Britons 'spoil their kids'

[Liebling:-)))]

Well this is mine:

wow I can't beleive when I read British press...

British parents spoil their kids, particularly at Christmas time, a survey has found.

I see nothing wrong to spoil the children sometimes like Christmas & birthday.

Margaret Creear, Lone parent action group Gingerbread
Many parents, under pressure from their offspring, are willing to break the bank in order to keep their children in fashionable clothes.

All in all, according to a survey from financial group AMP, more than half of parents make 'serious' sacrifices to ensure their children do not go without.

One in five of 1,000 adults surveyed admitted to not paying bills in order to meet their kids' demands for designer clothes and gadgets.

The children will understand the reason that their parents can't achieve expensive presents only if they explain their children in positive ways. (Only if the parent fix themselves the limit & stick on it. It's bad when the parents just said "NO" without reason to explain why they can't afford ...

More than four out of 10 parents admitted they had given in to their child's demands following a temper tantrum.

No good - the parent should stay hard or be patience to explain them why they can't have

And at Christmas time the pressure on parents to buy the latest video game or toy can be at its most intense.

Hottest toys this Christmas are computer games, games consoles and mobile phones.

I see nothing wrong to fulfill the children's wish to have video games, etc. on Xmas or birthday. I bought one PS1 for both sons at 2 years ago & also each things like designer-label clothes, their favorite music, etc. etc. what they wish & then again bought one PS2 for both sons last year. Big & expensive present for BOTH children... like games, radio, etc. I put saving money for Xmas/birthday/easter gift. I love to spoil my children sometimes.

I'm surprised to read many complaints in "Your comment" and blame TV commercial etc... Why blame TV commericals? The parents are suppose to fix their limit hard & be patience to explain to them why they can't have as what TV commerials show.

I grew up below the poverty line with three younger siblings, and it wasn't unusual for my mother to go without food herself to feed us when my alcoholic father didn't give her any money. I remember being in tears many times when other children teased me for not having the expensive toys they had. Now I have an 8 year old daughter myself, and a very stable home life where money is much less of a problem. I like to make sure she has nice things, but she knows how lucky she is. In fact when we clear out any of her old toys and clothes, they are always taken to a charity shop so that a less fortunate child may take some pleasure from them. My daughter is actively involved in this process, and it makes her think about what she has. I think one of the most important roles of a parent is to make your children consider other people's feelings and needs, and to show some compassion. I am totally fed up with selfish little brats who think the world revolves around them.
Emma, UK

Yes, I second that. I do an exactly same as you, too.

My parents always had a price limit for presents and told us what the limit was. If we asked for something that cost more then we knew what the answer was going to be. I am thankful to my parents for this important lesson for adult life.
Andrew Bluemel (age 40), UK

This is an exactly what I did with my children.

Anyway, my children knows the limit. They receive monthly allowance from us that they can manage with their pocket money whatever they likes. (I transfer money to their account every monthly).
If they wants designer clothes or good names etc then they have to pay half of their pocket money or wait until Xmas, birthday & easter. Example: designer sweater cost $80.00 then I compare the cost with non-designer & designer then I gave my children $30 where I saw non-designer sweater cost then they have to add $50 to buy designer one... this is their decision... either they want designer or not.

As what I saw British press that the children turn into brats due form of parent's discipline... Perhaps not strong enough to say no....

I bought designer clothes for my children with special offer & save it until Xmas (of course I know their wishes because they point their finger on designer clothes on the catolgues - they can't ask us because they KNEW our answer.)

Honestly I'm not complaint what I spend something for my children because I love them so much and like to spoil them sometimes.

What about you?

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ^Angel^
I'm sorry to say this but this sure reminds me of my Uncle..This story is a bit different you see, my uncle pays his bills but the problem is he spoiled his girls too much, whatever they want, even if they snapped their fingers, he get it for them no matter how much it may cost etc... And another things which bugs me the most is when he is in the middle of doing something, his daug comes up to him and say, my tv is broken, can you fix it?, he dropped what he was doing and rush over and fix her TV, here's another one, when he was helping his daug moved out, he was carrying the couch, she stopped him and told him my radio is broken, can you fix it? he suddenly dropped the couch and rush to her aid and fix her radio... ..

