Cohousing-L Mailing List: Children, Childcare & Coho

[George Marx (gmarx]

I'm troubled to hear some of us talk of children and their needs as
something that non-parents may resent.  My wife and I hope that cohousing
will work out for us when our 14 year old son is in college, and we are
transitioning into "childlessness", obviously a different life situation
from those who don't and won't have their own children.

Having been a parent for 14 years, I'm well aware of the ways that
parenting and families are not a real value of so much of our society.
Particularly as a father, I've seen very little community and sharing among
fathers and men in general.

I love seeing and hearing the younger children outside of our townhouse
windows in the common area of our (non-cohousing) community!     Living in
the San Francisco Bay Area (East Bay) I fear much more the issues of
drawing families with children in - of where areas are potentially
affordable, the public schools tend to be terrible and wanting to remain in
a wonderful urban area, not to be two hours or more outside of urban core
areas.    

I hope through cohousing in my future to be able to be an "uncle" or
"grandfather" to young children I don't know yet and to help provide some
of the support my wife and I didn't feel as often isolated parents of a
young child (when we left married student housing and moved to the Bay Area).

I hope that some of us who care will explore in increasing ways that we can
make community living in cohousing supportive of children as well as our
older residents and those who have needs.   It felt very good (though sad
also) to hear of D.D.'s - loss of his wife (in Berkeley) - with the
community supporting him so wonderfully!  It is nice to hear of communities
who care for their children, their elders and those who have varying needs
of support.             Thanks!         George Marx, Alameda, California
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