Minor parenting challenge.
My younger daughter just got back from a week with her aunt. Her aunt is really into eastern cultural knickknacks, and she gave my daughter a cute little figurine display with the critters of the Chinese zodiac affixed to it. "What Chinese sign are you, Daddy?" I was asked. Damfino. I've never bothered to look it up, because my disdain for the whole astrology and zodiac business is pretty deep and broad. But what the hell, let's see.
Oh. Apparently I'm a pig. Oh ho! How ironic.
I'm on record for taking any opportunity to fisk the concept of astrology, so I shan't belabor that theme again here today. (But maybe later, we can point and laugh at astrologists.)
My challenge here is to make clear to my children the stupidity of believing that a person will be imbued with certain traits merely by virtue or damnation of the time of their birth... while not causing them to feel that there is disrespect toward adults in their lives that follow it (such as a wayward auntie). Worse, if I push the issue, it becomes an opportunity for rebellion. I don't care to consider a world where my offspring consult their zodiac, be it Chinese or occidental.
Labels: callback, kids, popular culture, rabble, vanity, You Do That In Public?
posted by Matt G @ 11:43 AM
7 Comments:
"... while not causing them to feel that there is disrespect toward adults in their lives that follow it (such as a wayward auntie)."
Well there's your problem right there. Oh dear, it's 12:27! If I don't pour this jug of water in a counterclockwise circle before the stars shift, the Swahili demigod of Click Click will condemn my turnips to small bulbs!
She'll learn from your example and if you don't make a big deal about it, it won't be part of the inevitable rebellion.
Concur, those damn things are nothing more than 'excuses' for bad behavior...
When my daughter was in kindergarten someone came in to talk about the Chinese New Year. My daughter ended up coming home with a penny that she was supposed to make a wish upon, place it under her pillow, and the wish would come true..... Yes...they told this to a kindergartener. My daughter wished for one of these $200 robotic horse toys. Well, I am now forever known as "daddy dream killer" because I explained that no amount of rubbing and wishing upon pennies is ever going to produce a robotic horse by morning. One of my prouder moments I must say....
@ leadchucker: Good man. :)
Eh, I went through an astrology phase when I was twee. I got over it the second I no longer had the critical reasoning skills of a child pre-abstract logic development. My parents ignored it for the most part.
My sib and I went through the "mild interest in things occult" phase, were ignored, and it passed.
LittleRed1
Post a Comment
<< Home