Interesting article "How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves"

[La Condessa]

I happened upon this article and found it very interesting:

 

https://qz.com/165716/how-i-made-sure-all-12-of-my-kids-could-pay-for-college-themselves/

 

I especially like the idea of giving the kid the materials and having them build their own computer and car.

[OrganicJen]

That was interesting I agree with a lot of the author's ideas.

[nixpix5]

That was a fun read :) Sounds like a lovely family who values grit and perseverance be built into their kids.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well, as a person who truly got no help paying for college it seems to me he did in fact help pay for college.  A lot of indirect help goes a very long way. 

[Nemom]

Man, I generally like stories about larger families and how they make life work, but that was all kinds of judgy and sanctimonious. He phrased several things in such a way that made it obvious he views things like picky eaters, allergies, size, or poor grades as a character flaw rather than a real issue some families have to deal with, because the actual biology of their kids makes those things a hurdle.

 

And while I’m completely in favor of my kids paying for college without much parental help or loans, and my own husband did exactly that, the costs even since he has gone to school have gone up another 25%.

 

I agree heartily with the independence, self sufficiency, and family helping one another. But a little humility would go a long way in how he addresses these topics. The tone was abrasive even to me, someone who would be supportive of all these ideas and has implemented many, myself. I can’t imagine how it comes off to someone who isn’t coming from the same socioeconomic and cultural experiences.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who got this type of vibe from this article.  

 

Poor eating choices did not cause any of the food allergies in this house...

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who got this type of vibe from this article.  

 

Poor eating choices did not cause any of the food allergies in this house...

 

Well, ya know, it's easy to be great at parenting when one doesn't have kids with these challenging issues.

[Sandwalker]

How obnoxious is that guy?

[KungFuPanda]

Oh good grief. The title should be Thin Couple Has Thin Kids. Or Food Insecurity Cures Picky Eating. Or Could Food Allergies be Genetic? It’s super nice for him that all twelve of his kids were capable of doing AP everything and that they were ALL able-bodied healthy. Also, even though the guy claims to have “plenty of wealth†I kind of wonder what his EFC really was with his income divided by 14 people. Or how many of these kids had tuitions even close to the rates charged at state schools today. I also feel really sorry for mom getting left at home alone with all the tiny kids while dad took off with all of the capable help for three days. I’m thinking Mom deserved that three day hike more.

 

Maaaaaybe I’m just cranky :-/

Edited December 21, 2017 by KungFuPanda

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'll give him one thing.  He helped pay for college, but he got very creative and made them earn it. 

[OrganicJen]

I didn't take it as obnoxious...to me it was just him explaining what worked for his family in his opinion. I guess I saw it more as him expressing what he thought he did right and how he believed it led to his kids all paying for their own college.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I didn't take it as obnoxious...to me it was just him explaining what worked for his family in his opinion. I guess I saw it more as him expressing what he thought he did right and how he believed it led to his kids all paying for their own college.

 

I would agree with you, but I'm not an optimist.  :laugh:

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Blech!!

 

Okay, lots of us on these forums have had some epic wins as far as how our kids turned out. See the college acceptance list for starters. Some of the very same families have also had epic challenges, and raised kids who are awesome people in spite of not having drawn the bestest ever hand of cards in life!

 

BUT how anybody, anybody, anybody gets to the other side of raising kids without picking up a LOT of humility, is beyond me!!! Normal people are just thankful, and try really hard not to take on too much of either credit or blame.

[freesia]

Oh good grief. The title should be Thin Couple Has Thin Kids. Or Food Insecurity Cures Picky Eating. Or Could Food Allergies be Genetic? It’s super nice for him that all twelve of his kids were capable of doing AP everything and that they were ALL able-bodied healthy. Also, even though the guy claims to have “plenty of wealth†I kind of wonder what his EFC really was with his income divided by 14 people. Or how many of these kids had tuitions even close to the rates charged at state schools today. I also feel really sorry for mom getting left at home alone with all the tiny kids while dad took off with all of the capable help for three days. I’m thinking Mom deserved that three day hike more.

 

Maaaaaybe I’m just cranky :-/

 

Nah, he had some good breaks.

 

My MIL, who fed my dh super-super healthy food and no junk food (even at other folk's houses) was upset for years when he developed a life-threatening allergy in his  20s.  She couldn't believe that all her hard work hadn't resulted in a lack of allergies.  I think some people really believed that in the 70s and 80s and folks like him who lucked out still think it.  Those of us who have seen otherwise, are just not as convinced.

