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Umm, where is the control group of latchkey kids who did not grow up in dysfunctional families? My parents were self-employed, but during the fall, often busy

Umm, where is the control group of latchkey kids who did not grow up in dysfunctional families? My parents were self-employed, but during the fall, often busy at the other place (a fishing camp -- this one: http://matt.wandel.ca/amogla/amogla.html http://matt.wandel.ca/amogla/amogla.html ) at the time we came home from school. Dinner was ready, warmed up in the oven (no microwaves then, at least in our household, but that's why ovens had/have timers!) and we ate and played and did all the usual stuff (homework, sigh) without parental supervision. That's not neglect and we grew up fine, and yes, with additional sense of responsibility. For example, one day, the newly acquired stick-shift 1985 Toyota Van sat there, the parents having gone to the camp in the truck. We all piled in there, and I, the only one at the time old enough to have a driver's licence but no stick-shift experience worth mentioning, kind of figured it out as I went, and drove everyone to the camp. We survived, the van did too, parents were fine with it. We were trusted to do this kind of thing on our own judgement, rather than parental micromanagement. That's the difference.

bluGill 2y ago
The article mentions that when you control for such things latchkey do about as well as their peers overall. There are a few things they are worse on (girls are more likely to shoplift for example), but overall there isn't much difference in outcomes when you control for other factors. Parents leave their kids home alone for a short time after school before they get off work and home - and then have a great family life the rest of the night result in kids that do as well later in life as parents that are there after school. Parents that neglect their kids can come home before the kids and still neglect their kids. Then the article veers into a rant about divorce that from what I can tell isn't as supported by studies.
TomK32 2y ago
Most dysfunctional families don't realize how dis-functional they are, it's just the norm for them, possibly over several generations. I grew up in a multi-generational house with grandparents and gruncles. There's always someone at home. Yet, one year in primary school it took my mom months until she figure that I had to go to detention every Friday because I didn't do my homework during the week. Took me 42 years to figure that was because of my ADHD... A good balance is needed when raising children, give them the safety to confide in you, the trust that they can rely on your support and the encouragement to take on the world. Half the time parents and their child spend together over the child's lifetime is in the first 12 years. That's not a lot of time to raise a child and having my daughter for nine years now I can only recommend to spend much more time with them when they are little. PS: I love you brother's YT channel

bluGill 2y ago

The article mentions that when you control for such things latchkey do about as well as their peers overall. There are a few things they are worse on (girls are more likely to shoplift for example), but overall there isn't much difference in outcomes when you control for other factors. Parents leave their kids home alone for a short time after school before they get off work and home - and then have a great family life the rest of the night result in kids that do as well later in life as parents that are there after school. Parents that neglect their kids can come home before the kids and still neglect their kids. Then the article veers into a rant about divorce that from what I can tell isn't as supported by studies.

TomK32 2y ago

Most dysfunctional families don't realize how dis-functional they are, it's just the norm for them, possibly over several generations. I grew up in a multi-generational house with grandparents and gruncles. There's always someone at home. Yet, one year in primary school it took my mom months until she figure that I had to go to detention every Friday because I didn't do my homework during the week. Took me 42 years to figure that was because of my ADHD... A good balance is needed when raising children, give them the safety to confide in you, the trust that they can rely on your support and the encouragement to take on the world. Half the time parents and their child spend together over the child's lifetime is in the first 12 years. That's not a lot of time to raise a child and having my daughter for nine years now I can only recommend to spend much more time with them when they are little. PS: I love you brother's YT channel