One of the earliest panels I had the privilege of participating on at a Salt Lake Comic Convention event was on geeky parenting. This idea, that we as geeks would like to share what we love, what we are passionate about with the next generation of geeks, and raise them up right. Geeky parenting is all about that. How do we do it? How do we help our kids develop their own loves and passions.
I think the most important thing we can do is take the time and spend it with our kids. Whether we are sitting down and showing them a movie we loved as kids, or reading a favorite book with them, the time we spend will make a huge difference. They may find themselves interested in these things because they see that we are interested. They know if they watch this movie or read this book, they can do it with dad or with mom, and they want that. Parenting is an incredibly rewarding experience, and parents who really take to it should consider a career in childcare, that way they would get to spend all day every day watching children flourish under their care. KLA Schools offer franchises if you have a little business acumen too, so think outside the box if you do find that being a parent is a joy.
Sharing our interests, then becomes more than just getting our kids to like what we like. It becomes a way to connect with them, and let them know that they are loved, because we are spending that time with them. That becomes more important than what we are actually sharing with them.
Sometimes, our kids may not be interested in what we like, or they may just find interests of their own. That’s perfect, and great. Let them find their own things to be into. At this point, it becomes important for us to take the time to spend with them and learn more about what they are into, and what they like, and why. I have spent more hours than I care to admit, listening to my son talk about Bey Blade. I still don’t totally get it, but I get that he loves it. It is important to him, and it is important to me that it is important to him.
There is no wrong or right way to be a geeky parent, as long as your efforts are focused on loving your kids for who they are, and supporting them in that. That is ther most important thing that any parent can do, geeky or otherwise.
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