It’s always a bit surreal to see people insist “As a childless adult, I get to have hobbies while you don’t” when - as a childed adult - I find myself picking up hobbies I’d never even considered before kids.
My little guy stumbles on things and gets into them, needs some help, and suddenly we’re both neck-deep in a jigsaw puzzle or a TV series or a train kit or a pile of half-painted miniatures.
Adults Im talking to are like “I have no spare time or do anything interesting, my children consumes me completely”. I say fuck no to that. I have personal growth to pursue.
It’s funny, because I hear this from childless adults all the time, as well. More often than not, they’re complaining about being overworked (and underpaid) at the office. The parents I know more commonly complain that they don’t get enough time with their kids, bemoaning how much time (and money) go to day cares and after school activities, while they’re stuck working weekends or extra shifts to make ends meet.
A lot of people don’t understand what it takes to raise children, completely overlooking what you just listed. You seem to be a good parent, which is rare.
My oldest wanted to learn guitar. So did I. We are taking lessons together.
My youngest loves video games. Highlight of his week is when I can sit down and play with him.
Both my kids love reading and arts and crafts, which my wife also enjoys much more than I do.
Why can’t you and your kids have overlapping interests? When you’re raising the kids, it’s normal for them to be curious about the things you enjoy. Kids hobbies and interests end up overlapping or reflecting their parents more often than the other way round.
My oldest also likes Minecraft. My youngest loves soccer. Neither of us really enjoy either of these things. But we do also enjoy seeing our kids developing interests and personalities of their own. If that means we have to spend an hour a week going to Pee-wee soccer (and, meanwhile, hanging out with other parent friends), so be it.
Same. This week I rode the new tramway network blind in a coastal city to have adventures with Kid. We bought copper wire and made jewellry with pretty pebbles (harder than I thought.) We played Split Fiction (and like It Takes Two better.) We showed her The Good Place (she loves it, because duh.)
Whe have fun.
Also I get to share my hobbies with them. We got a d&d group, we paint minis and play video games together. Which is stuff I’d do anyways.
I also picked up inline skating as my kids do that all the time and just standing there while they skate was boring.
Plus I still got hobbies as does my wife. Yes there is less time but we have each other’s backs so everyone can have some time for their own interests like once or twice a week.
It’s always a bit surreal to see people insist “As a childless adult, I get to have hobbies while you don’t” when - as a childed adult - I find myself picking up hobbies I’d never even considered before kids.
My little guy stumbles on things and gets into them, needs some help, and suddenly we’re both neck-deep in a jigsaw puzzle or a TV series or a train kit or a pile of half-painted miniatures.
Adults Im talking to are like “I have no spare time or do anything interesting, my children consumes me completely”. I say fuck no to that. I have personal growth to pursue.
It’s funny, because I hear this from childless adults all the time, as well. More often than not, they’re complaining about being overworked (and underpaid) at the office. The parents I know more commonly complain that they don’t get enough time with their kids, bemoaning how much time (and money) go to day cares and after school activities, while they’re stuck working weekends or extra shifts to make ends meet.
A lot of people don’t understand what it takes to raise children, completely overlooking what you just listed. You seem to be a good parent, which is rare.
No, we do. It’s why we opted not to have any. We want to do what we want to do. Not whatever our children are into.
My oldest wanted to learn guitar. So did I. We are taking lessons together.
My youngest loves video games. Highlight of his week is when I can sit down and play with him.
Both my kids love reading and arts and crafts, which my wife also enjoys much more than I do.
Why can’t you and your kids have overlapping interests? When you’re raising the kids, it’s normal for them to be curious about the things you enjoy. Kids hobbies and interests end up overlapping or reflecting their parents more often than the other way round.
My oldest also likes Minecraft. My youngest loves soccer. Neither of us really enjoy either of these things. But we do also enjoy seeing our kids developing interests and personalities of their own. If that means we have to spend an hour a week going to Pee-wee soccer (and, meanwhile, hanging out with other parent friends), so be it.
Same. This week I rode the new tramway network blind in a coastal city to have adventures with Kid. We bought copper wire and made jewellry with pretty pebbles (harder than I thought.) We played Split Fiction (and like It Takes Two better.) We showed her The Good Place (she loves it, because duh.)
Whe have fun.
Same.
Also I get to share my hobbies with them. We got a d&d group, we paint minis and play video games together. Which is stuff I’d do anyways.
I also picked up inline skating as my kids do that all the time and just standing there while they skate was boring.
Plus I still got hobbies as does my wife. Yes there is less time but we have each other’s backs so everyone can have some time for their own interests like once or twice a week.