't tell !

except for the people who have mentioned it!

I can't contribute to this thread as I'm pretty sure I don't have any children.

The only thing I'm going to say is how fortunate you... we are to have children that will experience at least two cultures!

This thread should fill up in a hurry. If there's one type of person who will not shut up, ever, it's new parents talking about their kids. Or even not-so-new ones, in a lot of cases.

and then there are those who refer to children as "crotch droppings", have endless discussions about being "child free by choice" and how rediculous the procreators are.. and somehow seem to forget the only reason they are here is because someone gave birth to them Dated one of those..

I don't have kids but I have watched 13 nieces and nephews grow up. They now range in age from 5 to 25. Somehow in all that time of being "Uncle Matt" I managed to wipe one bottom and I never changed a nappy

Maybe having kids is a kind of "RESUME", starting over, this time trying to pypass what you did wrong. I wonder about people who seem to be so sure about their wish never to have children. I always felt the urge need to reproduce myself, especially in the presence of women. Hm, maybe thats why I'm solo since about a year now. Amazing, how quickly one gets used to it.

And I think it is very sad, that in most modern societies people don't want kids, because then they won't be able to park a new c-class in front of the house.

You're also assuming, there, that such people drive as well .
Anyway, what's wrong with not wanting kids? I realise technically it's the whole point of evolution but I'll stick to rats, thanks .

Is the fact poeple with kids/kids on the way haven't posted into this topic indicitive of something?

@Tomi: I wouldn't agree that "most" people in modern society don't want kids, in my experience it's the exact opposite!

In modern societies there are much more people who design their lives without any kid whatsoever anyhow, and even those who'd want some would want fewer than if in a medieval society.

T0Mi wrote:Maybe having kids is a kind of "RESUME", starting over, this time trying to pypass what you did wrong.

"So you see, my son, never set an AND/OR Gate to activate itself or you'll enter a slowing and eventually crashing loop. Avoid also DSA loops". Yes! Can't wait to share with him!

Ameena:
Nothing wrong with not wanting kids. I'm not sure where my wish to have kids comes from anyway. I can't really distinguish between the "built a house, plant a tree, buy a mercedes, have a son" attitude that is so common especially around the SW of Germany and the more natural, biological need to have childs. I do have kids already, not biological ones though. They have four legs, hooves and are furry.

Gambit:
you are right about GB. It is among the few european countries which sustain a birthrate high enough (2,1) to keep the population at least constant. For whatever reason I can't say. Obviously you're doing something right in family politics which we do wrong. In Germany the birth rate is very low - about 1,3 childs per couple, which makes us rank around place 180 (of ~220) compared to other countries worldwide. From what I feel, as harsh as it may sound: a mercedes seems to be more honoured by our society than a child. If this feeling is right, then it's just sad.

yeah!

T0Mi wrote:I do have kids already, not biological ones though. They have four legs, hooves and are furry.

It was wise of you to specify they were not biologically yours. Do you have sex with their mother nonetheless ?

Gambit:
you are right about GB. It is among the few european countries which sustain a birthrate high enough (2,1) to keep the population at least constant. For whatever reason I can't say. Obviously you're doing something right in family politics which we do wrong.

Same in France. I don't know about GB, but we do have generous family aids, kindergarten and overall a positive opinion of having children (in school we are taught about the birthrate of France of 2.1 as being a good thing.)

In Germany the birth rate is very low - about 1,3 childs per couple, which makes us rank around place 180 (of ~220) compared to other countries worldwide. From what I feel, as harsh as it may sound: a mercedes seems to be more honoured by our society than a child. If this feeling is right, then it's just sad.

Hmm. The most likely explanation is the lack of special measures for women who want to work AND have children, linked to a negative view of motherhood in the jobplace. I guess GB and France have on the contrary a positive view of mothers at work, even if it still not mirrored in salaries (however, I think it's more related to lingering sexism at the beginning of job-life than to being a mother).

If having a child is a big drawback on salary/position progression in a firm, then it's a HUGE disincentive for would-be worker-mothers.

Joramun wrote:The most likely explanation is the lack of special measures for women who want to work AND have children, linked to a negative view of motherhood in the jobplace. I guess GB and France have on the contrary a positive view of mothers at work, even if it still not mirrored in salaries (however, I think it's more related to lingering sexism at the beginning of job-life than to being a mother).

If having a child is a big drawback on salary/position progression in a firm, then it's a HUGE disincentive for would-be worker-mothers.

If the woman isn't working full time, then she is probably going to have less salary/position advancement opportunities because she's not putting in the same time and commitment as other people in the firm. That's fine, her priority is and should be her family-- the problem is when she does put her career first. Then, who's raising the kid? The babysitter? The TV? I think that a negative societal view toward these absentee mothers is perfectly justified and warranted.

By the way, I'm aware that my view makes it pretty difficult for a woman to have a career and a child. I know this, and I believe it IS pretty difficult, which is (one of many reasons) why I have no children and I'm not going to.

[OT post removed]

[OT]
still - don't stay too long behind a horse. It's not because it could kick, but your belt could crash, the pants drop and your wife come around!
[/OT]

OK, horse stuff isn't for this thread, please stop going OT, thanks.

Joramun wrote:Hmm. The most likely explanation is the lack of special measures for women who want to work AND have children, linked to a negative view of motherhood in the jobplace. I guess GB and France have on the contrary a positive view of mothers at work, even if it still not mirrored in salaries (however, I think it's more related to lingering sexism at the beginning of job-life than to being a mother).

This is indeed a huge problem in Germany, especially compared to other European countries. It has gotten better since the reunification, but still has a way to go. This is one of the examples where the GDR was actually better than the FRG, even if many West Germans will still tell you that EVERYTHING was bad in the GDR.

Trantor wrote:even if many West Germans will still tell you that EVERYTHING was bad in the GDR.

I hope we won't discuss the "positives" of communism, because then I might break my silence and say something. Don't tempt me, I'm warning you!

This time I'm not offtopic!

Another girl came to world today - not my family, but in close neighbourhood!

Capricorns ftw!

Jan wrote:

Trantor wrote:even if many West Germans will still tell you that EVERYTHING was bad in the GDR.

I hope we won't discuss the "positives" of communism, because then I might break my silence and say something. Don't tempt me, I'm warning you!

I won't defend communism, and I will never say that the fall if the Iron Curtain was a bad thing. I was merely trying to point out that the world is never completely black and white.

linflas wrote:I'm deeply shocked. This forum is for geeks, geeks cannot have children, or if they have one, they don't tell !

Errrm... According to my 3 years old quote above, I *shoudln't* tell you that... my little boy Esteban is born last monday, the most sleepy baby I've ever seen ! After a week, he sleeps about 6-7 hours at a time during night !

congrats linflas

Aaaaahaaaaahaha, Esteban le fils du soleil! Bravo aux parents!

CONGRATULATIONS!

thanks everyone !
@zyx : la référence est clairement assumée, je l'avoue. Et de toute manière, j'ai toujours adoré ce prénom

Fantastic news! Congratulations to you both! A fantastic name, too. I expect he'll be having great adventures in South America before long

Bienvenue chez les Ch' tis, bébé crieur.