[Luckystars]

18 yrs before a war.

I did that, but I knew better with Pluto in Scorpio.

He asked me as a child "Why do we have to come into this world to die?" as the tears fell from my eyes.

Damn it suck to shove you kid off into chaos.

I totally loved being a mother, it was a wonderful role for me.

[Doly]

I keep wondering which is going to be the generation that will have to live the powerdown when they are teenagers, having spent all their childhood with as many toys as they could want. Is it the children that are 10 now, the ones that are 5 now, the ones that are being born now?

I don't think it goes any further than that. If I had children, I'd be teaching them about powering down right now.

[Luckystars]

It starts now. I took my son to the gym with me at 14, he is an athlete and when he runs he gets stalked by military recruiters. He asks for a car. What do you say "The oil is running out, don't drive the end is near." I mean really, they won't listen to you anyway and they need to experience life. You have no idea how hard it is to maintain some sort of hope for the future for them or they give up. At the same time you don't want to let them them fall into a trap. This generation will be the ones to experience the fall from grace, caught in between death or a solution.

[WildRose]

Yeah, it's going to be tough on these young ones. I think for kids approaching adulthood it's really difficult; I mean, this is a turbulent time anyway but mix in so much uncertainty about the future, and they just don't know what direction to go in. Especially if they understand oil depletion.

I've been teaching my 3 teenagers a bit at a time, enough so that when things get rough they'll understand what's happening. We've started powering down also, gradually cutting back on driving, keeping entertainment more simple, and the kids don't have a lot of high-tech stuff. But I think not being able to drive would be the hardest thing. What young guy doesn't like going cruising on a Saturday night with his buddies? And my youngest draws and designs cars all the time. The car culture, IMO, will be one of the hardest habits to break.

On a positive note, they're learning a lot of practical skills - cooking, yard work, chopping wood, repairing things. What can you do? Let them play basketball, dream about the NBA. They're still kids who need to have fun, need to have hopes and dreams.

[Fergus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', 'I') keep wondering which is going to be the generation that will have to live the powerdown when they are teenagers, having spent all their childhood with as many toys as they could want. Is it the children that are 10 now, the ones that are 5 now, the ones that are being born now?

I don't think it goes any further than that. If I had children, I'd be teaching them about powering down right now.

[Heineken]

"Worst Time," not "Worse Time." (Or has there been a worse time?)

[WildRose]

Hi, Fergus.

I love that your son said that if we run out of oil, someone would think of something and it might be him. Who knows what some bright young mind may figure out some day!

It is important to remain optimistic with your kids, even though things can look pretty bleak. As their parents, we're older, a little more tough-skinned, better able to deal with bad news. But for children or adolescents to take some of this information and think that there's no hope for their future, that could be devastating for them.

In our home, we've used news stories on TV, articles in newspapers, assignments from school on current events to help springboard us into discussions about some of the problems with oil. Our eldest (a girl, 19) actually rented "End of Suburbia" to watch with us. She is actually doing alright with this and is becoming quite an activist. She gets frustrated when people complain about high gasoline prices because she understands the issues.

I guess we try to keep focused on what we can do as a family, as far as powering down goes. And we have fun together at every opportunity! As a matter of fact, in between working and keeping myself informed (and sometimes becoming quite scared and sad), I find myself acting like a kid and grabbing the moments to have fun with much gusto.

Hope maybe that helps a bit.

[hippiegunlover]

My 9 yo ds is very into PO, but he is an "old soul" who would rather think about things than go play. He and I watch the news together. Everyday I tell him what oil closed at. He is aware of supply and demand, and that oil is finite. I haven't told him that he might not ever get to drive a car, but he has asked how much gas will cost when he's 16, and how will he be able to afford it.

I wasn't intending on telling my kids about PO for a while, but he was interested and receptive. He watched "End of Suburbia" with us, and that was cause for lots of disscusion too.

My kids would never say "is this the oil running out stuff" We discuss things constantly, oil is just one thing. Maybe my being a doomer has influenced them too much? lol

[clueless]

It seems silly to be afraid to live...I have a 15 month old and one on the way - Wouldn't trade em for the world.

Life is the greatest gift God ever bestowed on humankind. If we die we die...

"All men die, But not all men live"

William Wallace

[robski]

Yeah, my Sister is due with her first child in less than a month. I keep thinking of the kind of world this kid will gow up to witness. Of course my Sister and Brother and law look at me as if I'm a madman when I express my fears bout Peak Oil to them. I did leave them with a copy of Kunstlers 'Long Emergency' though. Here's hoping..........

[clueless]

My Gosh.

Nobody knows what the future will hold..There have been nukes pointed at us for 50 years and we survived. Life will be not about ,"No more cheap oil" , but will be what you make of it.

True we face a future with declining oil supplies, but think of all the things we don't have to face, that previous generations did have to face.

Oil is not going to "run out" but it will, no doubt, crash the economy and we will lear how to live without it. I am sick of being bombarded with corporate commercialism anyway...I say "good riddance".

Massive demand destruction will occur, but people survived the "great depression".

[Atlantean_Relic]

Do two things, enjoy what time you got and learn to laugh at the disaster in your own way.

[clueless]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Atlantean_Relic', 'D')o two things, enjoy what time you got and learn to laugh at the disaster in your own way.

[PrairieMule]

As a father of a 5 and 3 year old daughters, I disagree. My daughters love going to Paw-Paw's ranch. Should TSHF my two little agra-angels will be part of the solution instead of the problem. Many hands make lighter work.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('clueless', 'T')rue we face a future with declining oil supplies, but think of all the things we don't have to face, that previous generations did have to face.

Massive demand destruction will occur, but people survived the "great depression".

[clueless]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '
')What you should be saying is, "Think of the all the things we will have to face, not "Think of all the things we don't have to face."

And . . . many people did not survive the Great Depression. The earth is full of their moldering bones.

[clueless]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', '
')I think it's---understandably---very difficult for people with children to look honestly at the future. This phenomenon may also explain why we're not taking the bad-tasting medicine needed to minimize the coming disaster. Real solutions to a problem require unbiased acknowledgment of it.

[Atlantean_Relic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('clueless', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Atlantean_Relic', 'D')o two things, enjoy what time you got and learn to laugh at the disaster in your own way.

[Shadizar]

I talk about peak oil and other issues a lot around the house....

One day my girlfriend and I were talking about peak oil (though she is not convinced).

My daughter, 4 years of age, was listening. I asked her mom what it meant. She interupted and said,

"It means change."

It was eirie and hopefull at the same time. I can only hope that she is flexible to change, because the world we're coming into will require it.

I can only do the best I can (given what we've gotten ourselves into). If she can understand that change is neccessary, I'm pretty happy with that.

-Shadizar

[PenultimateManStanding]

"It was the worst of times, and the best of times" -Charles Dickens. I'd rather have a loving son than a spiteful son. No matter what the future holds. One thing I do know, 2006 is not a good time to have a spiteful teenaged son and hoping he will "turn around" at some point in the future. There are four posibilities:

1: Poor Man with Loving Kids

2: Poor Man with Spiteful Kids

3: Rich Man with Spiteful Kids

4: Rich Man with Loving Kids.

Take your pick, but 1 and 4 are the only ones worth a damn.