My ideal ages for kid interactions are about 4 to 11, I think, with 10 or so being the optimal - before all the angst of adolescence, but capable of rational and imaginative thought. So my sister's twins and Miss Katy are in the zone right now, and the Bens and Miss Becky have recently become a bit too old (although - props to their folks - I can still talk to them somewhat ... let's see what happens as they get into their teens ...).
Yes ... many people don't want to give the time necessary for a dog, in particular - which is why I don't have one. It's like having another child, and I just don't have the energy right now (like I said earlier somewhere, I used to think I wanted three children ... man, do I know better now). If you want a pet you only have to interact with once or twice a day, get fish or a gerbil.
And with kids, although relatively few don't want to spend the necessary time, many parents have no sense about what's reasonable to expect: you get the parents who whack tiny kids for just being tiny kids - whining when they get tired, for example, because the parent insists on dragging them along on 4 errands end-to-end - and other parents who don't bother to expect decent, considerate public behavior from kids who are more than old enough. I find it darkly funny, for example, that Care, who has relatively little use for most other people beyond her family and closest friends, is careful not to block aisles in stores or hallways at school, because I've carried on for years about how inconsiderate and stupid that is, while other people's children - much more social and friendly - will do so constantly.
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branchandroot
Kids & other animals
Date: 2008-05-20 04:48 pm (UTC)My ideal ages for kid interactions are about 4 to 11, I think, with 10 or so being the optimal - before all the angst of adolescence, but capable of rational and imaginative thought. So my sister's twins and Miss Katy are in the zone right now, and the Bens and Miss Becky have recently become a bit too old (although - props to their folks - I can still talk to them somewhat ... let's see what happens as they get into their teens ...).
Yes ... many people don't want to give the time necessary for a dog, in particular - which is why I don't have one. It's like having another child, and I just don't have the energy right now (like I said earlier somewhere, I used to think I wanted three children ... man, do I know better now). If you want a pet you only have to interact with once or twice a day, get fish or a gerbil.
And with kids, although relatively few don't want to spend the necessary time, many parents have no sense about what's reasonable to expect: you get the parents who whack tiny kids for just being tiny kids - whining when they get tired, for example, because the parent insists on dragging them along on 4 errands end-to-end - and other parents who don't bother to expect decent, considerate public behavior from kids who are more than old enough. I find it darkly funny, for example, that Care, who has relatively little use for most other people beyond her family and closest friends, is careful not to block aisles in stores or hallways at school, because I've carried on for years about how inconsiderate and stupid that is, while other people's children - much more social and friendly - will do so constantly.