5 ms·

Makes me feel better in a way. By age 60 it won’t matter much whether I had kids or not. Time spent with them per day equals, like, one TV episode. So I’m happy

Makes me feel better in a way. By age 60 it won’t matter much whether I had kids or not. Time spent with them per day equals, like, one TV episode. So I’m happy to see that my partner and my self will continue to be more important by that metric.

mhh__ 6y ago
I would be willing to bet that most parents first and last thoughts in a day is about their children, the idea of it working out to roughly a TV episode a day is absolutely bizarre.
- Izkata 6y ago
  GP said "time spent with them", not "time spent thinking about them".
Dirlewanger 6y ago
What a truly bizarre sentiment. Just because the kids move out means they're completely out of your life?
- silveroriole 6y ago
  Well, it’s not my sentiment, it’s the figure in the graph!
  - hnracer 6y ago
    "it won't matter much" is your sentiment. Presumably a parent of adult kids would retort that it's not just about the N hours of face to face, but also being proud of each milestone they hit (graduation, job, kids, etc), talking about the kids with their partner, and thinking about them.
  - arcticfox 6y ago
    Right, but to make your point, you made the incredibly bold assumption that every minute is equally as valuable as every other minute. So because time with children = one TV episode of time, it can't be that important.
    - moate 6y ago
      It's actually the opposite: If this time was so valuable, why wouldn't there be more of it? Why is it so important for the individual to have a child if you're never going to spend any time with them down the line? This is about what a specific culture (Modern Americans) are valuing. You can agree or disagree with that valuation (and whether it's ungrateful children or active seniors causing the time issue) but it's a valid analysis.
      - mhh__ 6y ago
        > If this time was so valuable, why wouldn't there be more of it? Money can be exchanged for goods and services
      - Dirlewanger 6y ago
        >Why is it so important for the individual to have a child if you're never going to spend any time with them down the line? Why do anything in life at all? We're all going to die anyway!
ericd 6y ago
I'm guessing that's the average over all people, including those who spend 0 time with their kids, because they don't have any.

mhh__ 6y ago

I would be willing to bet that most parents first and last thoughts in a day is about their children, the idea of it working out to roughly a TV episode a day is absolutely bizarre.

Izkata 6y ago
GP said "time spent with them", not "time spent thinking about them".

Dirlewanger 6y ago

What a truly bizarre sentiment. Just because the kids move out means they're completely out of your life?

silveroriole 6y ago
Well, it’s not my sentiment, it’s the figure in the graph!
- hnracer 6y ago
  "it won't matter much" is your sentiment. Presumably a parent of adult kids would retort that it's not just about the N hours of face to face, but also being proud of each milestone they hit (graduation, job, kids, etc), talking about the kids with their partner, and thinking about them.
- arcticfox 6y ago
  Right, but to make your point, you made the incredibly bold assumption that every minute is equally as valuable as every other minute. So because time with children = one TV episode of time, it can't be that important.
  - moate 6y ago
    It's actually the opposite: If this time was so valuable, why wouldn't there be more of it? Why is it so important for the individual to have a child if you're never going to spend any time with them down the line? This is about what a specific culture (Modern Americans) are valuing. You can agree or disagree with that valuation (and whether it's ungrateful children or active seniors causing the time issue) but it's a valid analysis.
    - mhh__ 6y ago
      > If this time was so valuable, why wouldn't there be more of it? Money can be exchanged for goods and services
    - Dirlewanger 6y ago
      >Why is it so important for the individual to have a child if you're never going to spend any time with them down the line? Why do anything in life at all? We're all going to die anyway!

ericd 6y ago

I'm guessing that's the average over all people, including those who spend 0 time with their kids, because they don't have any.