Edited December 21, 2017 by freesia

[freesia]

Blech!!

 

Okay, lots of us on these forums have had some epic wins as far as how our kids turned out. See the college acceptance list for starters. Some of the very same families have also had epic challenges, and raised kids who are awesome people in spite of not having drawn the bestest ever hand of cards in life!

 

BUT how anybody, anybody, anybody gets to the other side of raising kids without picking up a LOT of humility, is beyond me!!! Normal people are just thankful, and try really hard not to take on too much of either credit or blame.

 

I agree.  I have never, ever felt less able to give advice to folks on raising kids than I do now with 2 (soon to be 3 teens). 

[Alessandra]

Oh, brother, this makes me feel like a failure on so many different levels.

 

The only comfort is that there is a whiff of 'first time obedience' parenting. Don't the Pearls rave about their children in a similar manner?

[SparklyUnicorn]

I agree.  I have never, ever felt less able to give advice to folks on raising kids than I do now with 2 (soon to be 3 teens). 

 

Yeah I get dumber by the day.  At the rate I'm going, I might need help dressing myself when my kids are out the door.  Heck, I no longer like to give much advice for homeschooling either.  And I do think I've done a decent job.  It's just there is no one magical method or answer or anything. 

[freesia]

Yeah I get dumber by the day.  At the rate I'm going, I might need help dressing myself when my kids are out the door.  Heck, I no longer like to give much advice for homeschooling either.  And I do think I've done a decent job.  It's just there is no one magical method or answer or anything. 

 

My girls think I need help dressing now. LOL

[Rosie_0801]

Oh, brother, this makes me feel like a failure on so many different levels.

 

The only comfort is that there is a whiff of 'first time obedience' parenting. Don't the Pearls rave about their children in a similar manner?

 

"In which a man with many advantages lists the advantages he provided for his children."

 

 

So don't feel like a failure. For starters, you're not even a man. (Before anyone jumps up and down about sexism, it wasn't the author who spent those pregnancies with his head over the loo.)

[OrganicJen]

I don't think when someone shares advice or their own experiences in what they feel is a good way to parent that it necessarily means they think it will work for everyone, I just assume the idea is that maybe it will help someone else out there in some way. I love reading other's opinions about parenting and I know some things just obviously wouldn't work in my own reality, but I appreciate knowing what other parents feel worked for them. Part of it I think is seeing that maybe I'm not crazy having a particular rule in my house because, look, other parents do it that way too and they feel like it was a good choice.

[OneStepAtATime]

1. I think there are a lot of interesting points in that article.

 

2.  I also think he and his wife are lucky they had neurotypical kids that are healthy and have no oddities in their health/brain/body function.

 

3.  I know it is hard if your norm is neurotypical kids that are healthy to not sort of "blame" others when other kids do not appear to be as normal/successful/healthy as your own (even if you are not consciously aware that you are doing so).  

 

4.  I think there are many useful ideas in that article.

 

5.  I know that some would never have worked in my household with my non-neurotypical children and to force them down that path would have been an unmitigated disaster (and I know this because in some ways that is exactly what I did even if some of the specifics were different and I still feel guilt over the emotional damage done and the years wasted not opening my eyes to a better path for my specific children).

[HS Mom in NC]

Yes and no. Like many people his age (I'm guessing late Baby Boomer) he's unaware of genetics and dietary restriction issues.  He was raised at a time when everything was seen through the lens of being environmental-a visceral reaction from the preceding generations who thought everything was genetic and took it to the extreme in Germany before and during WWII.  Now we know it's a mix of the two. Who knows that further scientific investigation will reveal in the next generations.

I suspect he has people ask how he could afford all those kids and how he managed to put them all through college, he tells them he didn't, and then they really want to know how that happened.  What's he supposed to do?  Not answer their questions about how that happened at his house? I only read it once but he seemed to stick to "we" statements.  Isn't that what people are supposed to do?

No, what they did isn't going to work in every situation.  Did he say it would?  If he didn't, what are people so upset about? Life, the internet, homeschooling forums, are all a buffet-take what you like and leave the rest.
 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I don't think when someone shares advice or their own experiences in what they feel is a good way to parent that it necessarily means they think it will work for everyone, I just assume the idea is that maybe it will help someone else out there in some way. I love reading other's opinions about parenting and I know some things just obviously wouldn't work in my own reality, but I appreciate knowing what other parents feel worked for them. Part of it I think is seeing that maybe I'm not crazy having a particular rule in my house because, look, other parents do it that way too and they feel like it was a good choice.

