I am a father, 49 years old, turning 50 this year. I thought that I would be a veritable fount of knowledge and wisdom by the time I hit 50. And more importantly, I figured that my family, friends, etc., would appreciate that wisdom, and they would cherish, even embrace the nuggets of wisdom that came from my lips.
Turns out, most parents get that wake up call one day. Our kids think they have a good handle on life, that we as parents are beyond stupid, and they will only hear us out to humor us; not even considering our discourse as potential advice, it's beyond ludicrous that we would have something valuable to share. We had a reasonable explanation for that behavior when they were pre-teens, maybe it applies now as well.
When our kids were younger, we called it the brain fairy. Kids would become less intelligent, even belligerent, doubt the intelligence of their parents, and their attitude towards us would change to ignoring the parent, talking back, etc.
Some would call that becoming a teenager. We called it a visit from the brain fairy. Like the tooth fairy, the brain fairy sneaks in while the teenager is asleep, takes their brain from their head, (in a magical, non-surgical way) and leaves. It's unclear if money was left, I could never get a straight answer after the brain has been taken.
We used to tell our (now adult) children that one day their brains would return. The attitude would be gone, respect would return, and general intelligence would improve. Some might argue that children are learning to be an adult and with that they have increased in knowledge. I like my version better: the brain fairy returned, and put the brain back into the head of the child. Same brain? Different one? Time will tell.
Turns out, most parents get that wake up call one day. Our kids think they have a good handle on life, that we as parents are beyond stupid, and they will only hear us out to humor us; not even considering our discourse as potential advice, it's beyond ludicrous that we would have something valuable to share. We had a reasonable explanation for that behavior when they were pre-teens, maybe it applies now as well.
When our kids were younger, we called it the brain fairy. Kids would become less intelligent, even belligerent, doubt the intelligence of their parents, and their attitude towards us would change to ignoring the parent, talking back, etc.
Some would call that becoming a teenager. We called it a visit from the brain fairy. Like the tooth fairy, the brain fairy sneaks in while the teenager is asleep, takes their brain from their head, (in a magical, non-surgical way) and leaves. It's unclear if money was left, I could never get a straight answer after the brain has been taken.
We used to tell our (now adult) children that one day their brains would return. The attitude would be gone, respect would return, and general intelligence would improve. Some might argue that children are learning to be an adult and with that they have increased in knowledge. I like my version better: the brain fairy returned, and put the brain back into the head of the child. Same brain? Different one? Time will tell.
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