Are kids raised in the country at a disadvantage?

[bigbull338]

i think kids that grow up in the country are better off than city kids.because kids in the country grow up knowing where their food comes from.an they learn the life cycles of things.its the parents that raise well adjusted kids that grow up knowing how to do things.the city kids have no idea where any of their food or clothes come from.they think it all just appears at the stores for them to buy.both country an city have the drug probs theres no doubt.but if the kids are strong in what they beleive they are less likely to get messed up.but that all goes back to the parents.

 

[beppington]

My friend recently told me he'd love to have more land like my 60 rural acres, but doesn't want to raise his girls "country".

I guess he's made up his mind whether rural or urban upbringing is better, but I'm not sure. Pro's & cons for each. Too remote with little contact outside the family wouldn't seem too good, though.

 

[scesnick]

My two girls are 8 and 9 yrs old ad we live on 76 acres on top of a mountain. Our nearest neighbor is 2.5 miles away. my kids LOVE living where we do. They ride their quads whenever they want. They go swimming in our pond daily and of course go hunting with me in the fall. They also have horses and chickens to tend to. But, they do go to a regular public elementary school with about 20 kids in each class.

Are our kids deprived of something? Well, if that something is inner city violence, gang activity and drugs then yes, they are totally deprived. Thankfully.

If you ask me the kids that live in the urban areas are the ones at a disadvantage. They have classrooms that are way overpopulated. Aside from the usual city dangers that they need to always be aware of, they also will never know the fun of riding their big wheels off the end of a dock into a sparkling clean pond. They will never know what the world sounds like without traffic noise and sirens. They will never experience riding a horse in fresh powder snow in the quiet woods. Camping out complete with a campfire in your front yard. Gathering eggs from chickens they raised, star gazing and actually seeing stars without city light pollution, catching lightning bugs, drinking ice cold water straight from a mountain stream.....etc....

yep, our kids are deprived and we like it that way....lol

 

[Tollster]

Stange, but I experinced both sides of the coin growing up. I was a navy brat who went to 7 differnt schools growing up, but my folks divoriced when I was nine. Ma moved to a very rural area of Pennsylvania, and dad kept stateside in larger communitys such as Birmingham Al, Viginaia beach VA, san Jose Ca and so on. I would spend alternate schools years with each of them.
I noticed when I lived with my dad I was more street smart, gained more insite on worldly issues, found education more of a challenge, as well as my athletic competition, there where more things to do after school and on weekends, and a higher degree of social interaction.
In the country I learned things you can't learn in the burgs. I learned how to hunt, trap, trout fish. Camping and hiking where a common event. I had many friends, but my class was only 106 people. The atheltic program was so small, that in football I never left the field as we did not have enough people (or I was that good,,you figure it). The education was about 1.5 years behind that of the town schools, I was being taught things in 10 grade I had learned in 8th in VA beach.
I choose the country most though, perhaps I got away with more with my ma and step dad, but I was able to ride motorcycles allover the place, ride to friends homes, or ride my bike, or just walk. I trusted people more,which mademe more open than in the city.
I think the one thing you learn growing up in the coutry is independance, you do things yourself and learn not to rely on others, you learn to work and fix things yourself, and you learn about nature.
Its hard to figure whats best, but it depends on you to recogize whats best for your family and what interests thay have, then grow on it.
I am happy that I had the best of both worlds, I learned to say goodby to friends I never saw again, and also learned goodbyes are not forever.I realized the value of a good dog to keep my company. I learned thereis nothing better than a long walk in the woods to free up your mind from the everyday hussle and bussle.... I learned a good vocabulary,and landed a job as a nuclear power plant inspector, But my spelling sux!

 

[strum456]

I don't think so. Social interaction can come in many forms, school, church, FFA, 4-H ... I believe the country kid will devolpe useable skills as well.

