<p>When I was a child our family had only one TV in the house. We sat to watch the same programs together. My father dictated the program to watch. However, we enjoyed to be together; breakfast, lunch and dinner during the weekends. I’m sure my parents enjoyed our presence too.</p>
<p>Now, we continue this tradition of being together at breakfast, lunch and dinner time (during the weekends). I can assure you that we enjoy being with our children. I like their conversation, arguments, and ideas, but what I like the most is to be with them, their presence makes me happy.</p>
<p>Having meals together is increasingly rare according to something I read a while back. When D was at home, it was very rare that we didn’t have meals together, no matter how convoluted her schedule we adapted.</p>
<p>Now it seems strange when 2-3 nights a month when TheMom has a book group or a meeting and I’m on my own for dinner.</p>
<p>Now that she is a high school senior I’m not sure I spend too much time actually WITH my kid but I know I am spending WAY too much time THINKING (and worrying) about her.</p>
<p>we definitely spend more time with our kids and enjoy them immensely . i don’t recall that parents were encouraged to be involved with school activities much back when i was in school… not like they are today. i don’t recall there being many club sports. all we had was summer softball with games against area towns, piano lessons but certainly no youth symphany, etc. there were far fewer outside activities for the youth.</p>
<p>my folks …world war II generation…there were fewer conveniences and so moms were baking from scratch, hanging out laundry, tending a garden, ironing clothes, etc. fathers were working hard to support the family…that was their role…they didn’t spend much time with their kids in their activities. drinking was very commonplace in that generation. </p>
<p>things are very different today. we are more kid focused…and that is a good thing :)</p>
<p>What an interesting discussion! Alcohol pulls families apart, mealtime brings us together. Sports, vacation, travel also contribute. Work to some extent pulls us apart, but working out of home brings us together. Except, of course, that it’s easy to get distracted. </p>
<p>Does CC pull families together, or push apart?</p>
<p>I think that being TOO focused on your kids is not positive. I also had parents that ‘did their own thing’ and rarely knew what we were up to, or sometimes even what grade we were in. We did always know that we were loved, that we were trusted to make our decisions and choices. I would find it suffocating to think that I was my parents’ best friend, or that they were always ‘up in my business’.</p>
<p>EPM, my D viewed CC as a then-necessary evil and now rolls her eyes that I’m still involved…though not so much that I can’t sometimes relay a question for her to answer. I like the CC community and didn’t want my accumulation of experience to go to waste, so here I still am and still talking to parents in the local community as well.</p>