Quote:
Originally Posted by Wigs
nice to see a wholesome thread!
I give you guys and your spouses/partners credit. I could have been a father in my late 20s or 30, but now I wouldn't even have the energy. I don't understand how people had large families back in the day. My Dad comes from a family of 9, 8 siblings, and my maternal grandfather came from a family of 12!
My niece "threenager" as O-tacular says is the closest I get (right now) and she's a long distance away in Cali. My brother uses Skype/Zoom calls as grandparent virtual babysitting sessions  |
I think back in the day, it was much more common to have single income households, there was less social expectations on parents to spend so much time with their kids & organize activities (parenting was much more "free range" and there was a sink or swim mentality where it was seen as ok if one or two kids completely failed to grow up properly) and large families meant there was free babysitting from uncles, aunts, cousins, and even older siblings. All these things combined to make kids less work than they are today, but it does mean that kids today are getting better parenting. Quality over quantity, I guess.