Just commented on a different thread about teaching kids Marxist theory. It’s something I think about a lot, but since my kids are 5 and 3 it’s not like I’m gonna be talking to them about what dialectics are. But anyway, we just went on a trip to a major metropolitan, and our 5-year-old noticed a few tents under a bridge and commented on how fun it’d be to camp in a city. We talked about what being unhoused means and how we think everyone should have a home no matter what. I think the most important part of our conversation was talking about how my partner and I couldn’t have gotten a home without the support of others, like our parents, their parents, the builders, our friends, etc. They don’t have a firm grasp on what exactly money is, so I’m not sure they would have understood how wages impact one’s ability to afford a home. We do make a conscious distinction between “affording” something and “deserving” something, as those are often conflated in capitalist thought.

I think we’re doing a good job. Though it is hard to believe sometimes. My kids are very empathic. We all have different natural aptitudes, but I have to believe their empathy is the result of the work my partner and I put into fostering it. I hope it’s helpful for them in the future. My partner and I are empathic people, and it’s stifling at times. It’s hard caring, really caring about people you don’t know and will never meet.

Trip was great though!