It is completely true.

My little sister, who did things that would make you hair stand on end when she was a teenager in college, gave birth this summer at 30 to a beautiful baby girl.

Proud uncle that I am, I had predicted a boy, and already picked out my nephew's first knife and flashlight.

Since I have a niece, I was making slightly different plans. I was discussing this in a light-hearted fashion with my sister. She stunned my be saying, "I would never give a child a knife. They are just too dangerous."

I almost fell over. I have my first pocketknife at 8 or 9 years of age. I figure I'll wait until her daughter starts hating her, which should be around 13 or so, about when my sister starts saying NO. Then Uncle Craig will move in and teach her about the important things.

This ring a bell with anyone else?

If only I could remember 1/2 of the truely foolish things I said when my kids were new-born! Being a parent is the biggest, longest learning experience any human can undertake - If you choose to learn from it. New moms are extremely protective ( psycopathically so - think mother bear with cubs). By the time the child is two and mom is tired of the noise, she will be looking for someone / anyone to take the kid somewhere / anywhere that she can't hear the screams so she can get 1/2 hour of sleep (which she won't have had for roughly 2 years at that point). Somewhere around 4 years into it there will be some return to sanity and at that point male figures may safely get within 100 feet of the child with out being savagely attacked. Around 6 years males may be allowed an opinion on the care and education of the child. By 13 neither parent nor child want much of anything to do with each other but that is when ( in the case of daughters) the fathers become psychopathically protective.

It's all good! Keep a sense of humor and stay friends with your sister. Whatever she says now will change when the hormones settle down - sometime around 6 months after weening. Don't rush it.

My niece will have her fifth birthday this winter. My nephew will be two. I bought a pocket knife for each of them, when they were born. My sister doesn´t like my niece to have a knife either.
My niece already figured out that Uncle Max is they guy who can help her to fix almost anything <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. She likes the concept of doing things on her own while getting only as much help as required (which used to be more than she realized). I guess I´ll have teach to her and my nephew about important things too. But I still hope that I can start before they are 13.

May I ask the make/model of the pocketknives you bought? I'm scheming for the future.

I will certainly stay in the picture. I love my sister, the baby, and the guy she married is the best. And my sis says I'm the best babysitter around. Not bad for someone who decided not to have any kids.

I bought the Victorinox Spartan.

Thanks. I like to have ideas in reserve.

I have two beautiful daughters - one three and a half years old, and the other 7 months old. Man, am I in for it in about 10-12 years! <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I too have daughters, ages 22, 18 and 10 and yes, you will have your hands filled. I have been often asked if I would have preferred boys or at least have had one in the mix, my reply is no. I have never felt deprived, rather I have always felt blessed and while it is true that there days during the month the hormones levels in the house result in the dog (the only other male in the house and he is neutered) and I, taking shelter in the bedroom or basement. However, I have never treated them or would I treat them differently than if I had a boy or boys. With each, my wife and I have tried to give/impart the life skills necessary to be strong and independent (not feminists), so they could be of value to themselves and society. While the oldest and youngest are tomboys of a sort, the middle is very much the girlee-girl. The oldest is finishing up a degree in Sports Management and has been pretty well involved with a young man currently serving in the Coast Guard, I suspect they will marry sometime in the spring. The youngest is our challenge; she thinks she should be able to do whatever her two older sisters are allowed to do. My point in all this rambling is that life passes in the blink of an eye, enjoy every moment with your children, the good and the challenging. Teach them by example and always remember, to love them unconditionally, no matter what mistakes they and you make along the way. Pete

Very good advice, and well taken. Thanks.

Wow. How disempowering of your sister to take away the tools of everyday life. I have a son (4) and a daughter (8 weeks), and not only does my wife want them both to know how to use tools (even "dangerous" ones like knives) she expects me to teach both of them wilderness skills, including hunting and fishing. My son has a flashlight of his own and he and I both have climbing harnesses, with which we do things like scale antenna towers and practice rope rescue techniques. My son can name and tie a figure 8 knot a figure 8 on a bight, a square knot and a clove hitch. He knows how to use a knife safely and with supervision can build a campfire. These skills are not for boys only. Any woman can benefit from the empowerment and self-confidence that comes with being able to DO STUFF FOR HERSELF.

Your sister is on a path towards great rebellion as her daughter grows she will find ways to discover her autonomy that will certainly be problematic for someone who thinks a knife is trouble.

I think some folks have been totally freaked out bu the media ruckus about the "explosion of violence" in the schools and such. The truth is that crime is at the lowest levels since the 1950's (in the US, that is) and the media needs to stir "stuff" up to make the papers sell and the news "interesting".

My sister usually goes out for a night on the town with little more than a compact, lipstick, drivers' license, and credit card.

She worked as a model before getting married, and whatever she needed others provided for her. She didn't want to look like a geek -- like me in other words -- and she needed to fit in with the rest of the girls.

Now whenever she goes out, if she needs something, her husband provides it for her. Her husband, one of the nicest guys in the world, is much the same way. He'll go on trips with not much more than a bit of cash, a driver's license, and a credit card. He dislikes having things in his pockets. He doesn't even like carrying spare change.

Me, I have so much in my pockets that should I ever fall into a body of water, I'm sinking straight down to the bottom, and unless I take my pants off down there, I won't be rising back to the surface!

The funny thing is, my brother-in-law, who never carries pocketknives, let along flashlights, bought for me as a gift a beautiful handmade folding pocketknife. It is a genuine collector's item. He's got style. I guess he doesn't need gadgets.

Me, I have no style, so I need plenty of tools to make up for it!

Ha ha. Who is it that posts on this board who has the signature line, "In the end, all you have left is style"? I was always amused by that.

I wonder where I can buy style online. Grin.

It'll cost ya! - If it was cheap it wouldn't be stylish!