Such an interesting post. I totally agree that dealing with challenges will make your kids stronger, but perhaps the biggest influence is watching their parents (and others) deal calmly, creatively and with forethought to any new difficulties. They certainly won't be sweating the small stuff later in life!
It is interesting to contrast how you and your family cope with real problems with how some many in the West fail to cope with pseudo problems and develop medically diagnosed 'anxiety'. Teenagers I teach are genuinely afraid of going out in crowded places after so long in 'lockdown' and they are too scared to go anywhere at all without their mobile phones. They will refuse to go out if their phone is not working because they are actually afraid of being outside without one. I am becoming genuinely concerned about how we are raising this generation and how they will cope with any real hardship, especially as I fear that hard times are coming. I think that you are giving your children very real advantages in mental and physical resilience. What used to be called character and moral fibre.
Most interesting to see Eddie's progress. Schools seem to wallow in low expectations which you clearly don't have. More than obvious that nurturing a child's curiosity allow a freedom to follow their interests. Many US kids don't even know about our public libraries. For those who do, it's refreshing to visit and see kids on the floor of their section reading. Sad that the poorest among us without any books in the home haven't gravitated to the libraries. Of course, maybe that's because parents don't trust their kids to walk a few miles to get there. In my youth I spent time in the library getting away from the world and reading things of interest. Your kids will grow up not expecting much and learning how to rely on their own skills.
I’m excited for you and Eddie after reading this. Watching the curiosity turn into mild obsession is exciting! And you get the benefit of it being directed at the curriculum to boot!
Such an interesting post. I totally agree that dealing with challenges will make your kids stronger, but perhaps the biggest influence is watching their parents (and others) deal calmly, creatively and with forethought to any new difficulties. They certainly won't be sweating the small stuff later in life!
It is interesting to contrast how you and your family cope with real problems with how some many in the West fail to cope with pseudo problems and develop medically diagnosed 'anxiety'. Teenagers I teach are genuinely afraid of going out in crowded places after so long in 'lockdown' and they are too scared to go anywhere at all without their mobile phones. They will refuse to go out if their phone is not working because they are actually afraid of being outside without one. I am becoming genuinely concerned about how we are raising this generation and how they will cope with any real hardship, especially as I fear that hard times are coming. I think that you are giving your children very real advantages in mental and physical resilience. What used to be called character and moral fibre.
Most interesting to see Eddie's progress. Schools seem to wallow in low expectations which you clearly don't have. More than obvious that nurturing a child's curiosity allow a freedom to follow their interests. Many US kids don't even know about our public libraries. For those who do, it's refreshing to visit and see kids on the floor of their section reading. Sad that the poorest among us without any books in the home haven't gravitated to the libraries. Of course, maybe that's because parents don't trust their kids to walk a few miles to get there. In my youth I spent time in the library getting away from the world and reading things of interest. Your kids will grow up not expecting much and learning how to rely on their own skills.
I’m excited for you and Eddie after reading this. Watching the curiosity turn into mild obsession is exciting! And you get the benefit of it being directed at the curriculum to boot!