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Kids in the city: yay or nay? |
| By OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writers |
| Published May 11, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. |
|
Plenty of procreators move to the suburbs, but for those of you who choose to raise children in the city, was this a good decision?
Since it's Mother's Day, we thought we'd ask a mom-related question, however, dads are invited to chime in with their thoughts on whether or not the city of Milwaukee is a good place to raise kids.
Sound-off, Milwaukee, and then call your mother.
Milwaukee proper is a great place to raise kids. I think Brew City offers my kids so many rich experiences that are not available in the suburbs. I appreciate the museums, the schools, the parks and the diversity. In the future, much of a person's success will come from the ability to coexist -- and communicate -- with all different types of people, a skill that is best honed in the city.
Raising kids in Milwaukee is a bad idea. There are more people, crime and violence in the city. Plus, the schools are a lot better in the suburbs. It is a parent's job to protect their kids, and this is difficult to do in the city. I grew up in the suburbs and want my kids to have the same privledges. Or, I did not grow up in the suburbs, but wish that I had.
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6 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Recent Talkbacks ...
Posted by Z_boy on May 12, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (report)
The city. That said, I don't have any faith in the inner-city MPS schools, so that would be out. The MPS schools have fantastic teachers, by and large, but the administrators and parents are nuts. The teachers, unfortunately, are caught in the middle of these two groups. Anyhow, after finding a decent MPS school, as a parent, it is your job to then fill your kid in on those elements the school isn't going to adequately instill. For example, chances are, your local school isn't going to have a good arts program. You then are responsible for filling in that gap by family field trips to art museums, gallery walks, encouraging drawing, painting, working with clay, etc. Another example is that your school will probably have a less-than-adequate physical education program. As a parent, you will then need to take walks together, jog together, play basketball together, jump rope together, go camping and hike together, etc. And another example is that your child's school probably won't have a course on personal banking and finance. It would then be your job to teach the child how to write a check, how to balance a checkbook, how to save money, etc. Oh, and before I forget, one other thing. Your school will probably either have a sucky sex ed. class or none at all. It is your responsibility to teach your child about such things as contraception, STD's, types of sex (oral, anal, doggie-style, etc.), the "first time," how love comes into play, etc. Basically, pick a school, let it handle the three "R's," and be prepared to handle the rest.
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Posted by haaz on May 11, 2008 at 8:52 p.m. (report)
Milwaukee, all the way. Seriously, what is so bad about raising kids in the city? The actual city, not the secluded-by-miles-of-highway cul-de-dacs and former farmland become McMansions. If you live in and raise the child in a good part of the city -- they quite certainly exist, Bay View and Washington Heights being among them -- your child will have both decent schools and good neighbors. The "challenge" can be when the child gets up to high school age. There are apparently one or two or three "good" high schools in the City of Milwaukee, Rufus King being the one that my neighbor's daughter attends. Riverside and School of the Arts are apparently also on the list. The important thing to know is that if you are an involved parent and work within the enrollment system (which is not as hard as it sounds), you can get your child into the school you want them to be in. The other great thing I see every day about living in tight Milwaukee communities such as Bay View is the fact that we can walk to many places, have lots of neighborhood events, and a real feeling of community. Just today, we walked about five blocks to a pet store and bought a 10 gallon aquarium kit. (The fish will come later.) We (wife, daughter, and myself) carried the whole kit and caboodle the five blocks home. Now, if this was three months ago, you bet we'd have driven, but it was relatively nice today, so we walked it. Another difference: I have lived in suburbs, and in other cities. In the suburbs, and even the other cities, I had to make extraordinary efforts to meet my neighbors. But in Bay View, I had met virtually everyone on my short block within a week of living here, and soon met many others in a short time. Granted, I'm very outgoing, but you can imagine my frustration at not having such contact in places like Madison, Wisc., or Savannah, Georgia, where my neighbors were unknown. Heck, even on the East Side, I didn't know anyone around me. The community is tight and strong here in Bay View. And it's a great place to raise kids.
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Posted by new guy on May 11, 2008 at 8:38 p.m. (report)
no prob, LB, We have lots of extra things. My oldest plays violin in two different groups, and my youngest is in gymnastics. They are both in AWANAs weekly (which is like boy or girl scouts, but Bible based), they have groups at church, and we participate in homeschool groups that have group field trips, where we have been to the museum, the zoo, the domes, and a couple other things with other homeschool families and their kids. I would rather my kids not "fit in" with what I see in the world right now, anyway.
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Posted by LegallyBlonde on May 11, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. (report)
New Guy, I am not judging, just still curious as I always have been about home schooling. What do you do to make up for the lack of group interaction for your children? Do you get worried about them "not fitting in" once they get to college, or even play on a 12-year old soccer team? Again, not coming down on you, just curious as to how your kids get their interaction with others. Thanks, LB
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Posted by new guy on May 11, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. (report)
Well, we homeschool, in the suburbs. We get a lot better education, with more individual attention, and we can teach the kids the right way of dealing with things, not just throwing them to the sharks. Some may say that it is "protecting them" (but isn't that your job, as a parent), but I think that it is more like taking a more active role in preparing them for the world, not just sitting back, and let some teacher or school board or bully or some other clique teach them "Lord of the Flies"-style
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