Homestead Dreams

(Source: j9sopinion, via almanachouse)

(via katiacambia)

Anonymous asked: The fact that you don't think a nine year old should be a terror is a perfect example of why you would probably make a better parent than a lot of other people parents. Ultimately your decision to choose to make another person or not. But if you did decide to and you raised him/her properly then they wouldn't be a brat like your niece and many of the children you see now-a-days...

Agreed. Respectable boundaries = better behaved children.

No. That’s what really aggravated me about the whole thing. I understand that kids can be obnoxious and their squishy little brains haven’t fully developed things like empathy and impulse control. But the fact that her mom thinks that “being a kid” excuses selfish, destructive, anti-social behavior is insanely frustrating.

I’m at the age where a lot of my friends are starting to get married/have kids so now the constant refrain is, “When are you going to settle down/start a family/have some kids?” I’m kind of on the fence, personally, about kids. Sometimes I think I want them, sometimes I think I don’t. But I can only imagine the uproar in my family if I told them I was choosing not to ever have children.

Anonymous asked: The problems you had with your niece were because of your own unrealistic expectations and her mother's neglect. Children lack self control. You can't just issue and order and walk off expecting it to be obeyed. If she grows up to be a narcissist it will be because her mother is one. Please do the world a favor and don't breed because you clearly don't see children as human.

You’re right. Expecting a nine year old child to respect other people’s belongings is inhumane. I can’t believe the cruelty I’ve been perpetuating here. Let me go tear out my uterus in shame.

My niece went into my closed closet after I told told her to stay out of it (TWICE!), found a ball of extremely costly hand-spun and hand-dyed silk yarn, and tore it apart.

I don’t mean she unraveled it, which would have been aggravating enough. She literally tore it into hundreds of of frayed little pieces and draped them all over the stairs.

She’d been told to stay outside and play with bubbles while her mom and I were transplanting some peonies. She waited until we were distracted, snuck into the house, and tore my shit apart.

I’d be less aggravated if her mom had done something about it. Instead, her reaction was the equivalent of, “Kids are so silly. Tee hee!”

On top of that, my niece wanted to eat my last container of greek yogurt. Without even consulting me, her mom said, “Sure, that’s fine.”

So I had to say, “Well, sorry, but that’s my breakfast for tomorrow.” Not to mention, I invest in quality food. I don’t want some sticky faced, entitled little goblin taking one bite of my good yogurt and realizing it’s not as sweet as go-gurt and throwing the rest in the trash. When I said no, she immediately crumpled on the floor and started throwing a tantrum. Her mom got her to stop acting out by promising to stop for ice cream on the way home.

I know, as a young childless person, I’m really not in a position to judge other people’s child-raising practices. But that little brat has the most permissive, coddling mother and she’s going to grow up to be an entitled narcissistic bitch who doesn’t understand why the world won’t just give her everything she wants.