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Comment by blitzar | Hacker News Reader

> they will now be able to do something - something that they absolutely hate

A valuable life skill if you want to ever have a job or get paid.

Similarly, it teaches the value of putting forth the minimum effort to appear to be doing the work. Putting forth more effort rewards one with more work.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Honestly, I wish I had been taught that lesson early, so as to internalize it profoundly.

Even with a lot of discipline and self-control, going through each and every day without mind-altering substances at hand is pretty dang difficult.

They already learn this by being in school, no need for more of such "learning opportunities" in their free time.

Teaching them piano is probably the worse thing you can do if you want them to get paid lol. You should be teaching them plumbing instead.

You don't want to put them off plumbing for life!

That sucks man. I hope things get better for you.

The sweet is never as sweet without the sour.

That’s such a depressing way to see things. I’m sure most people do something they don’t utterly despise, is only because they select for their local optimum.

> I’m sure most people

If you live in the bubble where you experience this, congratulation you live a wonderfully privileged life, never interact with anyone or are totally oblivious to the experiences of all the people you interact with on a daily basis.

You're of course right, it's a privilege.

But also, many people choose to do something they hate so they earn more money. They could be just as privileged and choose not to, just so they can compete with the Joneses and consume more...

So your parenting advice is to teach your kids to do things they hate while suppressing their feelings so they can be like the average unhappy person?

I hate doing laundry and cleaning dishes. I still do it, though.

There are things in life that you won't enjoy but you need to do. Learning to do them anyway is in fact a life skill.

I've seen people follow their dreams into careers they chose because they wanted them, despite those careers not being paid well. They're all at least as miserable as the average person, because what they enjoyed is now work, and they don't have money for anything they now enjoy.

"Do whatever makes you happy" is a life plan for the financially independent. Most people simply don't have that luxury.

> I hate doing laundry and cleaning dishes. I still do it, though.

Sure, I see your point. I guess what it comes down to is: what percentage of your life do you spend doing that?

If you don't like doing laundry, then don't start a laundry service business.

Parenting, having and raising children, including but not limited to the act of giving birth is the ultimate example. There are many "piano lessons" along that journey.

Sometimes you have to eat a shit sandwich.

Sure, but you don’t have to accept that they’re the only thing on the menu.

Sure, you can take off at 2am and leave a screaming 2 month old child in a room and never come back, because you have been trying for hours to stop it from crying and it is just too fucking hard - just like you can walk out of your piano lesson and never go back.

Or you can reach for the sandwich.

If piano lessons is what trained you not to abandon a crying baby, I'm not sure to say.

Don't know about 'most' but I think many do exactly that in order to pay the bills.

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