I've never seen anything like this in my entire life....He.........*speechless*

Liebling))'s post
wow, Yes, I has to agree with you that I never see anyone like your Uncle in my life... Your uncle is very good heart man... His children are very lucky to have a good heart father like him. It prove them how much he love his children.

I forget to edit to add my post...

That's important is your Uncle's daughters are not grumply/demand like spoil brats but good people who respect their father.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

>>We don't have American foods here in Germany...<<

and what exactly do you mean by "American foods" ?

When I was living in Frankfurt, they certainly had McDonald's and Wendy's hamburgers. Contrary to what the name implies, hamburger is a very typical american food, just transformed form of minced beef steak invented in Germany, probaly Hamburg. For at least a quarter of a century, what really is american hamburger meat now, is more like Frikadelle in Germany, but not quite..

you can read about it here:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HamburgerHistory.htm

now, I wasn't restaurant-goer back then- tight budget, you know , but I am pretty sure there is such thing like for example New York steak in some European restaurants.

American food also is particular in a way that it's really a mix of foods from allover the world.
European, Asian, African - you name it, we have it.

So it's very possible that what you think is "American food" might be in fact just a fast junky food that people buy when they want to eat fast and cheap. But really, there is more to American food than you think..

Fuzzy

 

[Banjo]

>>We don't have American foods here in Germany...<<

and what exactly do you mean by "American foods" ?

Probably the heavily processed food that the people of North America love to consume which is not common in Europe from what I've been told.

So it's very possible that what you think is "American food" might be in fact just a fast junky food that people buy when they want to eat fast and cheap. But really, there is more to American food than you think.

Unfortunately, the processed food market is quite big in the USA and Canada and people are wondering why they're getting fatter.

Way too many people rely on food they can cook quickly. Way too many.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Probably the heavily processed food that the people of North America love to consume which is not common in Europe from what I've been told.

And exactly what is it? is it ready to eat frozen section dinners or all that stuff at food fairs in the malls? or McDonald's? as I just wrote, there are burgers in Europe.

Come to think of it, people get fat when they eat too much. of course what you eat does matter but one can get fat even eating mostly fruits and veggies.
If for example you'll start eating lots of grapes, bananas, avocadoes which is quite sweet and fatty then chances are, you are in trouble.

I do eat fast food but I am sensible what I eat and drink. For example if I'll have a burger with fries for lunch i won't have another dinner later. that's too much. This one burger will fill me up for hours. It's sandwich later on before bedtime.

I think this is not so much our "bad food" as bad eating habits.

Come to think of it, pizza, pasta, is what Italians eat. Lambs and rice- Greeks. There is Indian food, Chinese, Mexican, spicy Jamaica and such.. you name it. How come these people do not get so fat eating same stuff in their countries - it's the same food, after all...

Fuzzy

 

[Cookie Monster]

Probably the heavily processed food that the people of North America love to consume which is not common in Europe from what I've been told.



Unfortunately, the processed food market is quite big in the USA and Canada and people are wondering why they're getting fatter.

Way too many people rely on food they can cook quickly. Way too many.

Banjo is quite right. I've admitted to people since I moved in with Chris.. USA does have more readily made food. Canada isn't any different than USA though however there's a huge selection of junk food in USA and the prices are so cheaper, you just can't help but buy them more often whereas in Canada, there's more inclined to go by the Canadian Food Guide.

I tell you, it's so hard to drive by those places like White Castle, Taco Bell and so on... all those cheap meals you can feed yourself and your SO for less than 5 dollars! *Heart attack on a plate!!*

 

[Banjo]

And exactly what is it? is it ready to eat frozen section dinners or all that stuff at food fairs in the malls? or McDonald's? as I just wrote, there are burgers in Europe.

Ready-to-Eat meals are loaded with preservations and they are also often processed.

Of course, they have burgers in Europe. In America, people get them in bigger portions. Yes, this is true. Just go to Canada and you'll see that the food portions you get at McDonald's won't be as big as you can get in the USA. I know this one for sure because I've been to the USA a lot.

Come to think of it, people get fat when they eat too much. of course what you eat does matter but one can get fat even eating mostly fruits and veggies.

