Saturday, March 1, 2014

When the child raises the parent

Here is a teaching exercise I never thought about until confronted with.

How to teach a child to eat a sunflower seed?

It isn't really that easy until it is easy.  When I pay attention the whole process having been repeated thousands of times is quite involved.  I got all philosophical on my kids which annoys them but they are getting used to it.

"Crack the problem open gently enough to achieve the goal without obliterating it. Use precise skill to get the reward then spit out what is useless. But pay attention to what you are doing or you can choke on it. Did I ever learn or just realize I already knew?"

My daughter says "Silly Dad, it is just a sunflower seed and I don't like this flavor."

I enjoy how she just gets to the point. I remember when my oldest was just a bit over a year old she found a banana and noticed it was food.  She figured out how to peel it and was about halfway through it before I found her.  I just stood back at a distance and marveled at the miracle she is.  It is a simple thing but in the context of a one year old there is no such thing as simple.  Every action following each breath is a learning experience.  I was happy to see she could figure things out and had instincts.

Parenting was still new to me at the time and the shine had not worn off.  I like to think it still hasn't and hope that it never will.  Everyday they impress me and the lesson plan they create for me develops into something I don't expect.

Of course now their intuition and instinct manifests itself in using my iPad, Android tablet, and cell phone to the degree that I feel they are no longer my possessions.  Neither of my kids had to be taught how to use any of these gadgets. I still often wonder when I will get the excuse to teach them how to use a Thomas guide in case the battery runs out.  There are no pay telephones I can teach them to use.  I feel like a relic sometimes.

I appreciate more and more what my parenting generation went through and they likely felt the same way raising me. I do insist on my kids knowing what a record player is but so much is available to them that I also hope the simple pleasure of eating one sunflower seed is noticed.

I have made the mistake of not noticing simple things and it has cost me.  They are now teaching me to pay more attention.  I love them for this.

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