Preparedness for when

Tomcatsmum

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Interesting discussions today and I hope no-one is too offended by the different posters - differences of opinion are part and parcel of this forum in my view and we're pretty tolerant I think. Our kids have been to school without breakfast on a handful of occasions. Not because there is no food, on the contrary, after time spent on this forum there is enough breakfast stuff in the cupboards to last them until next Christmas more likely than not :cool:. We wake them up and then it's over to them to get themselves up and dressed - they are more than capable. If they run out of time to have breakfast before school, I'd rather they were hungry and on time than fed and late. I see this as teaching them to take responsibility for themselves - in the longer term this is more important for us and them than a few missed meals. My personal view and it won't work for every family I'm sure.

Mine too, we wake our kids at 7am and then 15 minutes time updates. If they choose to get up late (which my teenage son always does) they miss breakfast. They have to learn time management skills as these will be necessary as adults.

GreyQueen

Smiling at hollow legs syndrome. I used to have that; was busily growing to nearly 6 feet tall and that takes a lot of calories.

Trouble is, you can carry that habit forward into middle-age and end up a bit too chubby. Ask me how I know this...........:rotfl:

Spurred on by the counting of closed premises, I think I will count shops on my way across town this evening to archery. My route takes me through the main shopping streets, so it will be an interesting exercise. My city functions as if an oversized market town for the surrounding area, so we punch above our weight in terms of retail space, but things have been changing, and not for the better.

I was reflecting on a convo had with a returnee to my city, about 1990, who'd been living abroad for a couple of years but was a native son. He'd noticed on his return that a lot of the stores he'd frequented had gone, and these were businesses which had traded for decades in most cases. Even not being a shopaholic, it was noticable to him.

I'm surprised at the amount of eateries which open and wonder how they can all get a living off the residential, workaday and tourist trade. The answere is that they often don't last long; I guess the rationale for their proliferation is that we all need to eat and the start-up may be cheaper for a cafe than for some other types of outlet.

The speed of churn tells me that there are a lot of people with the will to run businesses but that they aren't getting enough turn-over to make a go of it. Some start with shops and online shops and end up going online-only as that's where the money is, minus a lot of the overhead.

I suspect that the ear-to-the-ground of the average Joe and Josephine will be provide a more accurate barometer of local economic conditions than figures from any kind of political authority.

Oh, and the Daily Wail is running two stories about the HSBC bank not allowing customers to withdraw their own money in bulk. Do keep up people, the rest of us are on something else by now.

moments_of_sanity

Tomcatsmum wrote: »

Mine too, we wake our kids at 7am and then 15 minutes time updates. If they choose to get up late (which my teenage son always does) they miss breakfast. They have to learn time management skills as these will be necessary as adults.

I do the same in my house except I now no longer wake them up as they are 16 and 18 and they have to take responsibility for themselves. Both DD's are now in 6th form so things like getting up on time, having breakfast, making sure they have something for lunch are their responsibilities. If they choose to have an extra 10/15 mins in bed then that's down to them but they will go without breakfast or not have time to make their lunches, I know this might seem harsh to some people but at 16 I was working full time and had to make sure I got up on time, had breakfast, organised my lunch, got the bus to work etc so I do feel these are important life lessons for my girls.

GreyQueen

m_of_s, it's not harsh, it's treating them as what they are; young adults.

Mum was out at work at 15 and had to be on a train at 7 am. There was no question of Grandma getting her up for work or providing her breakfast - she was expected to sort herself out in the kitchen. You just did it or faced the consquences from the employer.

After all, if they have a job and rock up late they'll be on a disciplinary or mebbe out of a job, so they need to learn.

I was vastly amused by a pal who is a uni law lecturer telling me about students having to be told that it's unacceptable, in fact downright disrespectful, for them to turn up to tutorials and lectures IN THEIR PYJAMAS. The fact that she's having to reprove young adults aiming at a professional career is astonishing to her.

thriftwizard

Entirely by chance, I was in the centre of our local conurbation yesterday. It's an posh-ish seaside resort, with a big university, one or two bits of which are well-thought-of in artistic circles, a large number of foreign language schools (I'm a host parent for one) and a very active night-life scene. There's a LOT of money about; forget the odd football manager, some of the houses on our very-expensive peninsular are owned by youngish Eastern European arms dealers and the like, with teenage wives who really know how to spend. So the main shopping street is full of expensive & exclusive "names" with a couple of department stores, and the smaller, more interesting shops used to cluster in the streets behind - lower rent, I expect!