Then exercise.

If for example you'll start eating lots of grapes, bananas, avocadoes which is quite sweet and fatty then chances are, you are in trouble.

Not really, these are natural food. They have fibre, something that many children lack in their diets. Children should be eating fruits far more than drinking juices. Juices has no fibre and will cause children to gain weight if they drink too much.

Exercising is also quite important when it come to staying fit.

I do eat fast food but I am sensible what I eat and drink. For example if I'll have a burger with fries for lunch i won't have another dinner later. that's too much. This one burger will fill me up for hours. It's sandwich later on before bedtime.[/QUOTE]

McDonald's burgers are processed and loaded with preservations to make it last longer. Quite unnatural and who knows what the long-term effect will be like.

Come to think of it, pizza, pasta, is what Italians eat. Lambs and rice- Greeks. There is Indian food, Chinese, Mexican, spicy Jamaica and such.. you name it.

Yeah, but our food are far more heavily PROCESSED and loaded with preservations. Not only to mention the horrific crap they feed to the animals before they are slaughtered for meat. Don't forget, pizza and pasta aren't all they eat either. They also eat a lot of vegetables, vegetables, vegetables. Their pizzas aren't as greasy or cheesy as ours.

I meant, Kraft Dinner. One of the worst types out there. God know how many kids eat these here in Canada and the USA! Same with the hot dogs, they put so much unnatural crap in these food. Heck, even children were being affected by Campbell's in the past with that MSG crap.

Look what happened in United Kingdom years ago with the Mad Cow disease. There's also the foot and mouth disease that resulted in burning many animals to death to stop it from spreading.

These could had been prevented by not feeding them meat from their own species. Funnily enough, they're not doing anything to bust the farmers who dare to do such a thing.

How come these people do not get so fat eating same stuff in their countries - it's the same food, after all...

Don't they walk far more than we do? We rely far too much on the motor vehicles.

:-/

 

[Reba]

...The village where I live is 3 miles away from town. Of course there're good bus connection but only every 1 hour in village. We travel to town by bicycle around 15 minutes to arrive there or walk to there around 30 minutes. bus around 5 minutes. ..

The closest bus stop to my house is about 5 miles. There is NO bus from my house to my work place. I drive about 30 minutes one way to work, 45-60 mph.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

>>We don't have American foods here in Germany...<<

and what exactly do you mean by "American foods" ?

I mean food products/Nutrition, not just hamburgers. Banjo & Cookie Monster are correct about heavily processed food, readily made food, etc. As far as I know that we have raw American Walnuts, Almonds, Hazelnuts, Chestnuts etc here because we bought them sometimes for my 3 guys...

Beleive me, I didn't know what TV Dinners is until I found out from other forum and here because we don't have like this here in Germany. Yes, we have canned soups, powder soups etc here but we don't buy them.

When I was living in Frankfurt, they certainly had McDonald's and Wendy's hamburgers. Contrary to what the name implies, hamburger is a very typical american food, just transformed form of minced beef steak invented in Germany, probaly Hamburg. For at least a quarter of a century, what really is american hamburger meat now, is more like Frikadelle in Germany, but not quite..

We have McDonald & King Burger at the area where we live. I never see Wendy everywhere in Germany but KFC in Nürnberg which 35 miles away from my area but they must have preservative-free. Some of burgers was on ban list. I can't remember which one but I only know Country Burger is one of ban list because I use like to eat them sometimes. I have King Burger special offer at home... I will scan to show you what kind of burgers we have here in Germany because my American co-workers told me that burgers are not all what they have in America.

German law are strict about chemical addivitives in food rights accord healthy law. The preservatives and some chemicals was banned in Germany. Every foods I saw in the stores with label "preservative-free".

Check this link

http://www.healthrecipes.com/preservatives_and_additives.htm

Beleive me, I didn't know what TV Dinners is until I found out from other forum and here because we don't have like this here in Germany. Yes, we have canned soups, powder soups etc here but we don't buy them.


Well, the taste of German hamburger (Frikadelle) is toooo different as American hamburger

I use homemade hamburgers alot.

