I'm freaking out about rasing my son....any advice?

yeah, just shove jesus down his throat and tell him science is non-sense and that money will bail him out of anything he chooses to do.

Ok...stop thinking tooooo far in to the future! One day at a time, it is ALL you have. You can't project what you think might happen, you will waste precious life energy worrying for nothing. When my 4 boys were little, I tried to protect them from everything, no video games,no guns, very little tv, fed them vegetarian organic foods, read every single book out there on parenting.....and ended up finding out that my heart could help me parent more then anything I'd read or hear. Do the best you can with each day. If you want your son to have a more down to earth simple life...then help him have that....find a network of other parents who want the same thing for their children. Organize a play group while he is young,and continue it, take kids out in to nature, camp, hike, you CAN keep them off the computer if you want. This weekend my 14 year old and his best friend in the world are going with hubby and I on our annual trip up by where we went to college, 4 nights and days in a cabin...no TV, Computers and even the cell phones don't work! We also take a week long vacation every year with out those connections to the outside world...it is awesome to get away! You don't have to do organized sports...my kids HATED SPORTS! We tried them all and it was a bunch of BS every single time, only the GOOD kids ever feel good about themselves while playing sports now a day. My middle two boys ride and race motocross with their dad. My three older boys thank us now for their childhood. We did something on a shoestring budget with them....every weekend. Lots of close family time. It is all paying off now.

Some other things I've learned along the way, be your kids biggest fan, talk to them about every situation, don't yell at them, NEVER HIT them, and above everything else LOVE them unconditionally in every single situation. All of this will help you to raise a good, compassionate human being despite what is going on around them. My sons are all growing up into wonderful men. Not sure if they will be able to support themselves My oldest is almost 21 in college. next one is 19 in college also, 17 year old will be a senior in HS next year and my baby is 14 and going in to the HS. It has been a fun ride!

oxc

dissidentman wrote:

I have 2 kids also, and my role as a dad is to prepare them for life, not protect them from it. I try to give them all the info I can, and let them make decisions on their own, even though they are still really young.

same what i do for my daughter, tell it like it is, give her the tools to prepare so she can handle anything in life with her head up high....

"A little love and affection
in everything you do
will make the world a better place
with or without you."

Neil Young - Falling From Above

kickoutthejams wrote:

I'm really freaking out about rasing my son in today's "society". He's only a year old, so things are pretty easy right now, but I'm honestly scared to death about the future. It just seems to me that kids are so fucked up today. I think there is just too much shit going on around them. You have the internet and all the social networking stuff. Kids are constantly bombarded with marketing and peer pressure that is unlike anything we've ever seen before. I think childhood is tough enough without all this other crap. I also worry about other parents and how they act. I see these parents freaking out over little league football, soccer, baseball etc....and I just want to bitch slap them and tell them to get a fucking grip. I never see kids in our neighborhood just all hanging out and getting a pick up game of something going...it seems that everything has to be organized now and have some parental involvement which I think is really sad. And then look at the music and the "role" models or celebrities of today. And fucking reality T.V......are you kidding me with that shit. Then of course you have the state of our country and economy and the world itself....it just really freaks me out to think of my little boy being exposed to all this crap and that I'm not going to always be there to protect him from it. Am I just freaking out or does anyone else worry about this kind of stuff?

TIA

In spite of what all the experts might say about television and video games and stuff, you are still the greatest role model in your child's life. And children, no matter what the generation, learn by example. Respect them, and they will respect you. Demonstrate to them the kind of people you want them to grow to be. While they are little, limit the kind of TV they watch, the kind of video games they play. Get active and involved and always, always be interested in what they think, what they have to say and just enjoy their company. I challenge anyone who thinks an 8 year old boy would rather sit home playing play station rather than getting out and doing something with one of his parents. Especially if the kid gets to choose what they do. Ensure there is lots of love, lots of humour and lots of honesty in your home, do your best, and your kid will be ok. Love them enough to say no, they will thank you for it. Allow them to be kids and be silly and get in trouble and make mistakes and remind them all the time that you love them no matter what they do, that they can always talk to you, and no problem is too big to fix.
I have four children, two of them sons, and they are all fantastic people. My older son has grown into a gorgeous, genuine and heartfelt guy, who isn't afraid to show his vulnerability. My younger son is following fast in his footsteps and is proving himself to be an honest, caring, loving boy. I tell them what I think of them, how proud of them I am, and they respond. They are far from perfect, but aren't we all. To raise kids who have the guts to be honest and open and who are generally pretty happy people, is my greatest achievement. Their success is not measured in what they do, but who they are.