 

Yeah, but there is a certain tone/feel in the article that obviously a lot of people are feeling.  KWIM?

 

I'm not going to lose sleep over this, but meh..whatever.

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes and no. Like many people his age (I'm guessing late Baby Boomer) he's unaware of genetics and dietary restriction issues.  He was raised at a time when everything was seen through the lens of being environmental-a visceral reaction from the preceding generations who thought everything was genetic and took it to the extreme in Germany before and during WWII.  Now we know it's a mix of the two. Who knows that further scientific investigation will reveal in the next generations.

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure what you mean with this.

[HS Mom in NC]

Yeah, but there is a certain tone/feel in the article that obviously a lot of people are feeling.  KWIM?

 

I'm not going to lose sleep over this, but meh..whatever.

 

Is it the same feeling some people get when others post on social media?  Some of us see pics of people on vacation at a cool place, someone winning a trophy, someone graduating from an elite college, etc. and genuinely think, "Good for them.  I'm happy they're experiencing that." while others make snarky comments about how arrogant and attention seeking those people are by posting online.  Or the people who automatically feel attacked or defensive when someone compares and contrasts differences with neutral or matter of fact language when someone asked about it.  I think it's usually projection in most these kinds of cases.

[La Condessa]

Interesting.  It didn't come off as sanctimonious or blaming to me, but looking back I can see how it could come off that way.  I just imagined that they had been questioned a zillion times about their parenting methods and choices, and heard him listing off the things they had done differently than others matter-of-factly.

[mom2scouts]

So all the kids were required to do a sport and a club, but they also all made it to dinner at 5:30 pm every night? Sure they did.

[Corraleno]

I found it quite bizarre that the title of the article is about how he made sure his kids could pay for college — which is never actually addressed. He talks about how they got their first cars, how they learned to cook, backpacking, and a million other things, but not ONE word about actually paying for college.  :confused1:

 

I could make my kids pay for college themselves, too, if I forced them do every possible AP and CLEP, took advantage of free CC tuition for the first two years, and then made them live at home and combine loans and P/T jobs to pay for tuition at the nearest state school. I don't think that would be a good choice for either of them, but I could do it. But that has absolutely nothing to do with building cars or doing chores or eating vegetables.

 

I'd be really interested in knowing where his kids went to college, and how they actually paid for it.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Corraleno

[La Condessa]

Particularly when he said, "With 12 kids, you'd think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs." I imagined his tone as marveling at their good luck.

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm not sure what you mean with this.

 

Baby Boomers grew up in a world where everything was explained as environmental.  When it came to things like hermaphrodites, the advice was for the parents to simply consent to surgery for the child to have female looking genitalia and raise them as girls because it's all environmental.  Parenting was very behaviorist (consequences for bad behavior) because it's all about the environment children are raised in.  Traumatized children and their differently wired brains were unknown to them-"problem kids" needed structure so they sent them to military or reform school to teach them discipline because they believed they just need a super structured environment and it will all turn out just fine.  Except it isn't that simple. So, if there's a food issue, it's environmental-mom and dad have clearly created the problem, which is good news to them because that must mean mom and dad can solve that problem with some sort of behavior modification.  Except it's not that simple. 

 

This is a reaction to the generations before them that thought everything was inherited and some took it to extremes-believing in a superior race and genocide.  Get rid of the "problem" groups and you get rid of the problems. Except that's not true at all.

 

[La Condessa]

So all the kids were required to do a sport and a club, but they also all made it to dinner at 5:30 pm every night? Sure they did.

 

When did the sports and clubs at your high school meet?

 

At mine, clubs met during lunch and sports were directly after school.

[HS Mom in NC]

So all the kids were required to do a sport and a club, but they also all made it to dinner at 5:30 pm every night? Sure they did.

 

In the LDS communities I grew up around it was standard in some of their subcultures for all the kids to have a scheduled laundry day; be in a club, orchestra or band; and participate in a sport.  All that could be done at the ps and you could be home by 4:30 or 5 because the buses took kids home after sports. Band and orchestra were electives in the first hour of school. Sports were immediately after school.

 

[Wheres Toto]

I did get a feeling of "do what we did and your kids will also be brilliant, not have allergies, etc etc etc".

 

I did notice he didn't say all the kids passed ALL the APs or even what their test scores were.

