Raising A Geeky Kid
My husband and I embrace our geekiness and it really is one of the main things that brought us together as a couple. So, when we found out that I was pregnant, we immediately talked about how fun it would be to introduce our son to geek culture and all that it entailed.
I know some people will definitely think, “Why in the world would you want to raise your son as a geek?!?” We still deal with plenty of traditional folks who don’t see the benefits of raising an outside of the box little nerd. Honestly, we believe exposing him to geek culture will definitely shape Hudson into being a well-rounded individual.
In geek culture, there are tons of characters that could be good role models for him. I am sure that each of us can think of a character from a book, movie, game, or even a tv show that we looked up to when we were kids. This character might have been someone that we wanted to be or wished that we had some of their amazing attributes.
When I was a little girl, the character that I looked up to was Wonder Woman. I desperately wanted to be her, so I pretended to be her. I looked up to her because she was strong, could dodge bullets, had a lasso that compelled people to tell the truth, and she was a princess. Who wouldn’t want to be her? From being introduced to Wonder Woman as a little girl, I learned to be independent, accepting of others, and how to be strong in difficult situations. If my husband and I expose our son to geek culture, I am sure that Hudson will have at least one role model to look up to.
We also really want Hudson to be passionate about something. My husband and I don’t care what he becomes passionate about, but we hope that by introducing him to various facets of geek-dom, he will find something that he loves. Having a passion for something creates a fire in your soul and that is something that I want my son to have. Passion allows you to be more than you think you can be and allows for opportunities to inspire others. I want my son to be enthusiastic and crazy about something!
As parents, we know raising our son to be a geek will help him be able to make connections and have meaningful relationships with other people. Being a geek can open up so many doors for meeting new people. By going to DragonCon, I have met so many amazing and interesting people that I probably would not have met otherwise. When people embrace their passions and obsessions, it allows them to connect to others on a deeper level. By connecting with other geeky people, I have been introduced to things that I would have never explored on my own. We want Hudson to be able to make connections like that so that he can appreciate people for who they are and what they are all about.
At the end of the day, we believe that Hudson will truly be a unique individual. We don’t want him to fit a specific mold or force him to do a certain activity. We want Hudson to become passionate about something on his own and to know that we will embrace who he truly is because he has two supportive geek parents. By raising him the geek way, we hope that what we expose Hudson to will positively impact his life and make him a better person.
