Stuff I had that my 3 year old doesn't

Graham_Devon

Obviously the opposite of generalis thread. We often look at what our kids have, but not at what they don't have.

So I'll start...What I had that my 3 year old doesn't (or won't have)

- A stay at home mum
- A garden that was actually big enough to learn to ride the bike in
- A large enough house from the start that was owned by parents even though only one wage was coming in.
- A greenhouse I could grow tomatoes in (I hated them though).
- Lego that was cheap enough to buy with pocket money.
- Computer games that came on cassette that were also cheap enough to buy with pocket money.
- Roundabouts in the park
- A playgroup that was simply that. Wasn't overseen by offsted and didn't include parents evenings...you just turned up if you needed to go in. Used to love that place.
- A playgroup in the supermarket (which supermarket offers this now?!)
- Freedom to roam seemingly anywhere I wanted to roam (probably helped by the lack of mobile phones!)
- The ice cream van doing it's rounds and the excitement when you heard it (they only seem to park up now?)

I also had quite a lot of stuff. Maybe not the same stuff as now. But I had stuff. A TV, a commodore, an Atari. My chopper bike was frankly awesome. As was the ability to ride it somewhere...more so when I got my dynamo rear light which you had to cycle at 45mph just to get it glowing.

Edit: Oh and holidays - we used to go on holiday, usually to relatives places or to a caravan, IN term time! I mean, the horror! But it was cheaper (read, therefore viable), and no one seemed to care. I remember those vividly. You can't do that anymore, hence man ykids simply don't get to go on holiday as their parents can't make use of the cheaper times.

angrypirate

Its got to the stage where having 2 incomes is now the norm. Instead of being able to buy a family house on 3.5 x 1 income, its now nearer 3.5 x 2 incomes. Question is, as the baby boomers all downsize in the next 10 years, will there be a glut of family houses and a shortage of small homes / bungalows?

wotsthat

Graham_Devon wrote: »

The ice cream van doing it's rounds and the excitement when you heard it (they only seem to park up now?)

We still get an ice-cream van down our way. I feel sorry for him (and me) - everyone's kids have grown up.

I used to tell my kids it was a music van - oldest was about seven before he realised they sold ice cream. I'm going to mention that when I get my father of the year award.

I didn't have most of that stuff. Apart from my secondhand Chopper, the ability to wander, a football and a few mates I was fine.

Do you think you're being a bit downbeat BTW - I've a new grandson & nephew - I see a whole world of opportunity for them that I didn't even know existed let alone had the chance to take.

Cornucopia

Change is never all good or all bad - there are always ways of looking at things in a positive light.

I'd always felt sorry for today's students with their loans instead of the grant I had. But I watched MSE Martin's ITV programme on student loans and it's completely changed my perspective. It's not a loan, it's a tax on only those students who go on to have decent jobs.

As for housing - I'm looking into self-build at the moment. Seems like a potentially good way to cheaper home ownership, but the hurdles are significant.

IveSeenTheLight

My kids are 4 and 2,
I've annotated your list with my details

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Obviously the opposite of generalis thread. We often look at what our kids have, but not at what they don't have.

So I'll start...What I had that my 3 year old doesn't (or won't have)

