Nerd Parenting

The other day, I came across something that said "Episode IV comes first- It's just good parenting."

I had to agree wholeheartedly, as I firmly believe children should experience it the way the masses did. I don't know if there was ever a time I didn't know something about Star Wars. Especially that cosmic truth that has long since been deemed "not a spoiler" : That Darth Vader is Luke's father.

Now, I know that I have posted that my own father is a bit of a nerd. He originally wanted to name me Kirk had I been born a boy. Unfortunately for him, I'm quite lacking a Y chromosome. He ended up getting a kid named Lucas (Luke) eventually- how he thought naming his sons after Star Trek AND Star Wars protagonists was going to work out, I'm not entirely sure.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this little debate- Trekkies firmly believe in their show's superiority due to it being "science fiction" whereas Star Wars is basically the ultimate in "science fantasy." The key difference being the plausibility of the technology and characters. While Star Wars doesn't break too many boundaries for all its alien fauna, it kind of goes against the universal laws of physics with the lightsabers.

Which is tragic if you ask me.

Anyway, this kind of got me thinking- are there rules and ideas that I, as a nerd, should have in place should I have children?

So, I came up with a list of things that I've been exposed to over the years that I know have affected me. There are so many others, but for now I'll just cover the basics.


Regarding Star Wars
Honestly, as I said, I'm in full support of watching A New Hope first- it's just the way it should be. I honestly can't wait for the shocked expressions when they hear "Luke, I am your father." (If any of you spoil this, I probably hate you.)

(Did you know that Jedi is a recognized religion in a few countries? I can totally support this.)

That being said, I also feel that it is necessary that they fully absorb how amazing the original trilogy is before being exposed to 1-3 (and 7-9, but I kind of don't want to talk about that right now). Jar-Jar Binks plushies will probably be target practice if I do my job right.

Regarding Star Trek
My dad raised me with little to no bias between these two epics. He loved both so much that he was perfectly content to pull me from sleep to watch some of the classics from TOS (Star Trek: The Original Series) and several of Next Generation. (For the record- I am a Kirk fan. Next Gen just kind of decided to stop pretending that it was a soap opera and I firmly believe that Picard reflects that.)

What this means: sorry kids, you are most definitely going to be watching Star Trek with me. It's full of wisdom that has helped shaped many of my views, and I intend to use any tools I can to create proper humans.

Regarding Harry Potter
I'm lucky enough to have several friends who would die before giving up the Harry Potter series. JK Rowling created something so special when she began writing those books and it has been a part of our lives for so long that I don't know what to do without it.

One of my friends plans to read the books with her kids, wait a week, and have a "release party" when they begin the next one. As so many of us will probably want to utilize this, I think it's safe to say that these parties will be amazing.

READING THE BOOKS WILL BE REQUIRED.  There will be none of this "movies only" nonsense. That just makes me sad inside. So many tears were shed because of the books, and experiencing the movies was just another level of emotional attachment.

Regarding The Lord of the Rings
I will probably read The Hobbit with my kids when they're younger. I recently read through it again due to the release of the movie, and I realized how much is in there. The amount of story and the number of events is very similar to a singular storyline from its sequel. It's interesting because the amount of character development and multiple stories within The Lord of the Rings is really what makes it so much more epic.

I believe everyone should at least try to read these books. There are so many amazing characters and such wonderful imagery and a great lyrical feel to Tolkien's writing. I do understand that these are tough to get through, but I'm hoping my kids would recognize their brilliance and stick with it at least once.

Regarding Television
I'm an anime (Japanese cartoons) fan. Some of them have amazing stories, beautiful music, great characters, and amazing drawing style. I'm guessing these are just going to end up in the DVD players for as long as I live. So they'll at least be exposed to it.

I have a list of other "geeky" shows that I will probably require: Sherlock, Supernatural, Doctor Who, a whole slew of others that should be watched.

Regarding Reading in general
No question. They will be read to every night until they can begin reading with me, and ultimately be themselves. They might even learn what a preposition is. There's no excuse for the terrible reading skills kids have today.

 Books I will probably make them at least try: Ender's Game, Les Miserables, The Alchemist, My Side of the Mountain, The Giver, Slaugher-house Five.

Regarding Video Games
Bring it on.Will it be monitored? Probably, but only because there are so many other things I need to expose them to!

Regarding Sports
I will never tell my child they cannot play sports. I enjoyed the sports I was in throughout my childhood and I will not discourage my nerdy children from physical activity.

Regarding Birthdays
10th Birthday- Pokemon license
11th Birthday- Hogwarts letter

No exceptions.

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There are so many amazing things that I've experienced through being a "nerd" that I'm really excited at the idea of sharing those things with future generations. I feel like so much of who I am has been shaped by these things that are typically considered a subculture phenomenon.

I hope I don't destroy their sense of self and uniqueness with the sheer amount of nerdy things that I want to expose them to- like the hobbit hole play house I saw, or the sandbox named "Arakis" and the swimming pool called "Earthsea."

I know that I would want my kids to be themselves through their whole lives. I know they would face a lot of prejudice and potentially be social pariahs if they were to be like me growing up. But one thing I've always noticed about my friends who have come through all of this: they are the best friends you can have.

"Nerds" are genuine, and thoughtful, and typically very conscious of other people and how their actions affect the world at large. They're insightful and compassionate. They genuinely care in a way that has so often seemed lacking in my peers.