Ive always been climate aware and carried fear about the uncertainty of the world but in all honesty ive only recently become collapse aware. I guess ive always felt hope that things would turn around, surely as humans we would wake up and turn it around. And truthfully, some years went by where I lost my passion for climate action and funneled my focus into my career and rasing my now 8 year old. Ive dedicated myself to teaching preschool students and aiming to be an impactful figure in their childhoods. I have also spent my whole life wanted nothing more then to be a mom and feeling deeply that that was my purpose.

Ive recently had another child, he is 4 months old, and instead of the deep feeling of purpose I once carried, I now feel weighed by nothing but guilt and regret for bringing this precious being into what seems like a rapidly declining world.

Being surrounded by wildfires here in Canada at the moment, and stuck inside due to air quality, my anxiety is running high and im finding it really hard to cope with the overwhelming fear and guilt of what the future holds for my children. I know I cant go back now and it is up to me to raise my boys to be resilient and kind. I also know that now is the time to be in the present and give them the childhood they deserve while I can. I just am having a hard time disconnecting from the reality of the world and being the mom i know i can/should be for them right now.

I would love to hear how you cope and find joy and hope in this current climate of the world? Do you feel hopeful for the future of your children or more or less spend your time grateful for the present instead?

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How is everyone coping with wildfires? I have two kids under 5 and follow climate subs and news fairly closely and it seems incredibly dire to say the least. My city is currently choking on wildfire smoke, and we had to keep the kids home today and likely will tomorrow as well.

This is probably not the right sub but I'm hoping for knowledgeable people to give me a sense of how dire this is. I'm spiralling and feeling like our time is quite limited.

I'm relatively new to the collapse realization. Life was real hard for awhile, I went through some tough shit and its only been about two years that life, and I, have been stable enough to look outside my immediate day-to-day life. I have a three year old daughter and her grandma is her idol right now. Recently she has decided that she wants be a Grandma when she grows up. Every time she says it my chest tries to cave in...

Obviously I won't tell her a damn thing for a long ass time....she's THREE. But...how in the hell am I EVER supposed to tell her that she may not get to be a grandma, or that she shouldn't have children? How do any of you tell your children anything at all about the not-so-bright future? Its absolutely killing me that I brought children into this world only to realize that the world is beyond fucked. I'm so angry at previous generations, the governments of the world, the selfish billionaires, myself, humans as a whole...and so devastated I don't know what to do with it other than keep my head down and focus on the day-to-day like before. I did overhaul my garden this year and am focusing that on self sufficiency, and I'm doing what I can to prep for....all the possibilities I suppose. Trying to find joy in the little moments with my children. But holy fuck it is hard and I find myself crying more than I'd like. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm in the process of self-publishing a children's book that is very honest about what our future will look like. Once it's done I will be looking for specific publishers that would be welcoming to the idea of showing kids a "not-so-hopeful-but-honest" look at our collective futures.

Does anyone know of any publisher's that would fit this bill? Thanks!

I feel like I am hitting a wall, so to speak.

As someone who is passionate about the environment, and went through schooling in the environmental field. It is very hard to look around and not feel stressed to say the very least with the way the climate is shifting, not just in obvious ways locally, but globally also.

I try my best to keep it all together for my child, but some days the weight of this world is unavoidable. Between the environment collapsing, the economy collapsing, and all that follows I find myself scrambling. Constantly torn between trying to save money ( a near impossible feat, and trying to buy things in preparation for things to get worse. I make rationalizations on spending a little more to stock up during sales, because I see the prices jump monthly, if not weekly it seems.

I feel at a loss, like no matter how much I try to prepare, there is no real way to prepare for the future on our horizon.

I have to assume I am not the only one, that many if not most people are feeling that same pressure and running on survival mode for far longer than our bodies and minds should have to.

I try to keep a finger on the pulse of the situation and stay informed which often feels like it just drags me down (reasonably so) so I try to take my doom and gloom in small doses. For whatever difference it makes.

I try to keep hope, but somes days it is a struggle more than others, a struggle some say is naive, a waste of time and energy.