We went to McDonald or King Burger very rarely. Our last visit to there was last January 2005.

you can read about it here:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HamburgerHistory.htm

Yes, I know those hamburger history long time ago. "Hamburger" is name after Hamburg in Germany. They use to say "Hamburg steak", now they speak Frikadelle. Hamburger was started in Eypt before spread to Germany in 1800 then to America around early 1850... That's how American like it & use it as "hamburger" with bun in early 1900.

now, I wasn't restaurant-goer back then- tight budget, you know , but I am pretty sure there is such thing like for example New York steak in some European restaurants.

Sure, but it doesn't mean that they order meat from US to cook in New York steak resturant. They have to buy meats/vegetables in Europe to cook in any resturant. I haven't see any American resturant in Germany but Chinese, India, Greek, Italian, etc.

American food also is particular in a way that it's really a mix of foods from allover the world.
European, Asian, African - you name it, we have it.

all what I saw is raw nuts, that's all. Yes, there're American whisky, too, clothes, etc... what I mean is FOOD PRODUCTS. I saw soft white bread "American white bread" and check the label but it produce by Germany, not America because of preservative-free.

So it's very possible that what you think is "American food" might be in fact just a fast junky food that people buy when they want to eat fast and cheap. But really, there is more to American food than you think..

Fuzzy

Well, heavily fast junky foods in America are famous in the world to Europe and other countries. I didnt know that junky foods are cheap until Cookie Monster mention in her post for a first time. I never questioned Americans about prices. All what I know is too much sugar in American food products, that's all.

Here in Germany, we pick cheap is vegetables to cook.

Of course we have Fast food resturants in Germany - Greek, Italian, German, Chinese, Mc Donald, King Burger, KFC......

I wish to tell you what I know about America but I haven't touch America in my life... All what I heard from my American co-workers, Dad, brother, friends and also forums, too where they have experienced in America. My Aunt live in Tampa, Florida for years...

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Probably the heavily processed food that the people of North America love to consume which is not common in Europe from what I've been told.

And exactly what is it? is it ready to eat frozen section dinners or all that stuff at food fairs in the malls? or McDonald's? as I just wrote, there are burgers in Europe.

Come to think of it, people get fat when they eat too much. of course what you eat does matter but one can get fat even eating mostly fruits and veggies.
If for example you'll start eating lots of grapes, bananas, avocadoes which is quite sweet and fatty then chances are, you are in trouble.

I do eat fast food but I am sensible what I eat and drink. For example if I'll have a burger with fries for lunch i won't have another dinner later. that's too much. This one burger will fill me up for hours. It's sandwich later on before bedtime.

I think this is not so much our "bad food" as bad eating habits.

Come to think of it, pizza, pasta, is what Italians eat. Lambs and rice- Greeks. There is Indian food, Chinese, Mexican, spicy Jamaica and such.. you name it. How come these people do not get so fat eating same stuff in their countries - it's the same food, after all...

Fuzzy

Like what Banjo says:

"Exercising is also quite important when it come to staying fit" and of course drink alot of water.

I do not need to answer anything further because Banjo answer already. All what he say is correct.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

The closest bus stop to my house is about 5 miles. There is NO bus from my house to my work place. I drive about 30 minutes one way to work, 45-60 mph.

Yeah, it take me 5 minute walk from my house to bus stop. I has bad bus connection from my house to work place. It mean that I has to get up 4 am to get bus to arrive town then wait for other hour to get other bus to work place.. No way. That's why I use car for go to work everyday which it takes me only 15 to 20 minutes to there.

Is village/countryside where you live, right?

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Don't get me wrong peeps I am not trying to pretend junk, processed food problem do not exist in America (and by America I mean both USA and Canada).
It does, but the problem is not in that they merely exist, the problem is people make wrong choices when it comes to eating.

Because besides junk food, there is plenty of healthy choices. You can choose healthy dish of rice, veggies and grilled meat or you can choose greasy KFC. Up to you.
So, again, it's not that there is lack of healthy alternatives, it's personal choice first and foremost.

It's silly comparing European little cities to vast American ones. Becasue everything has direct or indirect impact on our lifestyle.

For example, where I came from in Poland, Breslau, at a time of my immigration both Winnipeg and Breslau had roughly similar number of population. Except that Manitoba alone is probably bigger than entire Poland!!
So, when you think "big city", you probably think - million or two mills people living together somewhere, we think- "million or two mills people living together in a space that probably covers half of your entire European country"!

