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View as: GRID LIST

WHEN WILL OUR KIDS BE SMARTER THAN US?

1
When I was a little boy I thought my mum was Martha Stewart, Stephen Hawking and Carol Brady all rolled into one. She worked, cooked, kept the house tidy, paid the bills and drove me all over the countryside to cold, wet sporting grounds. I saw my dad as Superman; as strong as an ox, chopping wood, fighting fires and growing enough vegetables to put most greengrocers to shame.

A few decades on and what has become of these superheroes? Well, my mother doesn’t understand predictive text on her phone let alone know how to disable it and my father has

SelfishMother.com
2
only just now in 2014 discovered sushi. My mother is also scared of the internet the way a child is scared of the dark. I think it is a fear of the unknown that scares her although I must admit I did enjoy the look on her face when I told her to never type Google into Google or else she would break the internet.

I’m a young professional and at thirty one years of age I feel that I’ve done most of the things that I once considered the exclusive domain of adults. I finished school, completed university, got engaged, bought a house, got married and

SelfishMother.com
3
I’ve now had a child. As routine and boring as that sounds, I feel that I have now caught up to my parents in terms of life achievements.

Sure, I could never compete with them for life experience but in some respects, and at the risk of sounding like an arrogant upstart, I think I may have become smarter than my parents. Truthfully I feel that this happened a few years ago, but all the credit must go to my parents for raising me in a way that allowed me to surpass them in some aspects of life. For instance, my father was smart enough to advise me to

SelfishMother.com
4
always think critically rather than simply accept what I was being told. He also said never get a tribal tattoo or admit to liking Korn. Wise words indeed.

My mother and father both gently coaxed my sister and I into university as they knew the value of a good education. They would have been happy with whatever we chose to do but a subtle nudge in the right direction ensured we both went on to higher education which I know pleased both of my parents.

With the world moving at an ever increasing pace I often wonder how long it will be before my own

SelfishMother.com
5
daughter becomes smarter than me. At only eight months old her primary aim at the moment seems to be decorating the floor with pureed vegetables however I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s teaching me a thing or two about the latest piece of technology or social trend.

When I was a teenager I knew I wasn’t smarter than my parents although I was only a beret and a Che Guevara poster away from knowing everything. At sixteen, I though Marxism was the way to live until I then discovered Communism and Socialism and just about every other societal

SelfishMother.com
6
theory. Then I went through my post-modern phase where I’d write terrible poems and lyrics for an indie rock band that I never started.

At university my whole world changed due to the melting pot of personalities and cultures that I encountered. I originally thought that this was the stage where I became smarter than my parents but in reality I was confused, flustered and on the cusp of manhood and I needed my parents and their wisdom more than ever before.

Becoming a parent has encouraged me to re-evaluate my own life and allowed me to reflect

SelfishMother.com
7
on what and how I will pass it onto my daughter. In my lifetime alone the world has changed dramatically, not to mention how different the world appears to my parents compared to when they were my age. Now in my early thirties, I have worked out my priorities in life and discovered what is truly important to me. I know now that I can make it in the world without the close parenting I once had, but it’s nice to know that I’m in this position because my parents did such a wonderful job.

American President Woodrow Wilson once said to use all of the

SelfishMother.com
8
brains that you have and then all that you can borrow too. I think this perfectly sums up the parent and adult- child relationship. I was smart enough to listen to what my parents told me growing up and the credit must go to them for shaping me into the man I have become. To this day I still ask my parents for advice and revel in their praise like I did as a small boy.

In essence, my parents will always be smarter than me because without them I would never have become the person that I am today. They were smart enough to raise me in such a way that

SelfishMother.com
9
they knew the day would arrive where I would become a reliable, well-adjusted and intelligent son. Superheroes or not, they’re the smartest people I know. And, I’m sure my daughter will be soon, too.

 

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- 30 Sep 14

When I was a little boy I thought my mum was Martha Stewart, Stephen Hawking and Carol Brady all rolled into one. She worked, cooked, kept the house tidy, paid the bills and drove me all over the countryside to cold, wet sporting grounds. I saw my dad as Superman; as strong as an ox, chopping wood, fighting fires and growing enough vegetables to put most greengrocers to shame.

A few decades on and what has become of these superheroes? Well, my mother doesn’t understand predictive text on her phone let alone know how to disable it and my father has only just now in 2014 discovered sushi. My mother is also scared of the internet the way a child is scared of the dark. I think it is a fear of the unknown that scares her although I must admit I did enjoy the look on her face when I told her to never type Google into Google or else she would break the internet.

I’m a young professional and at thirty one years of age I feel that I’ve done most of the things that I once considered the exclusive domain of adults. I finished school, completed university, got engaged, bought a house, got married and I’ve now had a child. As routine and boring as that sounds, I feel that I have now caught up to my parents in terms of life achievements.

Sure, I could never compete with them for life experience but in some respects, and at the risk of sounding like an arrogant upstart, I think I may have become smarter than my parents. Truthfully I feel that this happened a few years ago, but all the credit must go to my parents for raising me in a way that allowed me to surpass them in some aspects of life. For instance, my father was smart enough to advise me to always think critically rather than simply accept what I was being told. He also said never get a tribal tattoo or admit to liking Korn. Wise words indeed.

My mother and father both gently coaxed my sister and I into university as they knew the value of a good education. They would have been happy with whatever we chose to do but a subtle nudge in the right direction ensured we both went on to higher education which I know pleased both of my parents.

With the world moving at an ever increasing pace I often wonder how long it will be before my own daughter becomes smarter than me. At only eight months old her primary aim at the moment seems to be decorating the floor with pureed vegetables however I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s teaching me a thing or two about the latest piece of technology or social trend.

When I was a teenager I knew I wasn’t smarter than my parents although I was only a beret and a Che Guevara poster away from knowing everything. At sixteen, I though Marxism was the way to live until I then discovered Communism and Socialism and just about every other societal theory. Then I went through my post-modern phase where I’d write terrible poems and lyrics for an indie rock band that I never started.

At university my whole world changed due to the melting pot of personalities and cultures that I encountered. I originally thought that this was the stage where I became smarter than my parents but in reality I was confused, flustered and on the cusp of manhood and I needed my parents and their wisdom more than ever before.

Becoming a parent has encouraged me to re-evaluate my own life and allowed me to reflect on what and how I will pass it onto my daughter. In my lifetime alone the world has changed dramatically, not to mention how different the world appears to my parents compared to when they were my age. Now in my early thirties, I have worked out my priorities in life and discovered what is truly important to me. I know now that I can make it in the world without the close parenting I once had, but it’s nice to know that I’m in this position because my parents did such a wonderful job.

American President Woodrow Wilson once said to use all of the brains that you have and then all that you can borrow too. I think this perfectly sums up the parent and adult- child relationship. I was smart enough to listen to what my parents told me growing up and the credit must go to them for shaping me into the man I have become. To this day I still ask my parents for advice and revel in their praise like I did as a small boy.

In essence, my parents will always be smarter than me because without them I would never have become the person that I am today. They were smart enough to raise me in such a way that they knew the day would arrive where I would become a reliable, well-adjusted and intelligent son. Superheroes or not, they’re the smartest people I know. And, I’m sure my daughter will be soon, too.

 

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David Coppi is an author, chiropractor, bonsai enthusiast and punk-rock loving father to ten month old Cherry. He lives in Adelaide, South Australia. His book 'Think Act Grow: Success Principles for Young People and Parents' is available now through Amazon.

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