OT: chronic fatigue study results

Sue,

I can cook just anything, but popovers? No can do! lol

I just never got the hang of baking anything bread related (other than cornbread, I do a pretty good job of that for a Yankee! LOL)

Ahh well, nobody ever starves here!

Caryn

Pssst! What`s a popover? Sounds like I`m missing something!

Pat P

Yorkshire Pudding!! haven't had one in ages!

Cheryl

Didn't we all know houses where kids felt uncomfortable, vs ones where they felt welcomed?

I grew up in a neighborhood where some of the moms were clean freaks, to the point of putting plastic coverings on all the couches and chairs. Their kids weren't "forced" to play outside or at friends' houses, but nobody really wanted to play in a house where they couldn't be comfortable being kids.

Some yards were the same way, you couldn't walk on the grass much less rough house on it. Those "lawns" were avoided, while the neighborhood kids congregated at the houses where they could actually play in the yard instead of having to stay on the driveway or walkway.

I never really thought that the house and/or yard proud parents were worse parents for it, just different. My folks always had the opinion that if it was green it was good enough in the yard, so didn't really mind when the kids ran around amid the weeds!

Just another take on the whole judging people based on where their kids play thing.

Caryn (who still doesn't get why having a lawn is preferable to having kids and dogs for that matter tearing around like insane things)

Didn't we all know houses where kids felt uncomfortable, vs ones where they felt welcomed?

I grew up in a neighborhood where some of the moms were clean freaks, to the point of putting plastic coverings on all the couches and chairs. Their kids weren't "forced" to play outside or at friends' houses, but nobody really wanted to play in a house where they couldn't be comfortable being kids.

Some yards were the same way, you couldn't walk on the grass much less rough house on it. Those "lawns" were avoided, while the neighborhood kids congregated at the houses where they could actually play in the yard instead of having to stay on the driveway or walkway.

I never really thought that the house and/or yard proud parents were worse parents for it, just different. My folks always had the opinion that if it was green it was good enough in the yard, so didn't really mind when the kids ran around amid the weeds!

Just another take on the whole judging people based on where their kids play thing.

Caryn (who still doesn't get why having a lawn is preferable to having kids and dogs for that matter tearing around like insane things)

I would have to say that my house growing up was one of those houses where kids didn't feel comfortable playing, yet I had excellent parents. As a kid, I knew that my mom and dad had "rules", and the house where the kids communed didn't (or so it seemed, and that's why we liked to play there). I mostly never played at my house, and if I did, it was with one friend at a time, not the whole block of them. Yes, my friend's mother fed me a lot of meals, but it wasn't because my mom didn't want to feed me anything more than cereal. It was because I was there a lot, and her mom didn't mind . "The more, the merrier" was her philosophy. If kids in my neighborhood ate cereal for dinner, it wasn't because their mothers couldn't be bothered, it was because it was all they could afford.

I am feeling a little resentful that some people here think that because a house is one wherein kids don't congregate, that the parents are somehow negligent or bad parents. Although my mom was mostly a SAHM (she did work part time a bit), she didn't shoo me out to play so she could watch soaps. I always had a clean house, clean clothes, completed homework, and a HOMEMADE balanced meal every night for dinner. I never tasted Hamburger Helper until I was 23 and on my own, and I wouldn't change my upbringing for anything in this world! My siblings and I all turned out well, and we all have university degrees. Of course, so does the girl whose house we hung out at every day....she's a college professor with a Ph.D.

I didn't mean for this to sound "grumpy", just to say you can't always judge by "appearances"! Jinx

Oh, we have those in some form most weeks. My favourite is Toad-in-the-hole.

Pat P

In my house that would be hundreds of kids. A little exaggeration?

Ya

It depends. Popovers can be pastries also, filled with blueberry, cherry or apple filling. They can also be little dinner rolls.

First of all, the children in America are the fattest slobs in the entire world right now. They come home from school and vegetate on the couch playing XBOX or something like it. Everywhere you look on my block there are gigantically fat kids who can barely ride their bikes, so I think they should be thrown outside to do some physical activity.

When a parent has children who are of the age where they are able to rationalize and make small decisions about right and wrong, they belong OUTDOORS playing, inventing their own games to play, riding bikes over ramps, scraping their knees and elbows, etc.

As for cereal for supper? I had corn flakes for supper last night and farina a few nights ago.