 

I agree that he DID help the kids with college.

 

I also agree that leaving the mom camping with a bunch of infants/toddlers while he went off hiking with the older kids doesn't sound so great for mom.

 

A lot of what they did wouldn't be possible without sufficient income, without neurotypical kids, without resources available, and probably not without it being the 1980/1990s.  

 

Dh rebuilt a car when he was a teen and he often laments the fact that it's pretty much impossible to do with newer cars.  You need specialized equipment and more specialized knowledge thanks to all the computerization they now have.

[Lecka]

My son's school gets out early at 2:20, he had sports practice right after school, and I couldn't get him home before 6:00. We live about 10 minutes from the school.

 

He's only played one sport for one season, but it was late for us and it put him not starting homework until after supper.

 

I encouraged him a lot to play this sport/season, it's a good opportunity for him, but it's too much for him at this point and he's not planning to play a sport in the Spring. This winter has been his first time.

 

Edit: Also Tuesday swim meets have had him get home after 8:00!

Edited December 21, 2017 by Lecka

[eternalsummer]

Particularly when he said, "With 12 kids, you'd think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs." I imagined his tone as marveling at their good luck.

 

Ah, that is not how I read it.  I read it as, statistically, we should have had a food allergy, so maybe the reason we didn't is because we made them eat vegetables and had a varied diet and etc.

 

I also wonder about where his kids went to school and how they paid for it, and how eating vegetables (which we also do) has anything to do with it - particularly because we are not poor, we have a zillion kids, and I would love to not pay for college for anyone.  If one of his kids had been just absolutely brilliant at something and gotten into one of the top programs in the country - say Harvard, whatever - where there is no merit aid, would he have just said sorry, go to State U and live at home?  I know we may face that choice and I completely respect going either way in that situation, but it's the kind of thing I'd have preferred to read about given the title of the article.

 

 

Also, like with the radiator story - who does punish their kid for not knowing how to change the oil?  That would be insane.  This is not remarkable parenting.

[Wheres Toto]

Some of the sports he mentioned wouldn't be offered at schools around here.  Most of the "afterschool" sports and clubs that aren't at the school start at 5pm or later.  Those at the school - sports and clubs are usually directly after school until 4:30/5:00, with some activities (like theater) are often in the evening.  Band and choir do meet in the morning at some schools.  None that I know of meet at lunch because the schools usually have 2 or 3 different lunch times, so it would limit who could be in a club.

 

Usually doing a school club would be impossible at the same as a school sport since sports are usually 5 days a week, with clubs meeting once or twice a week.

[historically accurate]

Particularly when he said, "With 12 kids, you'd think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs." I imagined his tone as marveling at their good luck.

 

I heard the undertone that "We should've had food allergies statistically, but we didn't, because we forced our kids to eat everything." 

 

The part that really made me mad is how he left his (continually pregnant) wife in a camper (tent?) with multiple toddlers and infants and took the rest backpacking. Ummm, if my DH tried that, he'd learn how unhappy I could make him.

[nixpix5]

Interesting. It didn't come off as sanctimonious or blaming to me, but looking back I can see how it could come off that way. I just imagined that they had been questioned a zillion times about their parenting methods and choices, and heard him listing off the things they had done differently than others matter-of-factly.

This is how I took it too. With that many successful kids that still like their parents I am sure they get a ton of questions about it. It seemed matter of fact. I am sure when they tell people they made their kids eat what was for dinner from day 1 they get allergy questions and what not so I am sure they just cover their bases when explaining it. I wouldn't assume the his intentions were anything but "here is what we did right" he definitely starts off by saying they did alot wrong too but that isn't what the article is about.

 

I really liked it, agree with the majority of his points, did many of those with my two older boys (one who wasn't neurotypical) and they turned out very much the same as his. I enjoy a big family success story :)

[Cindy in FL.]

I thought it had some interesting points and they probably raised pretty self reliant adults. I do not agree with everything that they did and did not do, despite the “resultsâ€. The thing that bothered me the most was the caption under the picture stating that it was photoshopped because they haven’t all been together since 1998. That’s just me, though.

[Crimson Wife]

So all the kids were required to do a sport and a club, but they also all made it to dinner at 5:30 pm every night? Sure they did.

 

I believe it. They lived in UT and Mormons generally have SAHM's and a belief that evenings are for family time. So the activities that are most geographic areas after work would be directly after school like when we were growing up.

