after reading all of this weeks' stories
i have to say that i have never been so glad that i don't have kids. my sisters and brother all wanted kids, they've got them. i've never wanted any, i can't have any. worked out nicely, i think. :)
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Mon 13 Oct 2008, 3:40, 2 replies)

Agreed
I can't have any (well, strictly speaking, not allowed to) and I dote on my godson. I probably spoil him as well, but only occasionally and in usually spectacular fashion.

By that I mean anything good that happens to me I share with him (and his mother, where appropriate). I don't think that sounds like spoiling, more like sharing good times with someone you love unconditionally.

And he never boasts about these things. Strangely enough, I do - "guess what we're off to today - this week - this month". He takes it all as unexpected surprises, whereas I love spoiling the little tyke (when I say little, he's 14 and as tall as me now), but he's a grounded and realistic kid and never asks for anything ever. And that's not to say he wants stuff - he gets what me and his mother thinks he deserves.
(Dr Teeth Who asked you, you fuckin' hobbit?, Mon 13 Oct 2008, 19:57, closed)

i get roped into babysitting all the time
i spoil the kids with attention, but they know i can't buy them things, i'm far too skint. i've explained this to them and, as a result, if i take them to the shops now, they will choose the cheapest things as their treats. my parents, sisters and brother have never bothered to explain to the kids why they can't have everything they want.
result?
they play up atrociously and generally get what they want.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Mon 13 Oct 2008, 21:50, closed)