When my wife told me she was pregnant, it was like a stampede through my head.
The issue I have been continually struggling with is: what life skills could I actually teach a child? John Rambo I am not. Hell, John Denver I am not. I cannot change oil on a car, or wire a ceiling fan. I cannot teach someone how to find their way home if they got lost in the forest (the breadcrumbs solution I was working on did not end well the last time I researched it). Unless my kid needs to know the date The Beatles first single dropped (October 5th, 1962 [Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You]) or what year the Battle of Hastings occurred (1066), then I have very little to teach them (and nothing they cannot find out for themselves as soon as they can type "Wikipedia" into the Google Chrome address bar).
A million cares, concerns, and joys rushed through me in circles, seemingly without end.
One of the loudest questions was: how would I raise a new life?
Should I strive to raise an evil genius bent on global domination? If so, the parenting books I read suggested starting to save up for a mountain lair now, because every year the cost of bankrolling an evil hidden fortress goes up by at least 8%.
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| Evil Lairs: lock in those cheap rates now. |
Of course, schooling a child on the light side of the force might be a cheaper option. If Obi Wan and Yoda's dwelling is any indication, all I would need is a waddle and dab hut and some sack cloth robes, then my kid would be well on their way to becoming a Jedi Master.
This bereft of skills left me in a state of anxiety, until I remembered that other nerds have struggled with how to parent.
Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. Upon reflection, I realized that while parenting is not a walk in the proverbial arboretum, there is a sizable component of parenting that involves being involved. While it is true I cannot teach my child the intricacies of sailor knots, I can make costumes for their musical recitals (and then show up), help them with their homework, and be actively engaged in their lives. While it is not the entirety of parenting, involvement certainly seems like a sizable chunk of the game.Who knows, I may even learn how to change oil along the way. What skills do you think are necessary for parenting, or what do you wish your parents had taught you?
Thanks for reading!