DISTANCES, DISTANCES, and again DISTANCES is what makes a huge difference in lifestyle.
In Europe, you can walk 5 min to the nearest farm market, try it here if the closest one is 30km away! even 15, even 10.. oh please, walk by all means, why not everyday, sure

Because of these distances, it's only logical to do your shopping in a huge supermarket where you can buy everything fairly fresh and cheaper. That means distance, PLUS MULTIPLE HEAVY BAGS TO CARRY. That measn not only food, that means any household items.

You simply NEED a car.

Certainly you can buy basic supplies like potaoes, carrots, some fruits, a bottle of shampoo or a soap bar or a candle at the nearest small convenience store which, if you are lucky, can be as close as 5 min drive away or even across the street from your home BUT these products are often not so fresh and always more expensive, it is not economical to buy them in the long run - it's just good for a crutch once in a while. Like when you run out of milk or this one lemon..

And there is that some American people are lucky to be living close to local supermarket and maybe even organic one!, and some close to local farm market- these people OF COURSE walk there, because is close by.. pure logic

There is another BIG difference in European and American lifestyle that need to be considered fridge size wise and other wise - we usually start our work at 9 AM and finish at 4PM, 5PM, 6PM. Then you need to get home, Add roughly 30 min to get back home. Add another 10- 15min to pick up each kid.
A lot of people work much longer than that, quite many juggle two jobs, kids at varioos schools, various extracurricular activities, dental appointments, sport activities, shopping, laundry, cleraning the house... - and guess what this is SOOOO time consuming because of ....DISTANCES!!! the driving..

Fast food is simple a neccessity here. The crux is to create fast food that is healthy and inexpensive. Not merely just bash and ban it..

Fuzzy

 

[Cookie Monster]

Chris and I watched a documentary about a man living on McDonald's food for only one month only. All his meals had to be from McDonald's and "Super Size Me" showed how a human body cannot handle all the junk food a person consumes one month straight. Even the physician warned Morgan Spurlock, the human test dummy, not to go ahead with it.

The whole documentary took an attack at America's obsession with junk food itself and why McDonalds' always had to say "Would you like it to be Super Sized?"

 

[Reba]

Yeah, it take me 5 minute walk from my house to bus stop. I has bad bus connection from my house to work place. It mean that I has to get up 4 am to get bus to arrive town then wait for other hour to get other bus to work place.. No way. That's why I use car for go to work everyday which it takes me only 15 to 20 minutes to there.

Is village/countryside where you live, right?

I live in the 'burbs--that is, suburbs. American suburbs mean areas developed for single-family housing only. There are no apartment buildings, no townhouses, no duplexes, no high-rise buildings. There are no commercial buildings or businesses. Sometimes there are elementary schools, parks, golf courses, community swimming pools, tennis courts, bike and jogging trails.

We have many suburban developments here, also called subdivisions or neighborhoods. At the outside of the suburb is the area for food stores, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, banks, small shopping centers, doctor and dentists offices, post offices, daycare centers and high schools. Further away are big shopping centers, colleges, businesses, hospitals, car dealerships, and government offices. Way out in the country are the factories and farms. The "urban" area is the downtown area.

I work at colleges, so they are not close to my house.

Our area is close to the ocean, so we also have beaches and ports. Outside the city, we have a large state park, and many small parks and camping/boating areas with rivers and lakes.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

If for example you'll start eating lots of grapes, bananas, avocadoes which is quite sweet and fatty then chances are, you are in trouble.

Not really, these are natural food. They have fibre,

I am afraid you are only partially right. If the fiber was an answer to obesity, then we would certainly fixed the problem by now, don't you think??

You probably forgot about this very important yet simple rule. It all comes down basically to the amount of calories we consume. If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight.
Grapes, bananas contain lots of sugar which eventually equate high calorie content. Avocado is high in fat, in fact I am not sure there is more fatty veggie out there than avocado. Also very caloric.

So if you eat a lot of these, never mind the fiber- you are getting a lot of calories along the way, too, mostly additional calories since we often eat fruits and veggies as snacks in between, but even if you would only consume large amount of these, chances are you would gain weight.

