How much about this fucking WAR should I tell my young son?

[DirtDawg]

i always just address all their questions as bluntly and honestly as possible.

i figure that they will find out anyways that life is not a fair game and i don't want them to ever think that their daddy is a liar.  becuse i want them to trust that they can come to me with any problem that might come up.

Yes, I try hard to do that and get it done eventuallly. They are both sensitive to some things. I have to take small steps at times. I was just a little overstimmed, myself, and my son's bluntness and honesty was overwhelming, in conjunction with the shock of finding out how busy the school had already been.
Apparently I need to take some big steps very soon. I fear the cost, because I can not be other than honest with these questions of his. I'm OK, now, but he needs to be a kid for a while, again, before he's ready to do more.

[McGiver]

but he needs to be a kid for a while, again, before he's ready to do more.

i couldn't agree more.  and answering these questions, imho, is the most difficult part of parenting.

but i have concluded that if they are old enough to show curiosity, then they are probably old enough to hear the answers.

[Litigious]

and the school has decided, without reviewing it with ME, that he should be exposed to the political problems abroad.
They are clouding his sense of priority, while I'm not looking.

this is pure america is great propaganda.

when my kids come home and tell me that george bush is our leader i tell them that he isn't.  he only serves the interests of a select few and that he stole the election.

by the age og eight, my daughters have a rough understanding of why they should question their government.

You're a good father.  In our country, most people learn their kids to trust and obey the authorities...

[DirtDawg]

and the school has decided, without reviewing it with ME, that he should be exposed to the political problems abroad.
They are clouding his sense of priority, while I'm not looking.

this is pure america is great propaganda.

when my kids come home and tell me that george bush is our leader i tell them that he isn't.  he only serves the interests of a select few and that he stole the election.

by the age og eight, my daughters have a rough understanding of why they should question their government.

Your daughters are considerably ahead of my kids in those areas. My kids are amazing data collectors, but have trouble assimilating the information into usable forms and finding the network of understanding from that information. I have a ways to go, yet. My reaction to him, today did not help, either.

[DirtDawg]

I agree with Tig, McJ.
You're a good father.

[McGiver]

i try to teach them to question everything.....including myself.


i wan't my kids to be their own person not some carbon copy of me, my wife, or what their PC school is trying to jamb down their thraots.  
i just have a theory that people are happier if they find themselves.

[Peter]

You can't protect people from being exposed to bullshit, but you can teach them how to detect and interpret it.

My mum has an uncanny ability to buy into whatever bullshit floats her way, and I'm always correcting her misconceptions.

[McGiver]

You can't protect people from being exposed to bullshit, but you can teach them how to detect and interpret it.

My mum has an uncanny ability to buy into whatever bullshit floats her way, and I'm always correcting her misconceptions.

this presents another quandry in parenting.

kids tend to rebel.  if i am trying to teach them to be strong, are they going to be weak?

[Litigious]

You can't protect people from being exposed to bullshit, but you can teach them how to detect and interpret it.

My mum has an uncanny ability to buy into whatever bullshit floats her way, and I'm always correcting her misconceptions.

My grandma is the same. She always thinks that the authorities are right and that everything on TV is true. Most elder Swedes do -- poor suckers. 

[DirtDawg]

but he needs to be a kid for a while, again, before he's ready to do more.

i couldn't agree more.  and answering these questions, imho, is the most difficult part of parenting.

but i have concluded that if they are old enough to show curiosity, then they are probably old enough to hear the answers.

The real message I have taken is that he, the older, is ready for some more honesty and the need for me to do to do damage control is urgent.

[Pyraxis]

kids tend to rebel.  if i am trying to teach them to be strong, are they going to be weak?

Good question. I'm not sure, but I'm curious to know.

Kids don't rebel against everything, and they don't always rebel forever. They might go through an emo phase as teenagers and then grow out of it.

[McGiver]

kids tend to rebel.  if i am trying to teach them to be strong, are they going to be weak?

Good question. I'm not sure, but I'm curious to know.

Kids don't rebel against everything, and they don't always rebel forever. They might go through an emo phase as teenagers and then grow out of it.

petes mom is weak and he is strong.  same here.

my grandparents smoked, my mom didn't, and i do.


i would agree that it isn't universal ( the rebellion), but i wonder if what they learn by finding themselves is that they aren't me.

shit i can't explain it well, right now.

[DirtDawg]

i try to teach them to question everything.....including myself.


i wan't my kids to be their own person not some carbon copy of me, my wife, or what their PC school is trying to jamb down their thraots. 
i just have a theory that people are happier if they find themselves.

I certainly agree with this and it follows my plans exactly, but I hate being undercut and having to play catchup. I know I have probably been more focussed than I should have on the arts, lately and have kept them from some of life's grit, but it's time to be gritty, with my son at least.

[Litigious]

kids tend to rebel.  if i am trying to teach them to be strong, are they going to be weak?

Good question. I'm not sure, but I'm curious to know.

Kids don't rebel against everything, and they don't always rebel forever. They might go through an emo phase as teenagers and then grow out of it.

petes mom is weak and he is strong.  same here.

my grandparents smoked, my mom didn't, and i do.


i would agree that it isn't universal ( the rebellion), but i wonder if what they learn by finding themselves is that they aren't me.

shit i can't explain it well, right now.

I simply think that all people with a strong personality rebel against what they consider unfair and illogical. People who never rebel are weak.

[Pyraxis]

petes mom is weak and he is strong.  same here.

my grandparents smoked, my mom didn't, and i do.

i would agree that it isn't universal ( the rebellion), but i wonder if what they learn by finding themselves is that they aren't me.

They might take on some aspects of you and reject others.

I rebelled against my parents' philosophies, but not the androgynous upbringing. I'm not sure what determines what aspects the kids reject and what aspects they embrace.