The above post is right on. I am a teacher at a large school district. My students come from all walks of life. We have the sons and daughters of farmers, doctors, and welfare recipients. Like blueriver said, social interaction can come from many different activities. No matter what district your child attends, if all they do is go to school and come home, they are going to be disadvantaged socially. If you get your kids involved in something they enjoy, and play an active role in their lives, they will have a huge advantage over many of the kids I have daily in our large school district.

On the flip side, keep in mind that small districts do not typically have the resources to provide a large variety of electives and extra-curricular activities. You may have to do some extra leg work as a parent to find out your child's interests. From my experience with thousands of students, the fact that you are concerned about this as a parent, tells me that your kids already have a pretty big advantage!

 

[MossRoad]

One thing I don't see mentioned here is diversity exposure. Where I grew up it was all white people. I thought they were nice folks until my older siblings had a bonfire party with quite the diverse crowd (of about 300 people). That was one of my first exposures to blantant racism. Ouch! Those very religious, upstanding citizens had some pretty foul language tucked away in their guts. Quite the eye opener.

We sent our kids to public day care. They got a pretty good exposure to kids their own age of many ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds. We also sent them to Catholic schools, where the diversity is not so great. Once they got into school, in the summer, they attended publc day camps and participated in public sports through the parks department. My kids have commented on the behavior of some of their friends that have never been outside of their own little worlds when they interract with people from different walks of life. Interesting how even kids can spot that.

So, if you can, make sure your kids are taught how to interract with everyone and treat each person on an individual basis. Send them to public summer camp. Enroll them in public sports. Make sure they are not shielded from the big world.

 

[MossRoad]

One thing I don't see mentioned here is diversity exposure. .

Well, while I was typing that, two people mentoned it! :laughing:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Of all my life experiences, growing up in the 50's in rural Oklahoma I value above all else. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Most all has already been said in that regard, but in addition, I found that country folks are the best in the world. My family was about as poor as they come, but I found acceptance there. Family values were implicit in the schools system, and folks looked out for each other. As for diversity, you will see as much of that later in life as you can stand, and that goes for multiculturalism and all the bs that goes with it.

I attended a one room school that had all 8 grades and one teacher, but we learned. The facilities were a "Boys" and "Girls" 2-holer out back; our water was a long handled pump and our AC was a bank of windows. Oh, yeah, our heat was a pot bellied stove...but we learned. I went to a highschool with 9 boys and 9 girls in my senior class, but we learned. True, we didn't have
Biology or Chemisty, and I struggled in college, but I managed to get a B.S. degree and a Juris Doctor later on.

We have lived on an acreage since 1972 and worked in the city. Our children grew up on the acreage and attended city schools, so they have had the best of both worlds. If I could have managed it, I would have stayed rural forever, but economics dictate sometimes that we cannot always do what we want. If I could have managed it, me, my wife, my kids, my Grandkids would have all grown up rural and on the farm.

 

[Soundguy]

i think they may be better off.

most kids Iknow raised on the farm can drive a machine as soon as they can touch the pedals.. are handy with fixing things.. good with animals.. and with pervasive technology and wifi and DSL / satalite and the internet.. no reason they can't come in from doing chores and milking cows and fixing tractors and clean up and browse the internet and use tech gadgets before supper is served.

I'd rather be in the country than the big city.

everything I need about the big city I can get thru my pc screen, tv on demand or ups truck to my door.

soundguy

 

[clemsonfor]

Yep they will be at a disadvantage, they will miss out on all the gangs, goining them, hiding from them and worring about wearing the wrong color. There will be more random beatings in city schools and more drugs etc. All schools have drugs and Alc, but they dont all have gangs, stabbings etc.

Think im kidding, i live near augusta GA and there is some either branches of bloods or some local gang. Anyway some white kid was beaten up by a bunch of black hoodlims for something like they were talking about his girl or something i cant remember. Anyway they beat stomped him till his face was crushed. The got all the bastards i think and i pretty sure some gonna be charged as minors. That and Augusta is on its i think 25 murder of the year!!