- A stay at home mum - My wife stays at home with the kids
- A garden that was actually big enough to learn to ride the bike in We could do that but the local beach and parks have great flat surfaces. Sometimes we takes the kids to the dunes where there is a path they can cycle up and down
- A large enough house from the start that was owned by parents even though only one wage was coming in.We bought our house before having kids and worked hard to reduce the mortgage to a point that my wife was able to stay at home. Sacrifices were made to achieve this yes, but it is possible
- A greenhouse I could grow tomatoes in (I hated them though).I never had a greenhouse as a kid, but my grandfather did. We are planning a vegetable corner of our new house so the kids can benefit and see home grown produce
- Lego that was cheap enough to buy with pocket money.I never had Lego, but remember playing with it at school on occasions
- Computer games that came on cassette that were also cheap enough to buy with pocket money.I recall those, but also would take the time to replicate code in computer magazines so that I could spend 15 minutes playing the final product once completed on my Commodore 64
- Roundabouts in the parkThey still have those round my way
- A playgroup that was simply that. Wasn't overseen by offsted and didn't include parents evenings...you just turned up if you needed to go in. Used to love that place.My 2 year old is in 2's group twice a week. You do have to pay for the blocks though
- A playgroup in the supermarket (which supermarket offers this now?!)Ikea? but then again, I don;t recall playparks at supermarkets. Sounds a bit dangerous to me. Leave your kids outside in a playpark , next to a car park whilst your inside doing shopping. Not for me that one.
- Freedom to roam seemingly anywhere I wanted to roam (probably helped by the lack of mobile phones!)I do agree that the perception was that it was safer in years gone by.
- The ice cream van doing it's rounds and the excitement when you heard it (they only seem to park up now?)Yes, the Ice cream van ringing it's tones at bedtime is not a good idea though.

I also had quite a lot of stuff. Maybe not the same stuff as now. But I had stuff. A TVDidn;t get my own one till I was in my teens, a commodoreMe too, an Atari. My chopper bike was frankly awesome I started with a budgie and worked up to a chopper. We couldn't afford a Grifter. As was the ability to ride it somewhere...more so when I got my dynamo rear light which you had to cycle at 45mph just to get it glowing.

Edit: Oh and holidays - we used to go on holiday, usually to relatives places or to a caravan Were off to Centreparcs this year, IN term time! I mean, the horror! But it was cheaper (read, therefore viable), and no one seemed to care. I remember those vividly. You can't do that anymoreWhy not? there are still caravan parks. My wife and I stayed in one a few years ago, hence man ykids simply don't get to go on holiday as their parents can't make use of the cheaper times.

IveSeenTheLight

Cornucopia wrote: »

As for housing - I'm looking into self-build at the moment. Seems like a potentially good way to cheaper home ownership, but the hurdles are significant.

I'm doing that.
Far better value for money.
Most hurdles are easier than before (in my opinion), although the hardest factor seems to be access to land for domestic build purposes

wotsthat

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I started with a budgie and worked up to a chopper. We couldn't afford a Grifter.

LOL - I'd forgotten about Budgies...

Graham_Devon

Oh and holidays - we used to go on holiday, usually to relatives places or to a caravan Were off to Centreparcs this year, IN term time! I mean, the horror! But it was cheaper (read, therefore viable), and no one seemed to care. I remember those vividly. You can't do that anymoreWhy not? there are still caravan parks. My wife and I stayed in one a few years ago, hence man ykids simply don't get to go on holiday as their parents can't make use of the cheaper times.

Because you can't take your kids out of school without permission from the council.

And they certainly won't give permission for a holiday.

Generali

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I'm doing that.
Far better value for money.
Most hurdles are easier than before (in my opinion), although the hardest factor seems to be access to land for domestic build purposes

I once read a line in a broker's note that said that all builders of any size spend more on lawyers pushing through planning permission against the will of local homeowners and councils than they do on architects and engineers.

IveSeenTheLight

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Because you can't take your kids out of school without permission from the council.

And they certainly won't give permission for a holiday.

Is that a bad thing?
Schooling should be mandatory and permission should not be granted for holiday's (in my opinion)
In Malaysia, the Chinese community schoolchildren have to go to school on a Saturday if they have had a public holiday through the week.

Incidently, your 3 year old does not need permission

wotsthat

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Because you can't take your kids out of school without permission from the council.

And they certainly won't give permission for a holiday.

I do occasionally. Fill in a holiday form. Get school approval (and a sh***y) letter. Go on holiday.

When the teachers last went on strike I took the opportunity to use the sh***y letter as a template and asked that they strike during school holidays so that it would have less of an impact on the children's education.