And Cookie Monster,yes,
but hardly anyone ever heard about a woman who LOST weight while living off McDonald.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8916080/

The crucial words here:
""by counting calories""

I haven't seen the movie (I want to) but I've heard that man was eating whatever was most caloric and drank Milkshakes.
I wonder what would happen if he choosed to have a salad and water..?

While I am not saying McDonald is good, it's not at all, do please take this movie with grain of salt- this man was on a mission to prove that McDonald is bad, so probably 'course he did all he could to prove it.


Fuzzy





Fuzzy

 

[Reba]

... It's silly comparing European little cities to vast American ones. Becasue everything has direct or indirect impact on our lifestyle.

...DISTANCES, DISTANCES, and again DISTANCES is what makes a huge difference in lifestyle.
In Europe, you can walk 5 min to the nearest farm market, try it here if the closest one is 30km away! even 15, even 10.. oh please, walk by all means, why not everyday, sure

...You simply NEED a car.

There is another BIG difference in European and American lifestyle that need to be considered fridge size wise and other wise - we usually start our work at 9 AM and finish at 4PM, 5PM, 6PM. .. and guess what this is SOOOO time consuming because of ....DISTANCES!!! the driving..

Fast food is simple a neccessity here. The crux is to create fast food that is healthy and inexpensive. Not merely just bash and ban it...

 

[Audiofuzzy]

>>>Look what happened in United Kingdom years ago with the Mad Cow disease. There's also the foot and mouth disease that resulted in burning many animals to death to stop it from spreading.<<<

yeah, and we had Avian Flu started by chickens illegaly imported from China...

One more thing I would like to point out - all of these unfortunate problems came form EUROPE and ASIA, not America. well this time at least..

Despite what many may think, Europe does NOT have so very strickter rules in EVERY department. For example, certain drugs, namely Lyrica invented in America are tested on population first in Europe - because they allow it, then are approved by FDA in USA, usually just then Canada after gathering the studies approves or not it here.

One can only speculate what and where rules are. take insecticides and herbicides, for example.. do you wonder about that..

As for walking more, Banjo - have you ever thought how much you walk at the mall? I have been last week to the mall wiht my daughter. Arrived at 4 pm went back home after the stores closed at 9PM. Just count how many hrs I had to... WALK !!

Now, consider that this particular mall is from where I live 30 min drive away. Would that be sensible for me to go home in mid-shopping, cook a meal and get back (add 30 min back, back to the mall and back home again) to continue shopping? 'course not, so I choosed to eat fairly healthy Nando's chicken ceasar salad.

My daughter is food conscious too, so she choosed lamb shishkabob with cooked rice and Greek salad. Except for the fact that it could have been processed food and the Greek salad greasy wiht Olive Oil, I'd say not bad.. not at all.. and all that walking probably did burn some calories.

Now, of course it would be better if we walked outside. But then again, even European cities have streets with car's fumes and such..

Fuzzy

 

[yo2345678]

I think it is fine to spoil kids on christmas, you just have to make sure they dont take it for granted. I mean I had no idea how lucky I was , my parents I think felt bad about not signing and would get me every last thing on the list along with cash

 

[Liebling:-)))]

In Europe, you can walk 5 min to the nearest farm market, try it here if the closest one is 30km away! even 15, even 10.. oh please, walk by all means, why not everyday, sure

WRONG

Because of these distances, it's only logical to do your shopping in a huge supermarket where you can buy everything fairly fresh and cheaper. That means distance, PLUS MULTIPLE HEAVY BAGS TO CARRY. That measn not only food, that means any household items.

It´s nothing do with that... Everyone CAN stop at ANY stores to buy small what we need for today or tomorrow before on their way to home from work... this is a simple.

You simply NEED a car.

Of course for travel to work due the reason is bad bus/metro/train connection.

Certainly you can buy basic supplies like potaoes, carrots, some fruits, a bottle of shampoo or a soap bar or a candle at the nearest small convenience store which, if you are lucky, can be as close as 5 min drive away or even across the street from your home BUT these products are often not so fresh and always more expensive, it is not economical to buy them in the long run - it's just good for a crutch once in a while. Like when you run out of milk or this one lemon..