[Katy]

I read an article by the same family years ago.  I wonder if it was re-written for this blog, because I don't remember the food-allergy sanctimony then.  And I do remember more information about making them pay for their own college.  I only remember it because I talked to DH at the time about the car thing and the school thing, and he had serious issues with both.  The car thing due to safety concerns and modern computers in cars, and the school thing because he thinks it's a moral obligation to pay the same amount for 4 years at a state school.

[Sandwalker]

 

 

Baby Boomers grew up in a world where everything was explained as environmental. When it came to things like hermaphrodites, the advice was for the parents to simply consent to surgery for the child to have female looking genitalia and raise them as girls because it's all environmental. Parenting was very behaviorist (consequences for bad behavior) because it's all about the environment children are raised in. Traumatized children and their differently wired brains were unknown to them-"problem kids" needed structure so they sent them to military or reform school to teach them discipline because they believed they just need a super structured environment and it will all turn out just fine. Except it isn't that simple. So, if there's a food issue, it's environmental-mom and dad have clearly created the problem, which is good news to them because that must mean mom and dad can solve that problem with some sort of behavior modification. Except it's not that simple.

 

This is a reaction to the generations before them that thought everything was inherited and some took it to extremes-believing in a superior race and genocide. Get rid of the "problem" groups and you get rid of the problems. Except that's not true at all.

 

I'm confused here. I'm a late boomer, born in 1959, and I didn't experience the world this way.

Anyone?

[freesia]

I believe it. They lived in UT and Mormons generally have SAHM's and a belief that evenings are for family time. So the activities that are most geographic areas after work would be directly after school like when we were growing up.

The Mormon family I was close to always had dinner together even if it happened at 9 in the evening. Dinner was scheduled when everyone could be there.

[Annie G]

I'm confused here. I'm a late boomer, born in 1959, and I didn't experience the world this way.

Anyone?

 

1961 here, and that doesn't describe my experience either. 

[Arcadia]

Well, ya know, it's easy to be great at parenting when one doesn't have kids with these challenging issues.

Also by the same dad A system engineer knows how to stop your screaming kid at the grocery store Francis L. Thompson February 09, 2014

“Sometimes it is not convenient to raise kids. If you have them at the store, and they are screaming and you have to tell them to stop twice… what do you do? In our case, we would stop shopping. Drive all the kids home. Put the child in the corner or whatever the punishment for that child was even if it took an hour or so. Then we would have to go back to the store and hope the cart was still there so we would not have to start the shopping all over again. It cost time, money for gas, and, to say the least, an interruption to our planned shopping for the week.†https://qz.com/174826/a-system-engineer-knows-how-to-stop-your-screaming-kid-at-the-grocery-store/

[Seeking Squirrels]

I did get the feeling of superiority when I read it. Especially the part about with 12 kids one should have had allergies.....I read it as "but they didn't, gee, I wonder why...guess everyone else just isn't doing it right like us." But maybe I'm defensive about that because I have a child with SPD and a very limited list of foods. I see how this could actually just be "wow, we lucked out!", but in combination with some of the other things said I kind of doubt it. 

 

But my two main problems with this have to do with the title more than anything. "How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves" and then he goes on to 1- show all of the things that he very much DID provide them which go a long way to helping for college (forcing their way into AP classes against the school's standard, a car, a computer, business contacts.....) and 2-doesn't actually state how they paid for college themselves. 

 

 

I believe it. They lived in UT and Mormons generally have SAHM's and a belief that evenings are for family time. So the activities that are most geographic areas after work would be directly after school like when we were growing up.

 

 I guess it could have changed a lot since their kids were little, but that is not my experience here and I've lived in Utah for 28 years. My kids have been in activities that run at all hours of the evening. My friend's daughter is in a sport and she is there from 5-8 at least 3 nights a week and she's only 8. I didn't get to do very many extra-curricular activities myself, but between what I did do and what I saw of my siblings, we were out at various times and days through the week then, too. 

 

I cannot see having 12 kids in a sport and club each and still maintaining 5:30 dinner, 6-8 study time, and 10 curfew for every one of them every weekday. 

[bethben]

So all the kids were required to do a sport and a club, but they also all made it to dinner at 5:30 pm every night? Sure they did.

I wondered this too. With that many kids in sports and clubs, that’s a lot of car pooling. My sister has two kids both in just basketball. She’s running around at least 4 nights a week and is having trouble just making dinner much less eating together. My family had six in different sports. We rarely ate together every night of the week. My mom was constantly car pooling kids around.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[katilac]

Just for funsies, I did the FASFA4caster for a family of 14 with an adjusted gross income of $150,000. 

