Raising Children.

Some of us are raising children and some of us hope to in the future. Some of us don't. However, I'm sure all of us have opinions on raising children, despite how vague or detailed those opinions may be.

This is a thread to discuss anything about the philosophy of raising children from diet to circumcision to spanking to education to whatever.

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I want to at least partially home-school my children. Unless the American education goes through a serious overhaul, I don't trust it. I think there are social benefits to school, but less education benefits. I want my children to understand there is a world and I refuse to let them participate in D.A.R.E.

I don't believe in spanking, infant ear piercing, or infant circumcision.

I adore Disney and think it teaches children positive lessons as long as parents are there to enforce those lessons and point them out.

I want to raise my kids without gender stereotypes and let them make choices for themselves.

I can't wait to have children with my future wife. I'm adopting, however, and well it's almost impossible to adopt here in Australia.

I hope to adopt 3 kids, siblings or not. Charlie Michael, Samantha and Cassandra (maybe Cassandra Colette. Colette after Shaycarl's wife).

I think I'm going to home-school mine or put them in Steiner education. Maybe public, I don't know. I've had not-so-good experiences with public schools.
I don't believe in spanking. I will lecture my kids. I don't see how spanking helps, I was spanked as a child and I turned out pretty good.

I want my kids to do whatever sport or performing/creative art they choose. I do not believe in stereo types. If Charlie wants to play dolls with the girls, then he can.

By the way, what is D.A.R.E?

@ yuffentine_
D.A.R.E. is a drug prevent program in public schools in the U.S. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education.) Studies show it does not help (and it fact, students are more likely to try drugs). They lie to students about drugs (the way most U.S. education/government systems do) and then when someone tries weed and finds out it isn't the most evil thing in the world, they think their D.A.R.E. teacher or whomever lied about EVERYTHING and end up doing harder more toxic drugs and, yeah. I would rather just be straight with my kids.

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I plan to be very open with my kids about sex and drugs, including my belief that neither is particularly appropriate for teens, that I waited until I was in my 20s, and that I will love them no matter what their choices are.

Wow. I don't think we have anything like that here. I mean, in PE classes we learn about what alcohol/drugs do to your brain but yeah... If my kids ever took hard drugs I'd kick them out. That's what my parents say to me.

@ yuffentine_
I think I would get my kids treatment because that would help them.

I'm due in three months. But I hope to raise my daughter to be a good person. I plan on either home-schooling her or enrolling her in online school, like I'm currently in.

Like you said, I'm gonna be straight-forward with them about sex, drugs, and everything else, because I don't think it should be hidden from them. Religion-wise, I'm gonna let them go their own way with it. If they wanna continue being somewhere in between Wiccan, Christian and agnostic, then that's fine. If they wanna follow something else, I'm not gonna stop them.

If they (she) ever did drugs, I'd get her treatment. If she wants to try marijuana or have a drink for the first time, I'm not gonna ground her for life, because then I would be a hypocrite. Hard drugs, though... that's a different story.

Either way, I'm gonna teach her about what it's REALLY like in the real world, not what it APPEARS to be.

@ l0lita-
Congratulations! You're going to be a great mum by the sounds of it!