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Comment by omarhaneef | Hacker News Reader

You should also ask if the people who learned new skills were raising kids. I have a feeling that is the dominant confounding variable.

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It’s definitely harder with kids, but I’ve actually used my kids as a catalyst for learning. There are loads of hobbies and activities I’ve taken up just as a way to expose them to the world.

Like what? Share some ideas, please.

Learning swimming at 38 because I want to swim with my kids who can swim well already

Very cool, my wife is learning for the same reason.

Geocaching is an easy hobby to learn (and much cheaper than it used to be for anyone with a smartphone) and gets you outside with the kids, who consider it a treasure hunt. It might be a little challenging during quarantine, but it’s a great way to get some exercise and explore the area around you.

Thank you for mentioning that. We did casual geocaching with my children when they were 8-12ish.

It was a great opportunity to teach them some things and learn others too. Especially unusual things like washing houses (I do not know the English word for that, these are places people were coming to wash their clothes, usually a water source and stone washing places, under a roof). Their history was surprisingly interesting.

I mean - whatever you can imagine? We’ve played chess, worked on learning languages, picked up musical instruments, learned to ski, learned to hunt mushrooms, electronics projects, woodworking projects... sure sometimes you have to keep it at an age-appropriate level, but there are things I want to learn and if I include them then they benefit and grow as well. My kids are now at an age too where they are starting to pick things up on their own and then they can teach me.

Cookery? Languages? Music? Singing? Dancing/Excercise?

To be honest I did those kinda things already, except for the singing, but having a small child those are the kinda things he likes at the moment. No doubt his tastes will change over time, but I'm gonna try to join in with his interests at least until such time as he doesnt' want his "uncool" dad doing so.

Having kids forces you to learn new skills, at least for me since I had 0 experience "growing kids from 0 to 20".

Besides the skills to keep them alive, teach them to walk, talk, behave, read, get dressed, keep clean, be safe, etc. There are: picking the right neighbourhood for young families, finding the appropriate schools, dealing with friends of your kids and their parents, planning interesting holidays, adhering to all the mandatory festivities at the corresponding days.

If that does not count as leaning new skills, I do not know what does.

I started strength training partly in response to having kids and wanting to be around for them.

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