I don't think any of this has anything to do with the level of education a person attains later in life. If a person is meant to be fully educated, his/her mind will be fully attracted to that. I grew up in a very wealthy, old money situation. I only know of two people in our group of friends who have degrees, but all are very successful.

I just think there is a lot of embellishment going on by the original person who says her witch friends have the nerve not to clean her filthy house. She said it herself that there is so much junk everywhere there's no room for anyone to sit. Remember that one?

Yes, I do indeed remember that one, V! I agree with you that childhood obesity is definitely a problem nowadays. I don't have children, so I can't judge if it's due to children playing "differently" than I did growing up. We had so many kids on our immediate block(larger family sizes back then), there were always plenty of kids to make teams for kickball or softball or to play Annie, Annie Over. The other side of the street backed up to some "woods" and a small creek, and we would make the most fabulous forts back there each summer. I'm not entirely sure I'd find that activity safe if it were my own children building them LOL.

Anyway, my post was meant only to point out to the OP(and a couple others) that sometimes there's another side of the story. Just because Little Susie always plays at Mary's or Kate's house, doesn't mean Little Susie has a lazy, lax negligent parent. Of course, that was 3 decades ago, and I know times have changed. Never-the-less, one should always be careful about exaggerated, sweeping assumptions.

And for the record, I now eat the sugariest, crappiest cereals known to man for dinner....because I like them and because I CAN! Nutrition be damned!

Jinx

Neighborhoods have changed. To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only SAHM in my five-block neighborhood. I believe every household except for one does have children (the one exception is a retired couple). I cannot tell you the names of any of the neighbors off the top of my head although I have met three of them. They are nice people but too busy to socialize. Dual-income parents and single working parents don't spend much time at home. It is 5:30 or later by the time most of them get off work, pick up the kids from child care, and get home. It is already dark by that time during the winter. Then the kids (except the youngest) have homework to deal with and dinner and maybe evening school activities or the parents need to go back to work or brought work home and can't supervise kids outside. Families usually have weekends booked full of activities also. As a result, kids around here rarely have time to play outside at home with neighbors.

There are no dedicated park or play areas > Yes, I do indeed remember that one, V! I agree with you that childhood

Brenda Lewis ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

And "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

And then things changed (the old swinging pendulum) and now it is there again.

Dianne

Welcome, Charlotte. One of my older brothers has been diagnosed with this awful disease.

Oh there were tons of things back then that I wouldn't let children do. Who would feel safe with their kids down by a creek with a fort? This is where the pervs seek them out. Urban sprawl has made our nation so wide spread that many times neighbors don't know one another. I will admit to not knowing some of my immediate neighbors. I am the only person home all day and I don't feel safe going in the pool and swimming laps because I'm afraid some maniac will "get me!"

Hmm, maybe that's because I'm from a big city, who knows.

Coming back to kids playing. I grew up in the late 50s early 60s (my formative years). Barbie was the buzz. My best friend, who was from a family of 3 (the big brother molested me as a child) and her family was relatively lower-middle. We found the most outrageous and wonderful things to make our Barbie houses, beauty parlor, bathroom, dressing room, bedroom, etc. Hat boxes were great because when open you have two areas to work on! Nothing is left to the imagination any more.

I think we have the fattest kids and adults because we are sedentary and we're barraged by so many choices that we are overcome with stimulation, mentally. But, the catch is, with all this stimulation you'd think it would be good, but this is the sort of stimulation which can cause onset ADD or any of the other letter disorders.

I knew what you meant and why...for the OP.

Very true.

In my case, you're preaching to the choir. While I know a few SAHM, our children vary widely in ages. And worse, the gaps ages of the children in the neighborhood are huge. DD, age 7, plays with the 5 year old next door often and I arrange "dates" with other friends. But it would be nice to have another girl for her to buddy when she's bored of blading with the older boys across the street (when they are home). The closest girl her age is home schooled and scheduled to the second.

And there are no local parks - every single one is at least a 15 minute ride and the nicest (i.e clean) ones are closer to 20 minutes and are in other towns. The town discourages use of the school playgrounds (outside of school hours) and there is no "town park" with play areas on any sort. Lots of baseball diamonds and soccer fields, but no slides, swings or those wonderful huge sandboxes.

I am finding it interesting that so many other areas are having similar concerns - kids don't seem to allowed to be kids anymore.

Cheryl (ps - sounds like a great sledd> Neighborhoods have changed. To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only