What Kind of Stability Do Kids Need?
When I had my son at age 37, I figured I could give him the stability I could never give my daughter, born when I was still a teenager.
When she was born, I had an army-surplus backpack and my passport. "Poor little Gypsy baby," the nurses whispered as I left the hospital with her.
This time I had a home, a place I'd been for 10 years. I had an advanced degree, a job, a reliable car -- even a partner in parenting. I was a real grown up.
But life pulled the grown-up rug out from under us -- as life will do from time to time -- and we let go of that house, among other things. A few years later, as another life in another new city glistens on the horizon, I have to admit that my 4-year-old son knows nothing more about the stability of staying put than my daughter did.
Read the rest at HuffPost Parents.
About Ariel
Born on the Monterey Peninsula and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ariel Gore spent the years she was supposed to be in high school as an international bag lady traveling through Asia and Europe and returned to California at age 19, baby in tow....
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Hello Ariel,
Thanks for this article. As a new father, I know how hard it is to acheive consistency. I think I'm doing a pretty good job but it's good to know that there's some wiggle room.
My feeling is that the relationship between a child and their parents (mother and father) is the most important factor in healthy development, not whether you raise your kids in the same house. Our nomadic ancestors were presumably able to raise health, well adjusted children without living in one place. I believe that being truly connected and interested in your children is the key.
-Abe
redroom.com