Cohousing-L Mailing List: Kids in Cohousing

[Kevin Wolf (kjwolf]

I have been following the discussion on home schooling, kids, tv, and now a 
valuable perspective on kids being predominantly with their own age group.  N 
Street started ten years ago and my daughter now 8 was one of the first kids in 
the community.  She is an only child and is in public school.  My observations 
are:


kids aren't as interested in tv if there are other kids around to play with.  I 
don't think any N Street kids watch tv when they get home from school.


kids gain when being able to play with older kids some days and younger ones on 
the next.  Sometimes they like to be the older, leader and sometimes they like 
to follow and be around the more experienced kids.  In school they are around 
kids their own age most of the day.  Cohousing offers kids the chance to have 
lots of brothers and sisters, cousins etc. 


kids benefit from having some adults around who can be friends and not 
authority figures.  Friends give advice but aren't very judgemental.  In our 
co-housing, the kids get all types of adults to learn from, some they don't 
like, some they have a hard time distinguishing as adults. 


kids benefit from having a lot of things to do, including having adults around 
wh have ideas that they can take or leave.  Four girls go to gymnastics 
together.  Many of the kids are in soccer.  A few learn martial arts and teach 
the others.  They all are getting better at ping pong, tether ball, fussball, 
and dozens of different games.  (You'd have to be mighty rich to have as much 
as these kids have collectively)


most boys and girls are mighty different from each other in how they like to 
play.  Its amusing to think that many of us once thought how we raised them 
would be the biggest factor in how they liked to play and imagine.  (I don't 
quite know why I've put this in the list but my mental image of gender play 
differences is so clear....)


N Street sure has been a great benefit to my daughter and to all the kids who 
live here. There are negatives but I think that growing up has negatives that 
nothing can completely prevent.  As the kids in the community grow older, I get 
the feeling that they will avoid some of the big problems of passage to 
adulthood.  I am glad to be a part of their lives.  


Kevin


I can probably list of other observations 



Kevin Wolf & Associates           - Consensus Facilitation

724 N Street                      - Water On-Line Project

Davis, CA  95616                  - Strategic and Watershed 

kjwolf [at] dcn.davis.ca.us              Planning

Phone (916) 758-4211              - Director Bizline, Inc.

Fax   (916) 758-2338                http://www.bizline.com 


<center>http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/kjwolf</center>