I swear my child is the Condor ... No ... more like a Swallow... With me, the Swan, his target. He's into practical jokes. He knows he is smarter than his mother ... and actually got my Eagle beat. His latest (and bear in mind, this kid is only four) ... He snuck onto my laptop and rotated the display so that everything was ... and operated ... upsidedown. He was chuckling and guffawing about it... So when I go to play on the poota ... GAH! What the hell??? He's snickering into his little hand and won't tell me how to fix it. I would have known how to fix it -- had I NOT BEEN A VISTA USER! My Eagle -- aka Flash -- and I ended up doing a damn Google search with the laptop held upsidedown to try and work it out. Ten minutes later we got it figured out... Joshie was chuckling throughout and congratulating himself on a joke well played. I can't believe we both got outsmarted by a four year old... SJ

One word: Password!

Oh, too funny! He does sound like a Jinpei!!

Oh dear, SJ -this is probably just the beginning...

LOL SJ sounds like he knows how to pull your "tail". And now you know why in our school board we have installed a program called "Deep Freeze" This prevents anything the children download or do to the computer to be returned to "normal" when the computer has be shutdown and then the power turned on again. Of course we probably have some bright kids who will figure out how to get around this as well, but until then we are safe.

There's a Jinpei for sure!

My cat did that to my old laptop when she walked across the keyboard. I had to call my brother for tech support. Four-year-olds are smarter than we suspect.

He's a smart one, I'll give him that ... he's also a devil, sneaky, bullheaded. They won't let him play with the computers at school yet ... Lucky for them.. Heh heh I suppose the good thing about him playing naughty tricks on me with my electronic stuff is that I am learning how to do different things with it to counter his moves. I'm being taught by a four year old ... I really should be embarrassed to say that, shouldn't I? SJ

At least you figured out how to fix it. I'm so computer illiterate, I'd still be trying. It took me a week to figure out how to turn off the mouse pad feature - I like traditional mouses.

Originally posted by SJ_SwanJun He's a smart one, I'll give him that ... he's also a devil, sneaky, bullheaded. They won't let him play with the computers at school yet ... Lucky for them.. Heh heh I suppose the good thing about him playing naughty tricks on me with my electronic stuff is that I am learning how to do different things with it to counter his moves. I'm being taught by a four year old ... I really should be embarrassed to say that, shouldn't I? SJ

NO!!!! SJ I have to say, as a teacher, I am taught something new by my 6 year olds every day .... or at least every school day. Some times I am taught something on weekends as well if I happen to be marking or if I am reflecting on something that happened during the week. There is a saying something about "One has to learn something new every day." That is the way you need to look at it SJ - Joshie is teaching you something new.

SJ you do realise you are going to ahve to find a way to play a prank back now.

Sounds like your hands will be full for a lifetime SJ.

Well you know what they say aobut anti child products like those small gates at the top of the stairs or pill container tops......Adults can't open the gates or take of the container tops but the kids can, Glad that I don't have any kids otherwise the world will be in deep trouble then.

You're right, Met! I found out that these gadgets did not work for my kids from the very beginning as they intrigue them more and catch their eyes more often! I don't know how they do some things but, when she was only at the crawling stage, my daughter would jump over her bed's high bars and she could have easily been hurt more than if they weren't there in the first place! I found it much better to leave things as they normally are, certainly putting items that could hurt out of their reach, and explain to them millions of times why not to touch this or not to do that!

And sometimes these kids can say something very profound.

Wow, SJ, sounds like you're going to have your work cut out for you! I look at this way with all the "child resistant" stuff out there.. None of that was available when we were kids, and we all turned out ok. Oh, wait.... I think I just lost my argument. Nevermind....

Heh heh ... yeah he's a handful.. Hinotori, your comments reminded me of this little peach: According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.) As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors! We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable! We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them. We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt. We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade. Horrors! Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them! Congratulations! Heh heh.... SJ

Great post SJ. In fact whenever I read things like that it scares me as I wonder if we are raising a generation that not only has no sense of culpability, but does not no how to think beyond the known or the flock. And my children hate me for holding them to a higher standard than they think their friends are, and look at my like I'm insane when I pick up one of my father's greatest peeves: the government attempting to protect us from ourselves.

I look at the things I did as a kid and in today's world, fear my son doing the same things. I think its more that the same things that happened 35 years ago happen today, but with instant news, everyone in the world, let alone in your neighborhood, hear about it and see it. Neighbors watched out for each other and each others' kids. You feared your neighbor and much as you feared your parents and you didn't dare get on trouble at school. Teachers were to be listened to, not riduculed. Not to mention the loss of morality - okay, I'll get off my high horse now.

In general, kids today are doing all right. It's just that today's 24/7 infotainment media thrives on doom and gloom, and every time some kid behaves like an asshole, pundits come on to tell us that this generation is going straight to hell. Just as they've done ever since the invention of history. The ancient Greeks griped about their kids. Anyone remember the juvenile 'superpredators' who were supposed to overwhelm us in the 1990s? They never appeared. The adolescents everyone feared were better-behaved than their parents. Sensationalist media stories and urban legends make us afraid, when we only need to use common sense and vigilance. Parents need to be parents, not best buddies, not overprotective people who bully teachers into giving their children good grades and try to prevent their children being distressed by life. There is no 100% safety. There is no stress-free life. There is life. And mischievious four-year-olds who befuddle their parents.

