Raising A Geek Child – Part 1
Normally when you think of a geeky child, you think of a boy. That’s valid. Growing up, most of my geeky friends were boys, we read comic books, watched sci-fi television and movies, and read lots of books. We had seen all of the Star Wars movies multiple times, we read the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We played with Lego’s as long as was acceptable and we could quote Monty Python until everyone else left the room disgusted. Most of all, we couldn’t understand why Princess Peach and Princess Zelda kept getting into their horrible situations.
My oldest child recently celebrated her fifth birthday, and upon going over her presents, I realized she was destined to travel down the same path I had. Last year she received a couple of Lego sets, the general ones with all different color blocks, some wheels, doors and windows. Just enough random parts to make about anything you wanted to make. Thanks to Lego releasing their new Lego Friends line she received even more. At first I thought it was no big deal. She liked Lego’s: its something we enjoy doing together, and now they come in pink and purple so they match her Disney Princess and Barbie toys. Her mother and I also got her a Nintendo DS, something she had been asking for since her cousin got one earlier in the year. Ok, Lego’s, Nintendo, it’s all just a coincidence right?
The day after her birthday, I had to stop at my LCS (local comic book shop) and pick up that week’s titles. My daughter came into the store with me, I pointed out the Smurf and Alvin and the Chipmunks comic books. I asked if she wanted to get one for her birthday. She pointed at The All-New Batman: The Brave and The Bold and asked if that was the Red Tornado on the cover. After I caught my breath, I informed her that it looked like him, but it was in fact Mister Miracle. She told me she hadn’t seen that episode (on Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and The Bold), and wanted to buy it. I again pointed her in the direction of the other kids comic books I thought she would be interested in. She declined, and picked up the Batman comic.
On the inside I was smiling, but also thinking: just because I love most things Batman, I hope she doesn’t think that she has to as well.
-Stay Tuned Tomorrow for Part 2
