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Path: utzoo!watmath!saquigley
From: saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley)
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: room sharing
Message-ID: <9758@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 8-Nov-84 10:06:14 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.9758
Posted: Thu Nov  8 10:06:14 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Nov-84 07:15:08 EST
References: <216@mouton.UUCP> <1432@ihuxl.UUCP>, <1892@pegasus.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 28

In my case there was never any question of whether or not to share rooms
with my siblings as I am an only child.  I don't remember feeling lonely
because of lack of siblings as I always spent a lot of time with my friends
(who I got to CHOOSE).  I still wouldn't have liked to share a room with
them.  Am I selfish because I was deprived of this wonderful opportunity
to "learn to share"? no, on the contrary I have noticed that I am more
generous than other people.  When I give, I do it because I want to, not
because I don't care anymore.

It still upsets me how people always want to kill flies with sledgehammers.
It seems to me that if you have a choice, the reason for which you should
let your kids share a room is if they both want it, not because you
surrepticiously want to influence them into growing up a certain way.

I really can't understand how forcing someone to do something will teach them
how to love doing it, it will teach them how to do it, but there's a pretty
good chance it will also teach them to hate doing it at the same time.
There are other ways to teach people to do things without forcing it down
their throats.  It seems to me that growing up with someone who constantly
takes your things away teaches you to accept having your things taken away,
and that's VERY DIFFERENT from sharing.  The first one is a very passive
attitude which borders on the dangerous if extended into adult life (isn't
that what you wanted, to tech them life skills?), the second one is a positive
act.

Sophie Quigley
...!{clyde,ihnp4,decvax}!watmath!saquigley