My next door neighbor's just had a baby. And I mean JUST. They're not even home from the hospital yet. It's their first kid, so I'm sure they'll be freaks for a while. I'm suprisingly excited at the thought of having a baby next door. And the thought of seeing it grow up into a toddler.
This new development in my 'hood got me thinking of something I've thought of before. I've come up with this great idea for raising a child that would suit me, as well as a few other people I know who are a little too afraid of the responsibilities of having one of their very own. Okay so here it is:
You could go into it with a group of great, wonderful friends. One friend, let's say, LOVES infants, but toddlers...not so much. I, on the other hand, am freaked out by infants but am pretty wild about a 3-6 year olds. One of my other friends sort of specializes in kids around 3rd-5th grade, because she was a camp counselor of 4th graders. Then let's just pretend I know someone who is great with 'tweens. And another who loves teenagers. (???) So, we would all be the kid's "family" and support them emotionally and all as best we could, but we'd each take a few years of main responsibility according to our area of "expertise". So, for example, I'd occasionally babysit when the child was an infant, I'd come over for special events, etc., but the kid would LIVE with the person who loves infants. Then the kid would come live at my house during years 3-5, the other "parents" would still be involved during that time, but I would be head honcho during that phase. Maybe we'd all live on the same street or something.
The other reason I like this idea is that I can devote myself without worry to someone for about 3 years, but the thought of 18 or whatever it is, is pretty overwhelming.
People are brave. Courageous. They have children and raise them either alone, or with a partner. I think I'd do better with the help of a whole village, so to speak.
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