 

One kid in college has an EFC of about $12,000. If three kids are in college, each EFC is about $5,000. 

 

Pointing out that all of his kids are thin was, um, an interesting choice. Having 12 kids who are all thin and athletic and healthy might make some people consider genetics, but not this guy, lol. 

 

From the limited detail, he gave them a substantial amount of help that of course helped them to pay for college. If you don't need to buy a car or otherwise pay for transportation, of course it's easier to pay for college. 

 

If they paid for college, they obviously had jobs. Which is awesome, good for them! But surely this guy realizes that teens and young adults who come from an extremely affluent family have a leg up on getting the 'good' part-time jobs? 

 

I'd be interested in reading the sequel, How All 12 of My Kids Paid for College, and How Much It Cost. 

[katilac]

The food allergy thing is just annoying me more and more. The stats are actually about 1 in 13, with a strong genetic component, so no, I actually would not think one of them would necessarily have food allergies. You did not pull off a miracle. 

 

And, of course, if you have parents who are very negative about such things, it is certainly possible that you ignore a mild to moderate allergy or intolerance. 

[Arcadia]

I'd be really interested in knowing where his kids went to college, and how they actually paid for it.

From the comments section of the Atlantic version of the same article https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/my-rules-for-my-kids-eat-your-vegetables-dont-blame-the-teacher/283025/#article-comments

“Thompson7

4 years ago

I'm child number 7 from the above story. We all paid for college by working, applying for scholarships and taking out some loans (some of us graduated with loans, but never over $20k in loans). I did work 40hrs/wk while taking 15 - 21 units per term. It wasn't easy. I went to a UC school and graduated in 2004.

Some children went to a junior college the first two years to subsidize the cost. 10 went to in-state schools (in California).

...

Thompson7

4 years ago

My younger sister graduated from UCLA. She always worked 35 hrs/wk and was on the rowing team! Lots of people make full use of their time. Many of my coworkers had similar experiences to mine (some finished college in only 3 years while working full time), but then again I work with other Ph.D. researchers and I have a Ph.D. myself, so that might say something about our habits.

When TV and video games are cut out of life, there is a surprisingly large amount of time to get other things done. In addition, I've always been very motivated to "do" things and don't need much down time. Right now I'm working full time (with a real job) and finishing an M.S. in statistics (okay, so I like school), and also in a volleyball league, a competitive pianist, along with many other interests. I keep busy. I realize this isn't for everyone, but many of my siblings are similar.

...

ThompsonNumber9

4 years ago

How I did It: I spent the first 2 years at a California JC while working and living at home. I then transferred to a 4 year where i finished in another 2 years. I worked almost full time most of the time while there and lived in an apartment off campus where I shared a small room. I had a few scholarships from high school that covered about 2 semesters worth of books. I worked hard, lived cheaply and took out a fairly small loan, all while participating in collegiate sports. I graduated in 2007. It took good planning and a lot of hard work but it was doable.

...

C. Albert Thompson

4 years ago

#8 here: A little more insight to us being "privileged" The article does not say is:

We live on hand me down clothes.

Cheap cars, mine cost $400.

Many worked while going to high school.

We grew up in a poor neighborhood in southeast LA.

We got free food from local stores.â€

 

ETA:

No idea on accuracy of this link https://drhurd.com/2014/04/13/how-to-prevent-spoiled-rotten-kids-in-an-age-of-plenty/

“Francis L. Thompson is an engineer at Northrop Grumman Corp. He led the teams that designed the first Direct TV satellites and missile defense satellites, as well as ground control for these systems.

At qz.com 1/12/14, Thompson wrote an article entitled, “How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves.â€â€

Edited December 22, 2017 by Arcadia

[Crimson Wife]

The food allergy thing is just annoying me more and more. The stats are actually about 1 in 13, with a strong genetic component, so no, I actually would not think one of them would necessarily have food allergies. You did not pull off a miracle. 

 

And, of course, if you have parents who are very negative about such things, it is certainly possible that you ignore a mild to moderate allergy or intolerance. 

 

Yep, that's my dad. He claimed that my GI issues after consuming dairy were "all in my head" and not indicative of lactose intolerance. :rolleyes: The logical response would be to do a blind taste-test of Lactaid milk vs. regular milk and see if that made any difference in my symptoms.