[quote=Aecetia]My son goes to a private Catholic school and they do a great job of teaching ethics including requiring service hours after a certain age. I think having to give back from an early age teaches children to share. Between your example and school training I think your children will have a good life. I grew up as part of a large family in a small house, so I know that influenced how I wanted to live. I have great memories for the most part about growing up in the same house for many years. My parents only bought one house and remained in it until they died. You do not find that much any more, especially in California. Look for the kind of neighborhood where you want to spend the rest of your life.[/quote]

Aecetia: Couldn’t agree more on both the schooling and the large families.

I grew up in the SF/Bay Area and was raised Catholic (Jesuit seminary school K – 8 and Jesuit/Franciscan high school (don’t ask)) as, horror!, an only child. I remember Irish and Italian families (the Quinns, the Caseys and the DiBonos) with 8, 10 or even a dozen kids and how most of my friends from large families like this used to love to spend the night at my house, if only to use a bathroom by themselves for one night.

I have two of my own, a girl and a boy, and I think once you get north of that number, your ability to really focus on your kids as individuals starts to diminish. Unfortunately, here in Fallbrook, our Catholic school sucks rocks, so we have them in public school, but heavily involved in a local Christian (Presbyterian) youth group, and it’s working wonders with them. They spend time volunteering and helping others and learning the values of stewardship and sacrifice that were so important to me as a kid.

I know a lot of folks joke about “surviving” Catholic school and I’m one of them, but I received an unparalleled education from one of the premier teaching orders (I consider only the Christian Brothers superior to the Jesuits in that regard), as well as learning about giving back and sharing your gifts (and the Catholics excel at this in my opinion).

While San Diego doesn’t have the Catholic HS presence that the SF/Bay Area does, you still have excellent schools like Uni, St. Augustine and Cathedral to choose from.