Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

I am very efficient and fast when I am working on our home - I have some improved default or a couple of points in housekeeping - but when I'm dealing with my daughter, I'm far, far behind my wife... Also, I do not agree that it is an easy skill :)

Cheers

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

There already is a Parenting skill, at least in previous editions. It's called 'Professional skill: childrearing' (IQ/A). See the GURPS Car Warriors stats for 'Emily Caruthers' on p 32. [SJG 6402, 1987]

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

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

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

Not necessarily - an infant dependant can be (and in many cases was historically and still is) left in the care of a wet nurse, nanny or indeed, spouse and still remain a liability as a target for enemies.

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

I don't have the slightest problem with that thought... I actually consider it very realistic.

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

Concur. This is something that CAN be trained up, but most people don't bother. I'd say it is Hard or Average, but defaults to something favorable. I should note: I don't have kids (yet), but worked in child care for several years and that's what I'm basing my opinion on. Few parents take classes on developmental psychology or infant CPR or whatever and just sort of do whatever their parents did with them +/- what their partner's parents did with them.

Another way to look at it would be that most parents (beyond new parents) have one point in Childrearing and also a quirk-level delusion "I am a very skilled parent." ;)


Ben

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

I'm going to try to "reverse engineer" from the fact that there isn't a Child Care skill in the 4th edition rules...

This suggests that child care is treated as part of IQ (and Will and Perception and...). This is not to say that taking care of children is not hard work (trust me, fellow gamers, if you don't have children...being a parent is the hardest, best work you will ever do), but the actual tasks--heating up fish sticks in a toaster oven, telling a story, playing Candyland, changing diapers, handling basic discipline like time outs, fielding questions about why Mr. Squirrel had to die or why that lady over there is so fat, etc.--are mostly common sense things anyone can do without special training, education, etc.

Someone who is an "expert" (e.g., Jo in Supernanny, etc.) probably has an optional specialty of Teaching (Early Education) and/or Psychology (Child Behavior).

I suppose if you have to treat it as a skill, it would be a Professional Skill, with a default of IQ-5, but most tasks are routine (+4), so anyone can do them at IQ-1. Someone with one point of skill (IQ-2) would now be able to handle those routine tasks at skill+4 or IQ+2.

I hope this helps.

Mark

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

I used it in my Transhuman Space campaign, and one of the PCs sank a fair number of points in it over the course of the campaign, to help deal with his 11-year-old daughter. I made it a standard professional skill. But it wasn't focused on household tasks (there are already skills for that) or on diagnosis. Often it was used as an influence skill.

Bill Stoddard

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

Expert skills are book knowledge types of thing. If there was ever a skill that is not reducible to book knowledge, it's parenting!

Bill Stoddard

Re: Should there be a 'parenting' skill?
 

I would rules wise related like an IQ version of Brawling. In the the way 'untrained' rules for it work. because like Brawling it is not truly untrained, but picked up by going thrown the process themselves. and like the Brawling skill can benefit from additional training.

and continuing the analogy 'parenting' relates to Psychology the way Brawling relates to Karate.