Raising Nerds Chapter 5
The Inner Struggle of Nerdy Parents
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| The room is 2 seconds from Complete destruction, but could you be mad at that heroic little butt? |
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| Epic Nerd Kid Fight: GO! |
I love how nerdy my boys are becoming. When they make believe in costume or
with action figures - always ready to fight evil and always with sound effects - it is awesome! Seeing my boys play is one of the highlights of my day and getting
to take part in those times is even better. The real tragedy is: I am not only
their fellow nerd in arms, but also their Dad. Don’t get me wrong, being their
dad is one of the greatest joys of my life, but part of the job description
includes discipline and rule enforcement.
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| Seriously Lego Batman Freaking Rocks! |
Allow me to set the scene: all week long, my oldest boy Logan
will be begging me constantly to play Lego Batman. I love that he enjoys this pastime! The Lego games are all great, and any chance to camp out in
front of the TV and play with him is highly enjoyable and relaxing for both of
us. But to him, Lego Batman is what life is all about. Often, I am greeted at
the door, not with a “Hi Daddy”, but rather with a “Daddy, can we play Lego
Batman now?” Being the “responsible” adult I am, I let him know that if certain
conditions are met, Saturday will be Lego Batman day. Feeling proud of myself
and my parenting, I am certain that Logan will come through on his end, and secretly
I am thinking: “LEGO BATMAN, HELL YES!!!”. But, alas, as Friday rolls around and
the deal I made with Logan has not been honored, I have the difficult job to announce: "There will be no Lego Batman on Saturday". And with this, two nerd hearts are crushed.
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| By Andry Shango |
My parental side is proud for sticking to my guns, but the
conflict is always there. Do I let things slide just because I want to play
games or watch cartoons with my boys? Or do I stay firm, stick to my guns, and
make sure my boys know I mean business? For the long-term happiness of the
entire family, I can say that so far I have been able to stick to my guns. But,
let me tell you, go tell a little boy that he can’t play some Lego Batman and
try not to cry when you see the sadness engulf every inch of his being. It’s enough to break the strongest
parent out there.
Ultimately, the payoff is that through our nerdy tough love,
Logan is becoming a more responsible boy, and that makes for a happier
family and more frequent nerdy adventures. As a nerdy dad, the icing
on the cake is trips with him to the comic shop, action figure battles, and LEGO
FREAKING BATMAN!
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