Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Yup, I've become my parents...


graphic courtesy of http://www.knowledge-power.com/

Back when I was a little kid, in the bygone days of 1 TV per household, I would occasionally be relegated to my bedroom with a book because the parentals had commandeered the tube to watch something devastatingly boring, like National Geographic or NOVA. I certainly wouldn't deign in those days to watch it with them, not after the brain exercises of an entire school day behind me, and in the summer, I couldn't be bothered because it wasn't fun enough. I'd roll my eyes, shove off Lil Bro, and bury myself in a book.

Now that I'm a 30-something young fart, I wish we had the National Geographic channel on our extended cable and content myself with others, like Discovery and Animal Planet. But last night brought home to me how a child evolves into an adult, when I sat down and watched NOVA from beginning to end. On frickin' String Theory. And I dare say, there was understanding going on there.

As an '80s child, the small town public schools I attended, sucked at encouraging learning, so I spent my childhood not living up to my full potential. Now I'm a sponge. Whether it's anthropology, a new knitting pattern, or a frickin' dinner recipe, I can feel my brain light up as the understanding takes hold. I so hope I can pass that light onto my own kids down the road. But I'll also understand where that eye roll comes from when I try to get them to watch NOVA with me, because I know their time for appreciating knowledge will poke its head out in due course. And not before.

A similar thread for another time: dragging your kids to Home Depot and not understanding why they're bored stiff.

1 comment:

Alexa said...

I take the kids grocery shopping, but haven't done Home Depot much since #2 came along. As long as you involve them in the task at hand and don't make them sit like vegetables in the cart, they can have fun. For a few weeks there, Lena's favorite toy was her plastic spatula (spreader for tile adhesive). We usually come home with more Jello than we need, but it's worth not having to push one of those massive grocery carts around. Maria, on the other hand, will likely bolt for the doors when she's allowed out of the cart in a few months.