In this age of instant information, what if an app existed that could tell with 99% accuracy what your child will be as a 35yr old adult? Just enter your child’s information and it outputs the career, happiness level and relationship status of their 35yr old selves? However, whatever you do between now and then will not change the information at all.
How valuable would this information be to you? How would it affect the way in which you parent?
Would you narrow your vision of them..begin to tip the scale..supplying, perhaps prematurely, more of what that 35yr old will need and less of what they don’t?
Angela and I finally saw Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) in TiMER over the weekend. In the indie film, people are able to get a clock implanted on their wrist which counts down, to the second, to the time they meet their true love. Not only does this leave all the guesswork behind but the time leading up to that final day can be approached quite differently.
While the search for a “soul mate” concept is interesting from such a perspective, the movie made me think about my job as a parent. Knowing who our kids are today, do we unconsciously label them? Sometimes I feel that I feed the inner thespian in my oldest and malnourish her athletic ability or I strengthen the mathematician in my youngest, with lesser regard for that right side of her brain.
We all try to be well rounded as parents, supplying our kids with the palette and let them paint the way they see fit. But are we 100% unbiased or unobtrusive? Do we let our mistakes growing up affect our parenting decisions? Would we rather our kids take the road less traveled because we neglected to choose such a direction for ourselves?
If this fictitious app ever did exist, the world would be far too focused and..well, vanilla. I’m glad it doesn’t though because we can continue exposing our kids to diverse material with the hope that it helps bring them happiness and fulfillment.
As a parent, have you felt the need to get out of your child’s way at one time or another? If so, what areas have been particularly challenging?
I agree, I think if this kind of app actually existed, we’d either get lazy with our kids because its inevitable, or we’d get hyper focused over what they are going to do. If one kid came back as a Successful Brain surgeon, and the other as a Sanitation Engineer, which kid would get all the attention? I’d hope it wouldn’t change anything, but I think you’re right. Things would become vanilla.
Our difficulty in raising our kids, is dealing with all the day to day struggles. I can’t fathom looking out 23 years and predicting what they’ll be. I just hope what I teach them now will carry them into that future with success.
(BTW – my girls still love watching blues clues!)