If we need alot of things then do that once a week by car. We goes shopping every Saturday morning. small things like everyday... fresh... stop at any stores to buy small every day or every 2 days... like milk, fresh meat, fruit, vegetables etc.

There is another BIG difference in European and American lifestyle that need to be considered fridge size wise and other wise - we usually start our work at 9 AM and finish at 4PM, 5PM, 6PM. Then you need to get home, Add roughly 30 min to get back home. Add another 10- 15min to pick up each kid.
A lot of people work much longer than that, quite many juggle two jobs, kids at varioos schools, various extracurricular activities, dental appointments, sport activities, shopping, laundry, cleraning the house... - and guess what this is SOOOO time consuming because of ....DISTANCES!!! the driving..

WRONG.
We work from 7.30 am to 4.00 pm - depend difference work times to 5 pm. We STILL can stop at stores to buy small fresh meat, vegetables, etc before on way to home from work.. this is a simple.

Do Laundry work, cleaning house etc. on between Friday and Sunday Quick clean everyday... doctor appointments.. sports, etc..... I have no problem with that because I know my tabletime & limit...



more post will come later.

 

[Audiofuzzy]

Look Liebling

before I came to Canada over 20 years ago I have been living in Poland for 25 years and in Germany for 10 months
I also have been to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and even if those countries at the time (with exception of West Germany of course) were communist - trust me when I say the geographical lay-out was the same more or less- the distances, the architecture, the streets, the shops, the way of commuting - all the same.


While I was living in Poland, I had a tiny local growers market right under my nose. Even the dairy farmers from a farms located half an hr by bus from us came by to this tiny informal marketplace and I could see them from my window selling fresh cream, veggies, fruits, cheese etc. It was less than 2 min away from my home. The butcher, the baker and general grocery, all separate were 5 min away from my place.

In Frankfurt/Main, I happened to live also 5 min. away from local fresh produce market.

So, while I was certainly NOT correct saying EVERYBODY in Europe lives 5 min away from a market, please do not tell me I am wrong.
I know what I am talking about.
I live here and I CAN compare. Have you ever been to America?

It´s nothing do with that... Everyone CAN stop at ANY stores to buy small what we need for today or tomorrow before on their way to home from work... this is a simple.

That's just showing how little you know of American way. Sweetie it does not work exactly like that here. Sometimes there is not such store to drop by on the way home.
I do however drop by once in a while to some places a little on the way to buy meat and groceries, but these are more like delicatessen, not everyday shopping.

Majority of Americans do their shopping at major supermarkets and department stores for this main reason- the prices, and the convenience of having everything in one place..
We can't afford little items here and there because that cost more this way and very often too far away from each other.


Of course for travel to work due the reason is bad bus/metro/train connection.

Actually here in BC, Canada we have pretty good transit system but simply it is not convenient to use it anytime, if you have to travel so much. It's not only work you have to drive to go shopping, you have to drive to take your kids places, heck you often have to drive your dogs for a walk in a park..

WRONG.
We work from 7.30 am to 4.00 pm - depend difference work times to 5 pm. We STILL can stop at stores to buy small fresh meat, vegetables, etc before on way to home from work.. this is a simple.

Now would you kindly tell me what is wrong. First of all I wrote OUR HOURS, not yours.
For us, this is not this simple.


doctor appointments..

lololol..

Well Liebling tell you what, I need to go once in a while to this particular doctor who is practicing in Vancouver, nowhere else.
Do you know how long it takes me to get there and then back home?

if I have an appmnt at 4 o'clock, I have to leave my home a quarter to three, It takes me sometimes more than one hr to get there, then 5 min (if I am lucky) to find a parking space on the parking lot, then 5 min walk to his office,
Average speed is 50-60km/hr in the city, on the freeway 80-100km/hr

Then I see a dr. takes anywhere from 15 min to 45 min, Then I go home.
So, 2:45- leave home, 5:45 I am back home, and being fast. Over two hrs of just driving.
My family dr who also practices in Vancouver is closer, takes only 40 min of average 70km/hr drive.

How long it takes you??



I hope this will give some ideas about what is like to commute in America.

Fuzzy