-=> Quoting Damon A. Getsman to All on 31-Jan-2015 16:49 <=-   
      
    DAG> The other factor that needs to be taken into account with the setting   
    DAG> that we're currently in is that we're _still_ couchsurfing.  That is,   
    DAG> there are no separate rooms, there's no real place for us to put our   
    DAG> stuff, and the person who was kind enough to let us stay with him had   
    DAG> the place full to the brim of his stuff when we got here.  So there's   
    DAG> not really enough space in this place to do anything with toys, and   
    DAG> usually it's in unacceptable condition for inviting anyone over here.   
      
   It's good you have a roof over your head, but granted, that's still   
   nowhere near an ideal situation...     
      
    DAG> He reads his books, but he reads through them so fast that I   
    DAG> can't keep up.  I have located a local library here, which will, no   
    DAG> doubt, help a bunch, but that's just not done yet.  Due to the issues   
    DAG> that I had, I was unable to get out of the apartment for quite some   
    DAG> time, which really held us back in some of those areas.   
      
   Have you considered getting him some sort of electronic book reader,   
   and downloading books for him...?  Or is that out of the question   
   financially...?  How far away is the library...?   It's a shame that   
   things are less safe than they were back when I was a kid... I used to   
   hang out at the local library all the time, could walk there from   
   home...    
      
    DAG> So.  On to helicopter parenting.  This was actually a term coined   
    DAG> by my friend 'Neuro', a user on this BBS.  It's a term used to describe   
    DAG> the latest phenomena of parents who don't let their kids have _any_   
    DAG> unstructured or unsupervised time.  While this can be great for learned   
    DAG> skills, it can be terrible for having a kid ready for the real world.    
      
   Some of it is driven by the kids wanting to be involved in all sorts of   
   things, from music to sports to other activities.... but many parents   
   tend to push kids into things they aren't really all that interested in,   
   to be sure.  I suspect that part of it came from having smaller families   
   so that that sort of running around on the parents' part was even   
   feasible...  when you have 5 or more kids, it's harder to go in all the   
   different directions... and, besides, the kids have siblings to go out   
   and play with.  Not to say that only having one child is a problem in   
   itself, it just makes it more difficult to find other kids to play   
   with...  (Coming from someone who is the oldest of 8 kids, and ended up   
   only being able to have one child...)   
      
    DAG> I wouldn't worry so much about being called an incompetent parent,   
    DAG> when I'm giving him the experience and the skills that he needs to   
    DAG> survive, if I had a job, my own place, and everything right now.  As   
    DAG> it stands, though, the last thing that I need is CPS looking into the   
    DAG> situation.  I mean everything is legit, but it's not like I have any   
    DAG> sort of real leg to stand on showing that I'm a 'Fine Upstanding   
    DAG> Citizen'(tm) brand American Single Parent.    
      
   Keeping him clothed and fed and in school should go a ways in showing   
   that you are a proper father, however...  and the other hopefully will   
   come as you are better stabilized and can find a decent job...  :)   
      
    DAG> Long story short, I don't know what to do about   
    DAG> it other than to keep pushing for a job, now that I've got myself   
    DAG> stable, and get the hell out of it.  I just wish there was something I   
    DAG> could do quicker.  There's plenty of meet-ups, but my vehicle being   
    DAG> gone now is making that rougher, especially on school days.   
      
   Sometimes one just has to keep plodding, one foot after another, and   
   hope the goal is eventually met...  :)     
      
   ttyl       neb   
      
   ... We are born naked, wet and hungry.  Then things get worse.   
      
   --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F   
    * Origin: Tiny's BBS - Oshawa, ON, CA http://tinysbbs.com (1:229/452)