Greatest Influence On Children

[Uncle Al]

From a children's T.V. show, broadcast in the late '50's and ran for almost 30 years.
I watched this show during my childhood



A great quote from "The Captain",
Parents are the ultimate role models for children.
Every word, movement and action has an effect.
No other person or outside force has a greater
influence on a child than the parent.

Uncle Al

[Mouse]

This side of the pond we didn't get this show. What we got, was an animation called Captain Pugwash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj1XX4sCibY

[Modoc]

Cowboy Bob and Howdy Doody are definitely in that mix

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howdy_Doody

[denimini]

Never had TV when I was a child so I guess that my parents and extended family were the main influence I had.

[Barleymower]

This side of the pond we didn't get this show. What we got, was an animation called Captain Pugwash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj1XX4sCibY

"Where's the rest of the ship"

[Fred in Skirts]

Cowboy Bob and Howdy Doody are definitely in that mix

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howdy_Doody

Howdy Doody was hosted by Buffalo Bob Smith! And one of the shows that I watched religiously.

howdy doody.jpg

So who is Cowboy Bob?? I never heard of him.

[Uncle Al]

Yes, many of the TV Shows, mentioned above, were a great influence on children.
These shows taught right from wrong, teaching young children to respect their
parents, to be kind to others, to love one another - not hate each other.

The main concept, that many people missed in this thread, is
"Parents are the ultimate role models for children."

Most, if not all, early children's TV Shows( mid 50's to mid 60's) emphasized family.
That parents were protectors of children and guides to help them grow into being
responsible, caring adults. Parents had knowledge of many 'things' so, if a child
had a question, they asked their parents about those 'things'.

Too much of this concept has been lost on the world at large.
"Joe, the bartender, knows more about life than parents".
"Joe" is not the best person to talk too about life skills.

Education has been lost on, or forgotten by, many people.
Example:

516135-burrowe.jpg

(Evident in many politicians around the world.)

So, please remember this - YOU are the first - and best - teacher and role model for your children.

Uncle Al

[crfriend]

So, please remember this - YOU are the first - and best - teacher and role model for your children.

I thank the gods daily that I have no progeny. I glimpsed what this place was going to become in the late 1970s and swore I would never have children. I do not believe I could take the hatred of a child for bringing him or her (verbiage used very, very deliberately) into the world. And hate me they would have every reason to because I knew better (and, worst of all, I knew it and would have had no excuse).

[Jim]

That's a sad attitude. I am glad I had children to help make this world a better place.

[Brad]

I feel that having my daughter grounded me and made me a better person. I may have taken less desirable and even possibly dangerous paths in life if I was not required to be a good parent to her.

[Mouse]

I thank the gods daily that I have no progeny. I glimpsed what this place was going to become in the late 1970s and swore I would never have children. I do not believe I could take the hatred of a child for bringing him or her (verbiage used very, very deliberately) into the world. And hate me they would have every reason to because I knew better (and, worst of all, I knew it and would have had no excuse).

I am really sorry for you crfriend. I know there are many problems in this world, but to take your view and give up on human life is really hard. My wife and I have produced two wonderful children who are now grown up and taking their place in the world. Rather than hatred, I have love from two wonderful young people in the world who I love back. Is it all milk and honey? Of course not. But I would not have missed being a Dad to my two for anything.

I am not saying that you cannot have a wonderful fulfilling life without children, not all of us are cut out to be parents. I am also sure there are parts of the world where having children is not a good idea. In fact I hate the way many women around the world are forced by society/over baring men/religious nuts of all denominations to have children and have their life choices taken away from them. I know we talk about women having all the choice and freedoms, but in many parts of the world, women do not have any choices. It is also hugely disappointing when we realise that even in our supposedly free world, some women are loosing/have lost their ability to choose their own future.

Having a son and a daughter, has involved me in pitching for both male and female rights. At all stages of their lives I have wanted my children to have space to make their own life choices. Sure as parents, one gives advice, but you have to remember that your children's life is theirs to run and you are an observer.

[Fred in Skirts]

I am the father of two girls, the youngest who sees to it that I am taken care of when needed even though she is 1200 miles away and has 3 boys who are all grown and out on their own, the oldest who does help when needed and lives about 20 miles away with two grown daughters who are a nasty mess.
But I would be amiss if I said they haven't brought happiness and joy to my life.
If I had to do it all over again I sure would.

[crfriend]

I am really sorry for you crfriend. I know there are many problems in this world, but to take your view and give up on human life is really hard. My wife and I have produced two wonderful children who are now grown up and taking their place in the world. Rather than hatred, I have love from two wonderful young people in the world who I love back. Is it all milk and honey? Of course not. But I would not have missed being a Dad to my two for anything.

Oh, don't feel sorry for me, that was my decision, and one I actually stuck to and am quite happy with it. For all the hopefulness of the 1960s/70s era, there was a distinct sub-current that was dark indeed and very troubling, and that's what eventually collapsed the known world in the 1980s. Having some knowledge of navigating tough waters, I'm pretty good at picking stuff like this up, and in this case did not like what I saw one iota. What caught me slightly off-guard was how fast it all fell apart once the the lynchpins got pulled -- and how it happened pretty much worldwide and not just in the USA.

By the time the late '80s had rolled around I was so confident in the eventual outcome that I called the "Extinction Date" for the Middle Class in the USA as 2020 -- and darned near nailed it. Not bad for a wet-behind-the-ears punk calling something in the future. Perhaps luck, perhaps detailed analysis ... who knows. But what I knew was that raising a child is those conditions so that the little one would have even a shot at something great was going to be like climbing Everest without oxygen. I even foresaw the coming of the insurrection in DC -- but was stunned by how fast it arrived -- decades ahead of schedule.

Europe, with the exception of Russia, it seems, was spared the worst of it because of its commitment to human well-being and the General Welfare of the populations. Without that commitment, the USA (and Russia) both collapsed and the hard-line reactionaries took over. Europe did experience a discomforting swing to the hard right as well with a rise in Neo-Naziism in Germany, the rise of the Le Pen party in France, and Thatcher and her crew in the UK.

Hell of a world to try and raise a child in.

Note that I am not slagging off on those who decide to have children; that's their call. I just hope they had their driving glasses on so they could see what's in the distance.

[Kirbstone]

On the subject of influence on children, as one of the more senior contributors here I feel I have something to add.

From our 4 grown-up children we have been presented with 9 grandchildren. These have now in turn begun to bring their own children into this world and to date we have 3 great-grandchildren. Beyond one's own offsprings one has near-zero influence over what happens further down the line.

It remains however for us a great blessing to still be around and able to greet and play with these new people, one's own descendants. No doubt more will follow and our own descendants consider it their right and privilege to bring new children into the world. The real difficulty nowadays and universal influence on children is the proliferation of drugs, recreational and otherwise. They are everywhere. The producers and purveyors are light years ahead of the regulators and there is no solution in sight.

Failing that, our young parents continue on, striving to protect their own children from this menace. It has little to do with politics, but is driven by greed and the drive for personal gain and destroying lives in the process.

On a recent sailing trip I came across this sophisticated array of cannabis flavours in an island supermarket.

Tom

[Grok]

Got a brief glimpse (before the elders passed away) of how great-grandchildren may treat their great-grandparents.

This was the family of a friend. Her parents were the great-grandparents in question.

The kids and elders had a warm relationship. It reminded me of the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. Just one more generation in between.