David - I AM republican and it has nothin to do with this.
Nor does religion.
Nor does socio-economic status.
Nor does sexuality.
Parents have always done things to make their kids happy - nothing has changed there. There are many who still spank and many who are still emotionally distant from their kids. This doesn't make a difference in my point either.
This generation as a whole has at their fingertips such an amass of information and communication abilities, that they see what "everyone else is doing" and there are no longer any distance barriers in society. What was only present in very specific areas is now rampant thanks to technology and the child left to think on their own (reflecting - what ever happened to that??) is now consoled by 1,000s of Facebook friends who have done the same thing and tell them that it's okay. Parents aren't alone anymore - every discipline action is dissected by peers and discussed at parent teacher conferences.
As for my country - history has shown us that each generation responds to and is molded by industrialism/technology. There is a direct correlation between major strides in technology and a changing society as a whole. Maybe the differences yiu notice in foreign countries is due to their lack of advancement in comparison to the USA. I'm not saying that the places you mentioned are third world countries, but perhaps not as advanced as us.
And don't feel bad about the embrace - I'm not a hugger. I also really appreciate debate and discussion, so I'm grateful for those that don't necessarily agree with me. If we all were the same, then we might as well be north Korea.
Decades ago, before I had kids of my own, I had strong opinions about parenting. Then I had 3. My personal parenting style evolved into attachment parenting for babies/toddlers, and an emphasis on respect - in both directions parent-child, and child-parent, as my kids grew.
I've worked as a midwife for 30 years - which has given me a unique window into the workings of many families.
What I've learned over the years is that every child and every parent is unique. The things that worked great for my oldest child and I, did not work for my 2nd (or my 3rd). There's no way I'd presume to dictate to another parent. It's the toughest job there is, and one has to be constantly re-assessing and changing tacks. Everyone makes mistakes as a parent, and an awful lot of people are waiting to pass judgment. Especially complete strangers who've never had kids.
The negatives look great. I'll post some when I get a chance.
Sounds like my recent portrait session. I did a session with young parents, two kids. Baby was great - amazement to the parents. Their 4 year old did not want to participate. He decided he didn't want pictures taken.
Having no kids of my own, I'm clueless so my girlfriend who was acting as a helper and the parents tried their best. Nothing really worked. His mind was set! NO PICTURES! However, one of the best images was actually from this reluctant kid. The father decided he'll play a game of chase with this child. Within 30 seconds, he forgot all about the camera and started to play. I stood back and used telephoto to get some action shots. In the end, they have an image of their child paying with his dad and playing his favorite game, chase-the-dad.
I think, when child is involved, anything is possible and having an open mind about what photographs to take is an asset. Sure, they didn't get many everybody-sitting-and-smiling photo of him but they did get something they'd love and keep.
Strangely, last year, he was a happy kid who smiled on que.... I learned later, he didn't get his nap that day. Oh well.
...Everyone makes mistakes as a parent, and an awful lot of people are waiting to pass judgment. Especially complete strangers who've never had kids...
So true, which makes it nice to have people come up to me at restraunts, social gatherings, etc and tell me how nice my boys are. It is always a bit of a surprise since they are just behaving as I would expect them to. If one treats one's kids with respect, I think they will approach others the same way. If one talks down to one's kids, then they are likely to talk down to people whom they might consider "beneath" them. And they watch their parents react very closely. Disiplining one's kids does nothing if the parents also do not provide the example of proper behaviour...otherwise it just teaches the kids to be more sneaky.
My three boys (triplets) are very different from each other, too -- as you said, Sly, one "size" does not fit all!
My boys at about 5 yrs old or so.
8x10 Platinum/palladium print
probably about a 30 second exposure
At least with LF landscape, a bad day of photography can be a good day of exercise.
I remember that photograph from when you last posted it. It's wonderful! Using the trees for scale is simply brilliant!
Respect is key, by the way. I brought up one boy who's now 18 years old, and just spending time with him, actually talking to him, letting him win at chess half the time, etc I think was key in having a meaningful relationship. All of it is still true, except now I have to try hard to win a game of chess.
"...the heart and mind are the true lens of the camera".
- Yousuf Karsh
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit".
- Aristotle
Adv Reply
Originally Posted by BrianShaw
