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I really like the observations his niece makes, specifically “When I play hide and seek with my friends I have to hide, but if I don’t want to be seen by grown-

I really like the observations his niece makes, specifically “When I play hide and seek with my friends I have to hide, but if I don’t want to be seen by grown-ups I just have to be quiet.”

jlees 16y ago
Children are amazing. If you want to refocus your world, talk to one for half an hour. Wait! Not like that, you'll get arrested.
- CamperBob 16y ago
  I didn't understand children when I was one, so I doubt I'd understand them now.
  - mkramlich 16y ago
    When I was a child I wanted to be an adult. Now that I'm an adult I still want to be an adult. Go figure.
    - Splines 16y ago
      Whether you're old or young, you always wish you were 21. Old enough to have responsibility, young enough to have a lifetime of choice in front of you.
      - mmorris 16y ago
        I disagree about there being an ideal age (or, at least that it's 21 -- I'm not quite old enough to make a universal comment!). Are there great things about being young (whether that be 16 or 21)? Sure. But there are a lot of great things about being older too, and it's easy to lose site of those things. I'm 30 now and I'm much more comfortable in my own skin now than I was even 5 or 10 years ago. Generally, I'm happier now than I was back then. I'm definitely smarter and more capable, in work and in life. It's easy to think about how great it would be if you could be 21 again (while still knowing everything you've learned from your experiences since then), but, as they say, youth is wasted on the young. That's just how life works. All we can do is encourage people of all ages to make the most of the opportunities they have right now.
  - philwelch 16y ago
    Things I already understand are boring to me. Things I don't understand are new and exciting to learn about, or at least consistently surprising.
jacoblyles 16y ago
The interaction between children and adults in our culture is weird nowadays. I was at the zoo with my girlfriend in the reptile section. A little boy was staring into the same tank that we were, his mom was maybe ten feet away. You know how reptiles are, they are always hiding behind some rock or branch or just blending in nefariously. So I ask the boy, "Do you see the snake?" It felt awkward to ignore another human being crowding around the glass with us and I figured I would give him a chance to feel good by showing off his superior reptile-spotting ability. He seemed shocked that an adult he didn't know would talk to him. There's something weird about that being weird.
- Splines 16y ago
  Probably a U.S. cultural thing. I find it weird talking to other parents' kids too (I'm a father of two), as you don't know how the other parents will handle it. I'd like to think there are places in this world that aren't so paranoid.
  - akadruid 16y ago
    It's not just a U.S. thing. I'm a UK father of 3 small boys, and it's a given over here that you should be very wary of interation with any child unless you have some kind of relationship with their parent. It's somewhat relaxed where parents feel more comfortable; a zoo might qualify for that.
- ErrantX 16y ago
  It's terrible isn't it. Because in the past you could have been a reptile enthusiast, and he might have been interested and maybe you could have taught him something. Now everyone just looks at you weird.

I really like the observations his niece makes, specifically “When I play hide and seek with my friends I have to hide, but if I don’t want to be seen by grown-ups I just have to be quiet.”

jlees 16y ago

Children are amazing. If you want to refocus your world, talk to one for half an hour. Wait! Not like that, you'll get arrested.

CamperBob 16y ago
I didn't understand children when I was one, so I doubt I'd understand them now.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  When I was a child I wanted to be an adult. Now that I'm an adult I still want to be an adult. Go figure.
  - Splines 16y ago
    Whether you're old or young, you always wish you were 21. Old enough to have responsibility, young enough to have a lifetime of choice in front of you.
    - mmorris 16y ago
      I disagree about there being an ideal age (or, at least that it's 21 -- I'm not quite old enough to make a universal comment!). Are there great things about being young (whether that be 16 or 21)? Sure. But there are a lot of great things about being older too, and it's easy to lose site of those things. I'm 30 now and I'm much more comfortable in my own skin now than I was even 5 or 10 years ago. Generally, I'm happier now than I was back then. I'm definitely smarter and more capable, in work and in life. It's easy to think about how great it would be if you could be 21 again (while still knowing everything you've learned from your experiences since then), but, as they say, youth is wasted on the young. That's just how life works. All we can do is encourage people of all ages to make the most of the opportunities they have right now.
- philwelch 16y ago
  Things I already understand are boring to me. Things I don't understand are new and exciting to learn about, or at least consistently surprising.

jacoblyles 16y ago

The interaction between children and adults in our culture is weird nowadays. I was at the zoo with my girlfriend in the reptile section. A little boy was staring into the same tank that we were, his mom was maybe ten feet away. You know how reptiles are, they are always hiding behind some rock or branch or just blending in nefariously. So I ask the boy, "Do you see the snake?" It felt awkward to ignore another human being crowding around the glass with us and I figured I would give him a chance to feel good by showing off his superior reptile-spotting ability. He seemed shocked that an adult he didn't know would talk to him. There's something weird about that being weird.

Splines 16y ago
Probably a U.S. cultural thing. I find it weird talking to other parents' kids too (I'm a father of two), as you don't know how the other parents will handle it. I'd like to think there are places in this world that aren't so paranoid.
- akadruid 16y ago
  It's not just a U.S. thing. I'm a UK father of 3 small boys, and it's a given over here that you should be very wary of interation with any child unless you have some kind of relationship with their parent. It's somewhat relaxed where parents feel more comfortable; a zoo might qualify for that.
ErrantX 16y ago
It's terrible isn't it. Because in the past you could have been a reptile enthusiast, and he might have been interested and maybe you could have taught him something. Now everyone just looks at you weird.