I agree. It's eye popping! But I agree with what others have said too. We don't know what instructions the child's health professionals gave regarding diet. We don't know exactly how the family was feeling and how well they were coping (perhaps after no sleep for a couple of days even buying and fixing a simple salad or sandwich meal was beyond the parents' capacity). We don't know whether the kid eats junk most days or whether that was the first time they ever had junk because the parents were so darn relieved that they wanted to celebrate. The best cure for Other Parents Doing it Wrong is to go hug your own children, make them a super nutritious meal if you like, and be thankful that you have both the knowledge and the means to do that for them. (Oh, and you can be pretty darn sure that somewhere, somebody is venting about something you did that they think is appalling ;) )

Thanks for this thread, I found this topic fascinating. I often wondered the same thing, as I am on the tightwad side of the fence (the only thing I sometimes blow money on is new books - mostly for the kids, although I'd say 90% of our books were acquired free or cheaply secondhand) and I know several people who always seem to be buying new furniture, new electronics good, new clothes, etc. but complain of straitened finances. Now I have lots to ponder :)

We all have a unique outlook and our own goals. Some people articulate these explicitly while others seek a path that is congruent with their philosophy without necessarily defining in words what that philosophy is. None of us is even close to perfect, and I doubt any of us is in a perfect situation, so there will always have to be a certain amount of 'good enough'. No matter how good your philosophy is, there are always going to be real world limitations, whether those are material, financial, emotional, health-related, new-baby-related or whatever. (My biggest challenge is that my optimum program and what actually works with the children I have are two entirely different things!) I'd may try lowering the bar a little, and instead of requiring everything you do to actively further your goals, start by ensuring that nothing works against your goals. For example, you value simplicity: don't start drastically cutting back on things you do (unless you're burning out and emergency action is needed), but don't add anything. As activities, projects and commitments come to their natural conclusions, your life will become more simple.

I *LOVE* it! From now on I will always envisage him jumping over a rainbow on his pink fluffy unicorn steed :)

:lol: Tempting, except I'm far too lazy busy with important home schooly stuff to bother dying any hair. And nobody sees my armpits unless I'm swimming. Oh OK, I'll admit it, I just don't see why armpit hair needs to be 'celebrated'. Excellent change of subject though :)

Despite LoF rather overdoing the early introduction of set theory, I find myself greatly attracted to the idea of gently introducing elements of more advanced concepts so that they will be somewhat familiar when the child 'gets to' calculus or what have you. So, can anybody recommend really good books or other resources for achieving this? Not just math concepts, but anything that might be a central concept, method or terminology set in middle / high school that would be practical to introduce in some way at elementary level. (Apart from classic works of literature; I think I have that covered already.)

We have a standing agreement that he phones me if he hasn't left (from various work sites 30-45 minutes away) by the time I was expecting him to be home. If we know he's going to be working very late (past midnight) I usually phone him before I go to bed so I don't feel bad if I'm half asleep when he arrives.

Very kewl :)

OK obviously I'm a bit stupid with this topic, but please tell me: are these actually meant to read to little kids? Or are they a jokey / coffee table book for adults? Or something else?

It actually blows my mind that so many parents observe school making their kids sick (I have heard quite a few parents saying that irl) and yet most of them don't seriously consider home education. :confused:

If some criminals or people with dubious intentions decide to pose as trans* people in order to access bathrooms, the solution is to deal with those individuals, not ban trans* folk from using bathrooms. Given that trans women suffer appalling levels of violence, mostly at the hands of men, I don't think it's reasonable to ask them to use men's restrooms. As a couple of people have already pointed out, adopting unisex bathrooms, with fully private cubicles (ie door goes from floor to ceiling) and enough space for a parent/carer to go in with a small child, would be the most practical solution to this kind of dilemma.

Pedophiles and other s3xual offenders are one thing. People with 'non standard' gender and/or s3xuality - wherever they identify in the 'queer alphabet soup' of definitions - are a different thing. Seriously, how hard is this concept to understand?

If this kid is really suffering daily headaches, some investigation is definitely warranted. If that's just an excuse, not much you can do about it. Sorry about your daughter missing her friend.

Win win! :) Yep, definitely a bit jealous :blushing:

I tend to think of EleanOR first, because I have a cousin of that name, but I was aware of the other pronunciation. When a person introduces themselves to me, I usually try to pronounce their name the same way as they do.

:lol: :smilielol5: :rofl: :smilielol5:

:grouphug: ouch! clamping my teeth together just thinking about it! Bring on tomorrow and a quick recovery when you get home from dentist.

Snap! I am very tall (taller than you Chelli) and I spent a lot of time during my teens and twenties being asked whether I played basketball. Now that I am tall and quite fat and not so young, it doesn't happen any more :) However as you alluded to, there is a difference in that I am not likely to be knocked back for a job or assumed to have committed a crime purely on account of my height. (Although I am likely to be paid less than either a man or a slimmer woman.)

One word: costumes.

Cheese sharing is good, m'kay.

I used to think that too :tongue_smilie: Laughing my head off at some of these :lol:

I don't think that conservative Christians necessarily have a monopoly on bigotry or narrow-mindedness. It's a natural trait of the human mind to assume that people who don't agree with us are either ignorant, stupid or evil on some level. It takes the application of both empathy and logical thought to overcome this tendency.

I think high school as an institution actually encourages some teenagers to follow the mainstream model of increasing independence by rebelling against their parents, teachers or other authority figures. This 'rebellious stage' is so common that many parents actually view it as an unavoidable phase of child development, however it is not unusual in home educating circles for the process of moving toward independence to be relatively smooth and easy.