Anonymous wrote:Children stacked like inmates in their own house, everyone working too many hours for too little, toddlers in daycare so many hours of the week their parents barely know them - putting the mirror up to NY Parents and the reflection isn't good.

I can't shake the feeling that these parents are just doing something fundamentally wrong. Three kids in a one-bedroom? I mean, I get that they are doing the best they can with what they've got, but it just screams "bad judgement" to me! A well-educated, older couple, sleeping on a pull-out in their own living room is a pretty strong indication that you've made some bad choices along the way. And yes, of course, NY has its own set of rules and "normals" but I walked away from this article feeling a distinct sense of pity for these people, and yes, especially the kids.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/realestate/fitting-a-family-of-five-into-a-one-bedroom-in-brooklyn.html

I get that its a slow news cycle, but seriously, do we have to write long-form articles commemorating the time a man actually took care of his kid? Does it really take a pandemic for parents to notice and connect with their children?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/parenting/childcare-family-relationships-coronavirus.html?action=click&algo=als_engaged2_desk_filter&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=382670784&impression_id=341059846&index=0&pgtype=Article®ion=footer

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They only thing that was strange/offputting about the article to me was that two employed adults paying less than $2000/m in rent had their two children sharing the school provided device for online learning. Was there a reason they couldn't spend $300 on a chromebook? Was that not allowed by the school? Makes no sense.

I thought about that and figured that they probably couldn't get out to a store to buy something because they were all closed
and things like Amazon deliveries were super delayed. I know other people of relative means who had similar problems.

There's basically a massive shortage right now of ipads and chromebooks approved for distance learning. It isn't just the stores, it's the Chinese supply chain. The linked article explains that NYC (where these people are) recently purchased over 300,000 new devices for students but there have been massive supply problems. Same things with other big districts, like Boston. My guess is the kids will get another school provided chromebook but they're waiting for it.

https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2020/04/device_blog_placeholder_copy.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hasn't yet been noted, but they are choosing to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn, maybe one of the most expensive in all NYC. He's a professor at CUNY in Queens, which means (1) he doesn't make a ton; and (2) they would have a very easy commute if they moved to Queens. But she's a "sustainable fashion writer" and their kids have hipster names and a 3-legged cat named Wonder, so of course they want to live in Park Slope.

That's their choice of course, but no one here should think it's any less pretentious than a family who chooses to live in a small old bungalow in Upper NW while looking down at similar families in Potomac or McLean as bourgeois suburban sell-outs.

Final point, I have a sibling who made a similar choice and they've been incredibly happy with it. They left for a few years to move to the suburbs and came right back, at a pretty big financial cost. The only problem was that everything they loved about Brooklyn became a lot less wonderful during the pandemic. Being outside was a little scary given the infection rates, and apparently there were a lot more mentally-ill homeless wandering the streets. The protests were actually a huge boost for them - I think it was a reminder of why they love the city. Bottom line: to each their own.

Bryce is fine enough, Ellis sounds like something old and makes me think of Ellis island, but Evryn??? I mean, we used hip names but this takes it to a whole new level.

Anonymous wrote:Hasn't yet been noted, but they are choosing to live in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn, maybe one of the most expensive in all NYC. He's a professor at CUNY in Queens, which means (1) he doesn't make a ton; and (2) they would have a very easy commute if they moved to Queens. But she's a "sustainable fashion writer" and their kids have hipster names and a 3-legged cat named Wonder, so of course they want to live in Park Slope.

That's their choice of course, but no one here should think it's any less pretentious than a family who chooses to live in a small old bungalow in Upper NW while looking down at similar families in Potomac or McLean as bourgeois suburban sell-outs.

Final point, I have a sibling who made a similar choice and they've been incredibly happy with it. They left for a few years to move to the suburbs and came right back, at a pretty big financial cost. The only problem was that everything they loved about Brooklyn became a lot less wonderful during the pandemic. Being outside was a little scary given the infection rates, and apparently there were a lot more mentally-ill homeless wandering the streets. The protests were actually a huge boost for them - I think it was a reminder of why they love the city. Bottom line: to each their own.