Children - Love them or Loathe them?

[Lulladie]

Pfff, haha.  That's okay, before my nephew hit puberty, when he was about..8 or 9, he asked me what "pubes" were.  I was with him, his younger sister, his older sister, my brother and his wife, all in the car -- and I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Well Robert, pubes happen when you come of age, and your crotch grows a beard."   

I wasn't sorry.  D:  

I don't know, I mean, I'm not a parent and I don't intend to be (Though I've helped to take care of my oldest niece since I was 11...she's almost 17 now)  but what I find works best is to just try to remember how you felt when you were that age, and talk to them like that.  When I was 10, for instance, I wanted to be spoken to normally.  I understood perfectly, and yet people still used babytalk.  With my nieces and nephews, I just talked to them normally, like I would someone in public.  They ended up trusting me a great deal because of it (I know my nephew considers himself bisexual where my brother does not, for instance)

So yeah, you'll be fiiiine!

 

[CWells]

Pfff, haha.  That's okay, before my nephew hit puberty, when he was about..8 or 9, he asked me what "pubes" were.  I was with him, his younger sister, his older sister, my brother and his wife, all in the car -- and I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Well Robert, pubes happen when you come of age, and your crotch grows a beard."   

I wasn't sorry.  D:  

I don't know, I mean, I'm not a parent and I don't intend to be (Though I've helped to take care of my oldest niece since I was 11...she's almost 17 now)  but what I find works best is to just try to remember how you felt when you were that age, and talk to them like that.  When I was 10, for instance, I wanted to be spoken to normally.  I understood perfectly, and yet people still used babytalk.  With my nieces and nephews, I just talked to them normally, like I would someone in public.  They ended up trusting me a great deal because of it (I know my nephew considers himself bisexual where my brother does not, for instance)

So yeah, you'll be fiiiine!

I wish I could like this a hundred times over. We're so damn politically correct and awkward when it comes to just being honest with our kids about the most natural of things, such as developing bodies or whatever else that may be related to it. We treat kids like they are fragile mindless puppets incapable of handling real information. We project our hysterics on them and expect the worst to occur just for simply being honest about things. It is clumsy of people and quite foolish.

I remember being in 5th grade being blind as all hell, struggling to see the chalkboard. Everyone in my family knew my eyes were bad, but they never told me. They lied to me and tried to be gentle. Damn it, I wanted to know what was wrong. I thought my eyes were normal, being born with crappy vision. It would have been helpful to include me in such a thing no? I mean, it's my eyes they were talking about.

Be honest with your kids, please!

While I posted here, might as well answer the original question:

I'm okay with kids. Boys tend to gravitate towards me =D It's always a party XD. They're just fun. And apparently I'm a good teacher. Got one struggling with math? I can handle that, Reading? Science? No problem.

 

[GammaVector]

I'm great with small children. Anything up until about second or third grade. Then they become aliens and I have no idea what to do with them anymore. Then they turn 12 and I become cripplingly allergic to them until they're about 16.

 

[Ayuki_Holmes]

As a Childcare worker, it's interesting to see how some of these replies to this topic has manifested into a full-length discussion. I think, from my point of view, is whether adults (like us) has the capability to be a role model to their children when they grow up. It also reflects my opinion (and philosophy) that the child will learn from their family, their community and their peers and that's how they will grow and flesh out as an adult. Obviously, if the child begins to display in what I call 'unruly' behaviour (some of them bite, kick, punch and trust me, one kid ended up punching another whilst being in care which resulted in a nosebleed situation), it's the community, family and their peers around them aren't exactly the best circumstances to be brought up in. However, if they pick up their own act and start acting for the child's best interests by showing good role modelling skills (saying 'please', 'thank you' as a normal way of life), they'll turn around and grow in a positive light, since nothing is set in stone. However, we have to understand that each child is different and unique in every way possible, so the circumstances vary.

For example, from what I learned when I was doing my course in childcare was that parents casually use swear words around them, even if it's not meant to be insulting or whatever it may be and then only to find out that these children are mimicking the same thing as parents would've done. Although people say that video games and whatnot is what causing to pick the bad habits, I say it's the family that is just as bad as watching an adult video or playing a video game. So, it's up to us 'adults' to show them what life is about, no bars hold.

Personally and getting back to the topic at hand, I do kinda like children, but I know that I can't trust myself to become that caring, parental role yet due to the fact that my parents rolemodelling was poor and the community around it was not the best of circumstances. However, with pratice, patience and learning (and life is all about learning, allrighty, nobody ever stops learning about life ), I know I will become into that caring parental role that would be required for me to become an efficent childcare worker. One time, though, in my early days, there was this sweet four year old kid that I played with and when I was transferred into another room with her sibiling (which was part of the course), the two argued and she screamed "She's my favourite!" and that was before they entered the center XD I had to end up talking to her and calming her down before she returned to her room (which was the kinder room, specially for 3 to 4 year old kiddies). I didn't mean to do that at the time, but that's one mistake I shouldn't do, which is favortism. XD

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

I'm indifferent to children... until they start to scream and cry. >_< I HATE It. I'm not so mean that I'll say something, though...

I have a form of hyperaccusis, so the mere sound of a baby or child crying drives me batty, if I can I'll leave a room. It's like a jackhammer to my skull. D:  Apparently I grunt in pain and get mad angry looks from parents.  "Sorry, I can't help it!" I tell them.

"The sound of your kid crying is like a jackhammer to the skull" probably wouldn't sit well with a mother, so I usually grin(grimace) and bear it. Alas, it is what it is, but if that's the worst quip about my body I think I don't have it too bad! ^_^