Should there be a 'parenting' skill?

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Fatherhood is not that different from motherhood (with the major exceptions of not birthing and not breastfeeding, naturally). (I am speaking on this as the father of three...)

That would depend on the arrangements. In a Waltons style family the father is the Papa Wolf and the mother is the Caretaker(to use TV tropes language) and each plays second fiddle on the other's turf. Mommy would handle housework making clothes and cooking while daddy would teach his boys how to chop wood, pound fenceposts, shoot a gun, and beat-up someone who is picking on his little brother.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

That would depend on the arrangements. In a Waltons style family the father is the Papa Wolf and the mother is the Caretaker(to use TV tropes language) and each plays second fiddle on the other's turf. Mommy would handle housework making clothes and cooking while daddy would teach his boys how to chop wood, pound fenceposts, shoot a gun, and beat-up someone who is picking on his little brother.

Right... you are describing fatherhood (i.e. one man's approach... or many men's approach) vs Fatherhood (what is allowed/able to be). I didn't mean to imply (nor do I think that I did) that any given approach described wasn't fatherhood, just that it wasn't the end all/be all.

[roguebfl]

Now using Parenting as Influence Skill (Minors) the following situational modifiers (from easy to hard):

• Your Kid (your younger family member)
• Your Kid's friends (or Students for Teachers and club members for Youth group leaders)
• Random minor

Which level would you use +0 for? [hence the other levels would be -n or +n relative to it]

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by roguebfl

Now using Parenting as Influence Skill (Minors) the following situational modifiers (from easy to hard):

• Your Kid (your younger family member)
• Your Kid's friends (or Students for Teachers and club members for Youth group leaders)
• Random minor

Which level would you use +0 for? [hence the other levels would be -n or +n relative to it]

I think I'd go with the second. Your kids is routine almost by definition, but kids that aren't yours but are your responsibility, that's not part of an ordinary day for most people, but is something that could pop up in lots of adventure stories, and the +0 level is supposed to be for an adventuring activity.

[Gedrin]

Pro Skill: Parenting TL

I'll argue TL based on diapers. Do they exist? How do you put them on? What do you do after removing? For older kids, net usage is a good example of a modern issue. Education to toilet training vary by TL.

Fair to say most people are defaulting or using minimal skill. This is okay, as mostly activities are:
Routine: +4
Extreme individual familiarity : +2?
Recognized sense of duty and or mutual loyalty: +2?
Multiple children: -1 per

Most people roll vs 13 for their own kids.
People who have dedicated time or study to the skill roll against 17.
People with larger household probably leverage older kids as assistants to mitigate the load.

I'd argue that neglect or disassociation sacrifices familiarity, and other tragic circumstances can eliminate the loyalty bonus.

Importantly, some parenting tasks are limited by the parent's skill. A parent with a Parenting skill of 20, but no skill in Housekeeping or Accounting, would fail at teaching a child about handling money. Of course, with a skill of 20, they'd probably find someone who could teach such an important life lesson.

[Lord Azagthoth]

The Netherlands Government is really considering a test for people who want to become parents. They see how many families have failed in teaching their kids morale, etiquette, hospitality and other important abilities needed for living in a free, democratic community.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by quarkstomper

Parenting is a skill, but most people have it at default.

Some people are better at it then others. There is a reason so many teenage parents think it necessary to outsource to adopters and it is not in all cases just because they are to slothful to do the work.

[Flyndaran]

The vast majority of parents simply parent the way their parents parented them. It takes effort and education to break any cycle they wish broken.

Or of course personal problems and "flaws" can add new screw ups to the mix like addictions, or external cultural influences.

My grandfather was racist, sexist, homophobic, and not kind to animals. My father wanted to be the opposite, so bought us boy and girl toys, pets, and spoke kindly of many strangers.

But honestly, what even counts as a Parenting success versus critical failure would be very subjective.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by malloyd

I think I'd go with the second. Your kids is routine almost by definition, but kids that aren't yours but are your responsibility, that's not part of an ordinary day for most people, but is something that could pop up in lots of adventure stories, and the +0 level is supposed to be for an adventuring activity.

that was much like I was thinking, but I wasn't sure if the zero level would still require some familiarity with the minor in question or it was less a matter that you know the minor or wither the minor see you as a position of somewhat authority, as a Peer's Parent, a Teacher or a Group Leader, hence putting the random minor as the baseline and the getting bonus for both familiarity and/or for authority figure. [not that the authority alone is enough hence the skill]

But that still leaves the question of magnitude of the various modifiers.

Originally Posted by Gedrin

Pro Skill: Parenting TL

I'll argue TL based on diapers. Do they exist? How do you put them on? What do you do after removing? For older kids, net usage is a good example of a modern issue. Education to toilet training vary by TL.

Where a counter argument is while tech helps, making it a TL skill bars it from those with a racial IQ of 6 or less.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by roguebfl

Where a counter argument is while tech helps, making it a TL skill bars it from those with a racial IQ of 6 or less.

And I'd argue that there is no evidence that any species with a racial IQ of 6 or less has ever successfully taught their children about Internet usage and the limits thereof. Or used diapers, either.