Thank you gw - that post describes my childhood very well.
I only had 2 siblings, but we still were kicked out of the house and told not to come home until dinnertime.
We lived out in the country, so we wandered about the woods and made our own fun.
There are times when I feel stretched and hope I am devoting enough time to each child.
You’ve helped me worry a little less about that today :)
I finally got time to read the whole article! There are a lot of very sensible points, although many are *so* common-sense that you wonder what planet people live on that they don’t notice themselves (for example) that getting rid of things is easier than buying a bigger house and moving.
I think the more important points were in the second half of the article, where it got past fear of kidnapping or broken arms and talked about parents’ fears that their children won’t be “successful.” As your post mentioned, the feeling that you as a parent are what determines your children’s lives is very stressful.
And there’s a lot of that in society. One of the mothers in my prayer group has been in a minor tizzy all year because her son is 18, going to graduate from high school, and he doesn’t want to go to college! He wants to go to trade school, learn a skill, and get a job. Her family can’t believe she would “let him” do that ... as if parents have a right to control adult children’s life decisions in that way.
One advantage I find in having a lot of children is that the first one teaches you so much. I learned that they’re going to do what they’re going to do, so you might as well have a drink and FReep, instead of struggling with a child who has a LOT bigger stake in his or her own life than you do.