Blast From the Past

“Who’s this?” Wood Sprite asked me, pointing to Cyclops.

Seriously? How could I have not taught her about Scott Summers, the stoic and handsome, if stiff, leader of the X-Men?

She was leafing through a giant Marvel sticker book that my sister had given her. Although she recognized Phoenix—I have a Funko Pop! Phoenix in the living room, after all—she had no idea who Colossus, Storm, Beast and several other characters were.

“That’s it,” I said, “We’re getting my comic books out!”

Comic books may not sound like something that children need to learn about, but I have a deep belief in sharing your interests and passions with your children. I think that one of our biggest goals as parents should be to help our kids find their passion, and by sharing ours with them we can show how important it truly is. Plus, it helps them get to know us better as people rather than ominous authoritative figures who lack personality, as many children seem to see adults in general.

Drag out those record players. Dust off those model cars or airplanes. Show your kids your hobbies, collections and interests. Let them see you get excited about something. You never know, they may just get excited with you! Of course, they also might just roll their eyes like my daughter did at my Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite interests, but even that is good because it helps your children hone in on what really interests them most.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia