Lets look at another way......
Most Dangerous job list and number of deaths per 100,000
Timber cutters 117.8----- Are you going to take your kid to work with you everyday?
Commercial Fishers 71.1....Is an alaskan fishing boat a great place for a kid to spend everyday?
Pilots and navigators 69.8...Sure kids fly.....but they dont live in a plane everyday.
Structural metal workers 58.2....Are you going to take your kid up on the gurders of a 50 story building?
Roofers 37 ..>Sure, a kid would have fun on a roof, but let him stay up there 8 hours a day, eventually he will fall.
Electrical power installers 32.5....Drop and roll son, drop and roll....I told you not to touch the red wire!
Farm occupations 28...Sure 10 year olds farm....I will give you this one.
Truck drivers 25....Need I say more?

 

Once again I will say that I think its a great idea to take a kid with you for a few weeks a year. When I was a kid I would have loved it. But two weeks is a lot different than spending all their time in a truck.

Now, I have spent very little time in a truck. However just reading some of the amazing stories of things that have happened to you drivers out on the road is very entertaining. Some of the road stories you have are funny and even a little bit scary to an adult. Im amazed at some of the things that have happened to you all. However the thought of some of those things happening in the pressence of a 10 year old kid is HORRIFYING. You have to admit the trucking industry is at best "Rated R"

 

And usually NC-17. :shock:

 

Twilight I agree with you - there's a HUGE differece. I don't think it is a good idea at all. She asked for ways that it might be able to work. I would never do it but it isn't my place to tell her that she can't do that with her child. I think it could be done with a lot of work but it would be very difficult to manage. There are curriculums out there that are teacher taught on DVD - it's not turning your child loose on a computer but it would allow her to drive while he is getting the classroom lectures. It's not something I use but is the only way I see a chance of her being able to drive and her son still getting an education. Homeschooling is so much more then sitting at the table in front of a stack of books.

Is it the ideal situation in a truck? Far from it. Would I allow one of my children to live in a truck full time? Not a chance! Will my children go out with my husband from time to time? You bet.

Like I said before - they would be missing the opportunity to be in a co-op and get the interaction with other children. Homeschooling is one of the toughest things I have ever done but it is so worth it. If she is set on doing it, I was offering advice on the best way to be able to give her child an education. I think the child would be very lonely though.

I just re-read Twilights last post and something came to mind. Besides all the other negatives already mentioned - how many out of the house jobs would permit you to attempt to homeschool your child while you were working? I know how much time homeschooling takes. I am finishing my college degree, raising 4 kids (1 with severe disabilities), homeschooling and caring for my house. There is no way I could homeschool and hold down a full time job at the same time and we all know that truck driving is beyond a full time job.

 

Applause for you, Mom! At ten years of age, your daughter may be mature enough to make the best of OTR living. Only you know her character and the strength of your relationship. If she's the type of child who can work alone on her schoolwork and be happy without having a crowd of kids around, it COULD work.

But it sounds like you haven't gone to a truck school or community college yet to get your CDL. After that is taken care of, you're going to have to go on the road for a couple of months with a trainer, 24/7, knocking yourself out. As a woman who tried that last part, and has failed so far, I can only advise you not to "burn your bridges".

Where will your daughter be staying during that time? Will she be safe with relatives? Are you SURE nobody else wants custody?

And last but not at all least. . .

What are your morals? Single Mom EQUALS Easy Mark. You do not want to subject your daughter to damaging situations.

I was raised by a single mother in the best neighborhood in the world -- a nice, decent apartment in Beverly Hills, California. My life was hell, because my mother was a poor working woman who just liked male company once in a while, and who can blame her. I found certain times to be very unpleasant. People forget these days that children are not supposed to be raised to be voyeurs. Things like that affect them. "Mom" is supposed to be SPECIAL.

There's another risk. I was fortunate, because at your daughter's age, I was able to repel the slugs who were eyeing me behind my mother's back. These days, a lot more vermin come out of the closet.

Over-The-Road is not the place for a little girl. A lot of BIG GIRLS drive with BIG DOGS for a reason.

Sorry to be blunt. If you are secure in yourself, not a patsy, clean-living, and watch over her LIKE A HAWK - you'll be just fine.

But when she's ready for high school, then what? Time flies.

 

And we wonder why Our kids are getting so bad now. Or the thread about america falling, Look how we mistreat our kids.
We do not educate them any more, we tell them what we want them to know, but not the true history, we make them think they can do what ever they want and get by with it. So they do, steal, Use drugs, and murder.

Why cause we do not want to spend time with them not do things together, such as bring them out with us on the road, can not punish them for it's child abuse.

Really Sad.

Have a nice life..

 

Bringing a child out on the road for short periods of time is great...it's a wonderful learning experience and allows the parent and child to spend time together. I think many people have pointed that out.

Bringing them out on the road to live in a truck and attempt to home-school on the road, is wrong. Period. What kind of a homelife would the child have, living in a truck 24/7? With a parent that certainly means well, but would have absolutely no chance to successfully homeschool her child and do her job at the same time.

It's been said over and over again. If you don't agree with it, fine. That's your choice. But before you encourage someone to risk losing their child, perhaps you should ask yourself if you would risk your own.

 

Have you even started driving truck yet?

 

Do yourself and your child a favour. If you really want to drive a truck, get a local job. Keep your child in school. Come home every night and cook supper. When your child is finished school and on their own. Then go on the road full time.

 

Nobody is being negative, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, that is the whole reason for this forum. A lot of these people have been in this industry for a long time and know what they are talking about. Nobody is telling anyone how to raise kids, just giving advice,

I also rode with my Dad in the truck on school breaks but it is not the same as living in a truck full time. I had even been to some places with my dad that did not allow children and I had to hide in the bunk.

I don't know about you but I have never had time to stop and go sightseeing, let alone find somewhere to park to go sightseeing driving a truck. I rarely have time to do anything other than eat and sleep while I am working, imagine that life for a child, think about it this way, would you like to have spent your childhood that way.