They've gone. There are one or two gaps on the high street itself, where lower-end chains have pulled out, but there's nothing except the odd restaurant (and one book shop) left behind the main drag. Admittedly, some of the old buildings are being demolished to make way for office blocks, but there's no commercial life at all left off the high street itself. I don't get down there very often, so hadn't noticed it happening, but it's quite disorientating once you actually start to look! And I don't know what they're building all these new offices; half the recently-built ones are still empty. But I expect just building them adds to "growth" somehow...

mardatha

Reading back the last couple of pages, sometimes I think that maybe TSHTF is overdue and might not be a bad thing!
Reminds me of the story my dad used to tell tell that his dad used to tell him. Don't ever feed the birds unless there's deep snow on the ground. When my dad (and a generation later I) said ohh poor wee birds that's bad, he said Feed them, they get lazy. They get lazy, they get unfit. They get unfit, they can't forage for their own food. You're teaching them to depend on you - and one day you won't be here, or you'll forget. And they will starve. And that will be because you interfered.
I used to think he was the hardest man ever, I didn't like him. But he was an old style very tough farmworker in summer, on the fishing boats in winter. I think he knew about hard times and survival.
So maybe we've come too far the other way? Maybe we need a bit more good old fashioned toughess and commonsense?

grandma247

We may be getting that change sooner than we think mardatha.

Your story reminds me of one I heard about a Butterfly that was struggling to get out of it's chrysalis. The person watching it felt sorry for it so decided to help it out. The Butterfly died. It seems they need that struggle to get their fluids all around body and wings or the wings will not stretch out. If the wings don't open properly it can't fly. They have after all been asleep for a long time. Sometimes effort is necessary.

A new pinterest page that might interest some of you.

Frugalsod

I suspect that when the SHTF it will not necessarily end the way you expect. It might not end well. Look at the numbers of uprisings around the world. Thailand and Ukrainian governments are on the verge of toppling, and then you have the far right doing well across Eastern Europe, so we could end up in another war far closer to home than we think.

What is needed is a restructuring of our banks and that would mean far less credit but a much more stable economy. House prices might not climb any faster than wages but that would make it easier for our kids to one day get on the property ladder. It would mean that interest rates would be higher so that saving money makes sense. The levels of owner occupation is falling so we may end up being a nation of renters being unable to afford to live in our own country.

[Deleted User]

Oh MAR your post is sweet music to my ears, I totally agree with you, old fashioned toughness and commonsense are what teaches resilience and practicality and acceptance that the world sometimes can't be made the way you want it to be. All of which forge self reliant and down to earth people who can cope in hard times, long overdue yes? Lyn xxx.

BigMummaF

GreyQueen wrote: »

....The trouble with being a parent is that it's the most important role on the planet ....

I can't help thinking that TPTB have forgotten this sentiment. SAHP are scorned for 'being lazy' & 'not wanting to work'.. what on earth do they think a parent does all day :mad:

My husband walked out when The Offspring were still under ten years old so for all intents & purposes I became a single parent (although I prefer the term Abandoned Spouse ) Benefits were very keen for me to work full time, even though I was working in Early Years Education as it fitted in with school holidays & such. The youngest Offspring had an awful time with formal education--but that's for another time--& the Education Dept "strongly advised" I stayed at home, so either way, I couldn't win.

These days the silly burgers in Landin want the primary carer back to work when the child starts school at 4 years old. With so many grandparents who have to carry on working these days, they are not available for school runs/sickness/inset days etc.
No-one ever realises they are leaving the most valuable thing in their lives in the hands of those who work in child care, & expect them to do it for love... how dare they expect a decent wage for looking after your kids!

What is so wrong with being a parent first?