Your Child’s Future!

Have you secured it yet? Your children’s future? I’m not talking about saving up for university tuition or preparing your will (both good ideas by the way), I’m talking about their digital future.

My co-workers gave The Boy got his own domain as a baby gift. While I’ve haven’t activated it yet, it’s up-to-date, parked and waiting. Yesterday I signed him up for a Gmail and Twitter account. Today I’m going to secure FourSquare, MySpace, Flickr, Yelp, and YouTube. Who knows if these technologies will be relevant in a few years, but if they are The Boy will have accounts in his own name.

Parenting in the digital age – whew!

If Everyone Jumped Off a Bridge...

As parents we're always trying to teach our kids to think for themselves. After all, peer pressure can lead to all sorts of trouble - drugs, smoking, relaxed fit jeans - but maybe parents are actually the problem.

Preschoolers can resist pretty much anything parents throw at them, so how do get them to listen?

"John is wearing hat, don't you want to?"
" See, everyone else is wearing pants."
“Look. Suzy has sunscreen on.”

We use peer pressure.

How are kids going to learn to think for themselves if they spend their formative years being told to be like everyone else?

Four!

The Boy turned four-years old today. This is the first birthday where he truly understands it’s a special day, and he’s super excited. Although the day got off to a rocky start.

P and I made cupcakes to take to his daycare.

The Boy: Dad, will you come to my cupcake party?

Me: I can’t, sorry. I have to work.

TB: [tears welling up] Mom, can you come to my cupcake party?

P: I’m sorry honey. Mom and Dad have to work. But all your friends will be there.

Fortunately he manages to hold back the tears, but seems genuinely sad. “He’ll get over it.” P says as she leaves.

We all those memory nuggets from our childhood that stand out. Events big and small that for no apparent reason stick with us forever – I hope this isn’t one of those memories for The Boy, “Hmmm… it would be a shame to commit Dad to an old folks home, but he did miss my 4th-birthday cupcake party…”

Yeah, he won’t remember the bike we’re giving him tonight, or the big-ass party we threw him last Saturday. He’s going to stick me in a home because I didn’t break-cake with him today. Great.

Happy Birthday Son! Let’s talk before I write you out of my will.

Creepy But Cool

Won't make me start drinking Evian, but I love the execution.