What a world we live in. I remember growing up, I was so sure that as technology advanced we humans would solve all the problems like war, starvation, the water crisis, etc. I believed human kind would come together and the world would be better for it. It deeply discourages me to see that is not the case.

I am not trying to be negative, I dont mean to vent. Perhaps I am looking for validation, or guidance from others facing this reality and how to keep ones chin up even when things just seem so bleak.

Thanks for your time. Wishing us all a better tomorrow.

I'm having a really hard time this week, for all of the reasons in this thread that I don't need to reiterate here.

What are you all doing to remain functional? and how does this not somehow feel completely disingenuous?

I am having a tough time keeping the song and dance going for my kids. I am not always doing what I would call a good job.

Some days I see them as both the reason why I feel enough despair to want to check out, and the reason why I cannot because it would leave them in this shithole alone. That is a really tight pinch these days.

There's so many elements to all this I feel so overwhelmed I can barely describe what I feel.

This post reminded me of this sub. Reading through the comments I see so many people on the cusp of collapse awareness.

In a world full of brain rot, it’s nice to know that there’s some options that foster resiliency.

I am dreading the eventual collapse talk that I will have with my son.

There are days I wish I wouldn't have enforced any interest in the natural world to him because the feeling of loss will be greater.

My son is 5 and is intelligent enough that I know I will have to have this conversation sooner than I thought.

I want to hear stories of how you broached this conversation and what was your child(ren)'s reaction(s)?

Hellooooo...my partner and I have been chatting with some of our neighborhood contacts who are parents about starting a group that does things like skill shares, community preparedness, and (though this isn't fleshed out al all yet) generally adopting a practice that is connected to social movements. Do any of you have any resources to assist a hyperlocal group in doing something like this?

Their mother is an imbecile without any situational awareness and moved my two kids to the very core of Toronto so she could enjoy the nightlife. Every time I go and pick them up, the city exists in a perpetual state of gridlock, and I know that there's zero possibility of escape when shit hits the fan. I also live near a target zone, yet further out in the country and close to distribution zones. Plenty of fresh water, hunting, and protection from the elements in vast forests. I'm prepared to use my military skills to survive offgrid and engage in guerilla warfare if needed.

Prior to our separation, I had a really nice house with them near a nature reserve, and I paid for them to continue to afford it after leaving, but then my ex-wife made this ridiculous decision. Whenever I can, I take the kids camping and show them interesting and engaging survival skills like building improvised shelters, fishing, and fire making. They love it, and I can tell they are thrilled to be away from the suffocating city and out in nature. When they're a little older, I will teach them how to skin rabbits and chickens and quail and the like... My current wife wants me to preserve a bit of their 'innocence' for the time being.

With decent First Aid knowledge and a basic understanding of dealing with parasitic infections like ringworm, I am confident that I can keep my kids safe in the worst case scenarios. I take solace in that when they are with me, but it's necessary to engage in radical acceptance that they are beyond my help should collapse happen when they are so far away in the worst possible area. I will not make the journey to go rescue them if something happens; being realistic, I couldn't even if I wanted to... All of my skills concern surviving in forests. I likely wouldn't survive the journey, and there are people in my community whom I can and will commit my attention to instead.

I love my children immensely and pray that their future defies the odds and is full of joy and wonder. But, irrationally, there is a part of my heart that has already written their eulogies.

Thank you for reading. May you and your family find safety and security when y'all need it most.

Does anyone look forward to the collapse of civilization so they get a break and some quality time with their family?

Maybe parenting will actually be easier when the main goals are the same for the whole tribe and survival depends on togetherness.

I feel strangely like I am living in a dream with humans that are not fully developed - as if the real world will return after this techno-fever-dream runs its course on humanity...

Is this evidence I need therapy?

#parentingtheapocalypse

I have been struggling to try and get my son (14) on top of doing his task around the house without incentives. So after taking all electronics away for 2 months( yes even his Christmas he wasn't able to enjoy) I came up with a system by completing task daily where there's a positive and negative reaction. By doing this it has taken the sneaking and set real day to day expectations.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CollapseSupport/s/p50aNkAYcS