Originally posted by UnpublishedWriter Anyone remember the juvenile 'superpredators' who were supposed to overwhelm us in the 1990s? They never appeared. The adolescents everyone feared were better-behaved than their parents.

I think that might be because they are all now on some variation of Mehtylphinadiate (sp?) or Lithium. Two of my children are in a highly successful district that does not tolerate non-conformity, and I've taught in a school that was basically a dumping ground for poor kids with no resources other than street drugs and 3/4 of the daily behaviors that were tolerated at the school would have never been at the schools my kids are at. However, you are right about the parents; their precious little angels could never do anything wrong. And the media likes to sensationalize everything, which is why I screen my news and don't trust half of it.

SJ, thanks for that great post ... it has a lot of sense in it! The only thing I know is that us humans are creating a more stressful life as time passes! It's true that we have learnt more about what's good and what's bad in life but sometimes we tend to exagerate, creating a lot of fuss about things that normally may be left uncalculated ... and we see the difference going way back to our childhood to that of our kids today! Everything has become a trend and today's world pushes us to do the same thing that others do just to not let our children feel inferior! I admit that sometimes it's our fault! I like to handle things with my own logic, though, not taking for granted everything that I hear from other sources! Perhaps I might still retain some kind of integrity that we were grown up with!

wow cool!!!!!!! n I remember that in VH1 (yes i like I love the 80's and the 90's) that gen -x was the progeny of baby boomers and would grow to be non conformist slackers or angry anarchists... reflection seen n grunge rock and the apathetic cynicism... then trendies and then the bubble era popped up suddenly and people enjoyed technology and now we have technosexuals and metrosexuals. 0.0. So by the media reports , family accounts I agree with the article. nice you showed them sadly... In respect with my homeland its a different story. Specialy because of the cultural differences. I am sad to mention in my college profesors constantly urge students to rally, ravage and revolt, and some do... I had the chance to enter college again at 30 and noticed how technology obsessed kids were, and they were more worried as a whole about smash brothers and the latest ipod than revolting, as a weird contrast, some kids, STILL joined constant protests and even hit police officers... I wish more kids here were nicer. I guess it all changes per cultural differences, we have a strange middle ground. I personaly enjoy order and organization, dpesite the lack of it in my thought process. I think some of the blame is in some college profesors here (in almost every class non conformism and angst were expresed by professors against authority figures, and when students DID, and it was against them, chaos followed confusing the poor kids, do as I say not as I do) We have suffered about 3 college campus strikes by unions, teachers , staff, students, this year) school desertion has increased, yet they know ALLOT, in anear by island desertion is a norm, they dont finish past 9th grade or so. I dont know about American averages though sorry for the long post , I will try to organize it next time.

Originally posted by gatchamarie SJ, thanks for that great post ... it has a lot of sense in it! The only thing I know is that us humans are creating a more stressful life as time passes! It's true that we have learnt more about what's good and what's bad in life but sometimes we tend to exagerate, creating a lot of fuss about things that normally may be left uncalculated ... and we see the difference going way back to our childhood to that of our kids today! Everything has become a trend and today's world pushes us to do the same thing that others do just to not let our children feel inferior! I admit that sometimes it's our fault! I like to handle things with my own logic, though, not taking for granted everything that I hear from other sources! Perhaps I might still retain some kind of integrity that we were grown up with!

I think thats why I like taking my kids up to farm, just so they see that despite all the things the world expects of them, some things life are as they are for good reason. We don't all live the same nor think the same and thats good too, we need contrasts at times to see if we're on the right track or not.

Originally posted by Ebonyswanne I think thats why I like taking my kids up to farm

Those are just the simple things that our kids will remember when they grow up!

I understand what you are saying, Ebony. i like to travel with my kids for the same reason: to show them that things aren't the same everywhere, and that everyone does things in a different way, and things we take for granted aren't always there.

Its very accurate we spend most of our time living in fear. My son is 21 and I still worry because of the gang culture runningthe streets. I now have more reason to worry as I am pregnant and have to say am concerned about what sort of place my baby will be born in to.

Congratulations, Firebird! It's true, we, as parents, live our lives in fear of what might happen to our children or what our children could become ... I just grip to the idea that my husband and I try to give the best background to our children that hopefully would reveal itself into a steady pedament for their future. As they grow up their life is theirs to live and it will be all up to them but, at least, for now, I'll rest my mind thinking that I'm doing the best that I can! Be always there for your children ... that's my motto ... finally, they'll know to whom they'll turn to when in need.

FB, Should I be saying congratulations?

Wow, congratulations, FB!

Congrats, FB! When can we expect the little Eagle,(or Condor, Swallow, Owl) or Swan to arrive?

Oh wonderful news, FB. Congrats!!

not due until May and its been a hard time getting, DH and I are over the moon. I just need to watch out for Sj's 4 yr old tricks now lol Thank you all

May isn't that far away. You'll be surprised at how quickly it goes. Congratulations! Pssst... Boden babywear is awesome.

Congrats FB....

What exciting news! Congratulations, FB!!

That's wonderful news for you and your husband, Firebird!