Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Short-term rentals

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Nov 3, 2013, at 7:13 AM, Mary Vallier-Kaplan <marycvk [at] gmail.com> wrote:

>  Long term young adult family
> members has also been a question mark as to roles and responsibilities.
> Generally we leave it up to the family but than it differs from family to
> family.

We do the same. 

My personal druthers would be to incorporate children more into community life 
from even younger ages. I spent two hours yesterday sorting the toys in the 
kids room for example. Toward the end I did enlist a 9 year old to help. The 
5-year-olds would have known much better than we did which items went with the 
farm and which with the doll house. And how all the pieces of the town fit 
together. 

Having teens work with adults other than their parents teaches them knew skills 
and ways of looking at life plus a sense of accomplishment independent of 
parental approval (or disapproval.

I think it needs to be an attitude that begins younger than a right of passage 
age, however. Habits are hard to change and children, like adults, can take 
things for granted and be subject to the same inertia. They won't overnight 
develop a desire or commitment to be a contributing community member.

Sharon.