I have absolutely 'nothing' to add to what I already stated I've seen enough deaths due to the use of mobile phones in trucks and cars to know I talk sense Don't quote me to answer - you won't get one
You know, we have kept talking about cell phones, what about the car phones that came before the cell phones. You know, the phones that required a small antenna on the back of the roof or on the rear window. A lot of the younger generation does text while driving, instead of talking. And, then there are those ladies that put on makeup while driving. It's unreal of all the different things people do while driving, or even at a stop light where someone has to honk their horn to get the car in front of them to realize the light has turned green and they are still sitting there. Like already stated, when use our speakerphone on our cells 99% of the time. Which means our cell is sitting in the middle console of the vehicle when we are talking to someone who called.
And it's OK to call people idiots when it's warranted. In modern history things have changed rapidly. There is nothing wrong with people using common sense as they navigate those changes.
But, it's not warranted! Many, many, many folks would be totally offended by this word. Common sense is to use either Bluetooth or Speakerphone when using a cell in a vehicle. There are numerous people that don't do that. They simply hold the phone and talk. Anyways, this Thread isn't about using a cell phone in a vehicle, it's about how some feel that using one is ignoring their children. As for me, I just don't see that using a cell phone is "ignoring children". We aren't living back in the 60' and 70's when children (possibly) got more attention from their parents. We are now living in the "day and age" of electronics that include cell phones..........like it or not.
@Ken Anderson Don't worry about it. I call myself an idiot all the time. There certainly are some strong opinions in this thread. I don't talk on my cell (flip phone) when driving. I guess I don't have enough people to talk to and I guess that's fine also.
I think we have succumbed to the siren call of the Matrix. I told my GS recently that I think our devices are spying on us. He said, "They didn't invade our lives, We invited them in."
The real question is, has all of this modern age stuff taken away, some anyway, parents paying attention to their kids? I mean, go back to when there was no cell phones and computers. Did we really pay more attention to the kids back then? Actually, I think we did. But, then again, just how much does a parent really need to pay attention to their kids? Some will say "a lot", while others will say "not every minute of every day". Sometimes I think it just depends on the Generation we are talking about.
"Different means"? To be fair, we'd have to look at this "in general". Why? Because there are lots of parents that will say they were good parents and that their kids are good parents. This could be pretty bias towards themselves and their kids. As for me, my step-parents, I feel, were both good and not so good. Compared to my cousins parents and neighborhood parents, if asking the kids, my step-parents were very strict, which made them "not so good" in their minds.
Different means might not be the best choice ..what I mean is that each generation tends to do things differently. Long ago spanking was okay, then grounding and time outs became popular etc. I was a good parent because I spent quality and quantity time with my kids...I tried my outmost best to raise them right, stressing education and morals. My kids both work full time and so do their spouses so quantity time might be different but the quality is there...and they want good lives for their kids just like I wanted for mine.
The word "finances" comes into big play when raising kids also. I remember reading about a single mother in New York (I think it was), where someone suggested to her about getting her son involved in some type of organization, like Cub Scouts. Her reply, "you give me the money for the uniform and other things and I'd be very happy to do that". Finances can play a major part in raising a family. While some families can afford a trip to Disney World (flight, hotel and meals), that kind of vacation is not affordable by other parents. My step-parents couldn't afford for me to get a Class Ring. Any Allowance money I got from them, I didn't get it. That money was put into a Christmas Savings Account for me to buy presents with. It wasn't until my Senior year in high school, and working a part-time job at a upper-class restaurant, did I have money to keep in MY pocket.
We were middle class and when the kids were young we didn't take fancy vacations. My kids had to take out strident loans for their last 4 years of college. My kids do have the finances though and they do take expensive vacations with their kids but they're still good parents. My grandson's college will be paid for by his parents...it's already been put aside for the 4 years.. Tuition, dorm, books, meals are all paid for and they give him a $500 a month allowance for extras. He has it easier than my kids did for sure but it's because I gave my kids the tools necessary to achieve what they did so they can now pay for college. He's going to an in state school so it's somewhat cheaper but it's still about $30,000 for this year. His parents did make him get a summer job and he did. He made $15 an hour washing windows at Pebble Beach country club and also picking up trash at the mall. He made a few thousand dollars and he gets to keep that money to do with as he pleases but they wanted him to see what a crappy job is like an if he doesn't finish college he's on his own and they won't support him. Those are the rules...he has the brains, graduated with a 4.0 average and that included some AP classes.
Well, there are parents that can't even afford a regular-to-small vacation, let alone a fancy on. My step-parents couldn't. The only vacation I ever knew, was spending Sat and Sun with my cousins. Now, the way my wife was raised was very different from me, but her mom, dad, and later step-dad had the finances. Descent home in a nice area (Lincoln Park, Mich.), a lake cottage with ski boat and private dock and nice vacations. They were middle-class as well, but compared to my step-family, they were upper-class. Chrissy, your husband, just like my wife's parents, brought in a very nice income. And, that was an added plus for your kids and my wife and her siblings. Something my family did not have. We can talk all we want about how some kids today don't get the attention from their parents they should, due to whatever, BUT if these "not so attentive parents" had much better finances, perhaps their kids would get more attention. IMO, that is.
I don't believe that. Poor parents can be good parents also. Love is what's important. True that a single mom with 5 kids and a minimum wage job will have a tough time but it's still doable to raise good kids, just harder.
As I keep saying, here and other Threads, money is one of the major keys to life and family. Poor parents can't give their kids the things that their kids see other kids with parents with money can. I think one of complaints that kids will tell a Family Therapist is that they don't get to do the things that some of their school mates do or have some of the nice things, because the family doesn't have that kind of money. That lack of finances can hurt a family. Resentment towards other kids can definitely happen. You came from a nice family with nice finances, right Chrissy? And then you married a guy that was the same way. No matter how we look at it, money is the key to living a good life. Just ask some of these forum members that may not have the kind of "good life" they'd like to, due to the lack of money. Denise Happyfeet sure did clue us in on her lack of finances and how it affects her lifestyle.