[quote=briansd1]The over parenting and the micromanagement of kids’ lives is an obsession and addiction for parents these days.
My parents were busy with their lives and we kids didn’t have a lot of supervision. But we were provided fresh home-cooked meals and expected to behave. We could never dictate our menu and had to eat was was served. We had to fold our clothing and make our beds. It became automatic.
When it came to moving, us kids were never consulted or given an option. We didn’t really care. Said goodbye to our friends and left. There was no Facebook back then…[/quote]
Agree, brian. We had household responsibilities as well. Back in my day, parents moved for jobs or to be closer to family whenever it was feasable for them to do so, even in the middle of a semester or school year. A parent could just go to the school office and get up-to-the-minute records on their child to take to the next school. Kids were never consulted about a move – they just went along with the program. Parents were parents and kids were kids. Parents were not the kids’ “friends.” We only moved once when I was in school, when I was in Jr High. Everything was fine in the new school. I missed the better weather of Cali more than the kids I left behind. I was pen pals with a couple of my elem school chums up until about ’99. I still know where to find one of them as their elderly parents are still alive and still in the same house. I was in the ‘hood for other reasons and and decided to drop by to say hello to them a few months ago. Ironically, a couple of years after we moved away, one of my elem school chums moved just 30 miles away from me, over 1200 miles from our elementary school. As far as I know, they are still there.
I know I could find everybody again on social networking sites but I don’t belong to any of them. It looks like too much work to keep up with and a compromise of privacy. My kids, however, seem to find time to keep with their 367 or 492 online “friends,” lol :=]
Edit: I want to add that there wasn’t any “GATE” or “AP” classes or IB programs to choose from back then. Smart kids were in the same classes with the kids who cut class and/or didn’t pay attention and also with kids with ADHD and dyslexia. There wasn’t any “diagnosis” made on these kids at that time. They were just labeled “slow” or “hyperactive” but were placed in mainstream classrooms. They didn’t qualify for special education.
