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I agree with most of the comments here as a semi-new father, so I won't rehash then, but I really wish more people could experience the emotions and struggles o

I agree with most of the comments here as a semi-new father, so I won't rehash then, but I really wish more people could experience the emotions and struggles of parenthood sooner, I think it makes a person realize what's important in life and causes one to mature quickly. I think people would be nicer to one another if they could be a parent for a year, at least.

pavel_lishin 6y ago
> I think people would be nicer to one another if they could be a parent for a year, at least. Eh. I've seen other parents be just as shitty as anyone else. I don't think parenthood is an empathy-panacea.
- borroka 6y ago
  Exactly. How do we forget every time there are these conversations that most abuses happen in families? How do we forget about the victims of parental harassment, shaming, disinterest and violence? I don't know whether being a parent makes someone better or worse; but there are many parents who should have done something different that lazy Sunday afternoon.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- lambda_obrien 6y ago
  I just figured the shitty people are already shitty now, but a lot of people become better after they have kids, so it might be a net gain if more people had kids earlier, since they might become better people earlier. You are right there are shitty parents, but I think parenthood generally makes for a more mature person, on the statistical whole. Either way, it would be nice if people had to think about the care and feeding of others more often, so they might be less selfish after having seen how important a job it is to take care of another human with care and respect. Maybe even if people could take care of the elderly, it's a similar struggle to take care of a very old and enfeebled person.
  - pavel_lishin 6y ago
    > it might be a net gain if more people had kids earlier, since they might become better people earlier. Maybe. I was not ready to become a father early in life; I can't tell you if it would have taught me patience earlier, or would have made me resent the responsibility and poisoned my relationship with my kid. And overall, I think that prescribing having a child to mature people faster fits into the same bucket as having a child to save a failing relationship. > it would be nice if people had to think about the care and feeding of others more often Perhaps we can get young people more dogs. Or a fish.

pavel_lishin 6y ago

> I think people would be nicer to one another if they could be a parent for a year, at least. Eh. I've seen other parents be just as shitty as anyone else. I don't think parenthood is an empathy-panacea.

borroka 6y ago
Exactly. How do we forget every time there are these conversations that most abuses happen in families? How do we forget about the victims of parental harassment, shaming, disinterest and violence? I don't know whether being a parent makes someone better or worse; but there are many parents who should have done something different that lazy Sunday afternoon.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
lambda_obrien 6y ago
I just figured the shitty people are already shitty now, but a lot of people become better after they have kids, so it might be a net gain if more people had kids earlier, since they might become better people earlier. You are right there are shitty parents, but I think parenthood generally makes for a more mature person, on the statistical whole. Either way, it would be nice if people had to think about the care and feeding of others more often, so they might be less selfish after having seen how important a job it is to take care of another human with care and respect. Maybe even if people could take care of the elderly, it's a similar struggle to take care of a very old and enfeebled person.
- pavel_lishin 6y ago
  > it might be a net gain if more people had kids earlier, since they might become better people earlier. Maybe. I was not ready to become a father early in life; I can't tell you if it would have taught me patience earlier, or would have made me resent the responsibility and poisoned my relationship with my kid. And overall, I think that prescribing having a child to mature people faster fits into the same bucket as having a child to save a failing relationship. > it would be nice if people had to think about the care and feeding of others more often Perhaps we can get young people more dogs. Or a fish.