That is a great article (re:)
http://www.generubinaudio.com/articls.html#parenting
I was unaware of it before this evening but agree with every word !
My son was allowed to handle EVERYTHING in the house, including knives, my stereo, even my fragile Hasselblad camera equipment . He has always been curious and I helped him explore everything in my world so he could be independent.
Today is his 18th birthday. Today is also the day we received a letter from University of Texas offering him a scholarship. He wants to major in Computer Science and Nano Robotics. The scholarship is the result of his extraordinarily high SAT score.
I firmly believe that kids are capable of much more than we give them credit for. I taught my son about electric drills, hand tools, saws, even how to shoot my two 1911 Colts and my Glock, this by the time he was 9 years old. Two years ago he graduated from a training school for both shotgun (skeet) and AR 15 long range shooting.
The result? He actually watches for other kids, warning them about the dangers of electricity and firearms. A person cannot be cautious unless they are informed and to be informed one must be trained and experienced.
All too often adults avoid the difficult tasks. It's simpler to make rules that restrict or expect others to take responsibility.
A perfect example, four years ago he and a group of kids were visiting another students home after a football game. About an hour after they arrived I got a phone call to come pick them up. Kids from another school showed up at the party with drugs and they wanted no part of it. My son and his friends didn't want to get anyone in trouble, they just wanted to remove themselves from what they believed was wrong, so they called me to come get them.
It's nice to see some kids take responsibility for things that can ruin their lives and made decisions that don't require (our) intervention.
Stereo should be the least of kids responsibilities. If you're patient, it's simply not a big deal. I have video of my son playing LP's on my Versa Dynamics with Benz Ruby, grinning ear to ear at the music he was making. He was so young he could barely reach the que bar.
We listened together then. We listen together now. I love him and proud I took the time it required to make him responsible. That little bit of extra effort repays you a thousand times later on in life.
Kids are precious and irreplaceable, the stereo isn't.
http://www.generubinaudio.com/articls.html#parenting
I was unaware of it before this evening but agree with every word !
My son was allowed to handle EVERYTHING in the house, including knives, my stereo, even my fragile Hasselblad camera equipment . He has always been curious and I helped him explore everything in my world so he could be independent.
Today is his 18th birthday. Today is also the day we received a letter from University of Texas offering him a scholarship. He wants to major in Computer Science and Nano Robotics. The scholarship is the result of his extraordinarily high SAT score.
I firmly believe that kids are capable of much more than we give them credit for. I taught my son about electric drills, hand tools, saws, even how to shoot my two 1911 Colts and my Glock, this by the time he was 9 years old. Two years ago he graduated from a training school for both shotgun (skeet) and AR 15 long range shooting.
The result? He actually watches for other kids, warning them about the dangers of electricity and firearms. A person cannot be cautious unless they are informed and to be informed one must be trained and experienced.
All too often adults avoid the difficult tasks. It's simpler to make rules that restrict or expect others to take responsibility.
A perfect example, four years ago he and a group of kids were visiting another students home after a football game. About an hour after they arrived I got a phone call to come pick them up. Kids from another school showed up at the party with drugs and they wanted no part of it. My son and his friends didn't want to get anyone in trouble, they just wanted to remove themselves from what they believed was wrong, so they called me to come get them.
It's nice to see some kids take responsibility for things that can ruin their lives and made decisions that don't require (our) intervention.
Stereo should be the least of kids responsibilities. If you're patient, it's simply not a big deal. I have video of my son playing LP's on my Versa Dynamics with Benz Ruby, grinning ear to ear at the music he was making. He was so young he could barely reach the que bar.
We listened together then. We listen together now. I love him and proud I took the time it required to make him responsible. That little bit of extra effort repays you a thousand times later on in life.
Kids are precious and irreplaceable, the stereo isn't.