I couldn't think of a worse situation than being isolated from classmates and friends, cooped up at home, having extra time on my hands and unlimited access to social media.
It's always been someone else's job, it's just that 'someone else' used to be called 'grandma'.
In the nuclear family of 2022, grandma no longer lives with you - or within half a mile of you - so she's no longer an option.
We've built our society such that it's impossible to go anywhere without a car, and then we wonder why children don't get enough socialization, or why the only caretakers they have access to are their direct parents, and their teachers.
We haven't really built that society, that was just the trade off people made.
I have several friends who made the trade off the other way. They live with extended family, kids can wonder around and explore the neighborhood on their own.
I couldn't think of a worse situation than being isolated from classmates and friends, cooped up at home, having extra time on my hands and unlimited access to social media.