Many people say it isn’t good to provide children with their own computers and internet access. More say it’s a mistake to let them go online unsupervised. I say that depends on how you teach your kids to use the computer and the internet. And it depends even more on what example you show. If a kid sees a parent going online for nothing more than chatting, gaming or surfing for porn, what’s the probability that the kids will acquire the same habits? But if they see how the computer and the internet can be tools for learning…
I never thought that my daughters would ever acquire my love for reading. I wanted them to but when they showed no inclination, I never forced the issue. I was right in not insisting. They’ve started book collections of their own. Alex, after being given her own computer, started reading manga online. That was her first real adventure in reading as an adolescent. From there, she went on to delve on Oriental and Occidental mythology and is now heavily into Literature. She’s currently reading Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and these are some of the books on her desk. None of them is school-related. They’re her pastime.
She’s 14 and she’s reading Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe for her pastime. She wants to study languages, including ancient languages. Does that make her a nerd? Hardly. She’s got her PSP right there with her books. She loves Lara Croft, she loves manga and Anime… If she has the TV remote in her hand, we rarely get to watch anything but Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Animax. She has Maki. She goes out with friends most Friday afternoons after school. She’s a kid in many ways but she’s expanding her horizons — on her own and without any prodding. And it all started with a computer, internet access and manga.
Some of the books on her shelves. On the far left is my old, old, oooold copy of Labyrinth
But what about her love for art? Has she set aside her love for art?
I don’t think she’ll ever lose her love for art.
I’m a happy mommy, really. A very happy mommy.
i agree 100%. treat them like a child and they will behave so. if you show them the same respect and let them make decisions, they will surprise you. granted that you continually guide them towards what is rational.
kailea is 7 and she started reading classic starts books (call of the wild, around the world in 80 days, the little princess) last year. right now, she’s into the “little house… (on the prairie) series. she thinks hanna montana is a brat (i didn’t coach her…swear!), loves spongebob square pants and wants to be a jedi someday. nerd, nope, but what’s wrong with being a nerd- they’ll take over the world someday.
like you, i couldn’t help but feel lucky and we are so proud of her.
oh so nice naman ang tatoo art na nasa wrist nya, ang ganda, mahal po kaya ang magpalagay ng ganyang art?
Madam Connie, buti hindi bawal sa school nya ang ganyang art? Kasi po ang school na pinpasukan ko ay ma-arte at ayaw ng mga ganyan tatoo sa katawan.
Hanga po ako sa mga isinusulat nyo, you always write sensible issues and you’re a great influence sa isang kabataan na tulad ko. I definitely want to have a mindset like yours, but i know that’s not possible because everyone has distinct personality of her own.
I am always a fan of your blog and never miss to read it.
inna, I agree. Never force the issue. About anything. Talk to them, encourage them but never insist. Being dictatorial never did work with my kids.
Joanna, Alex painted that using a sign pen (see a previous entry where she painted her entire hand). Completely washable. So after her bath, wala na.
i don’t think being dictatorial ever worked for anybody… well maybe it gets the job done temporarily, but in the long run, wala rin.
haha naalala ko lang pinilit din ako dati eh. tapos sobrang ayaw ko magbasa. but when my parents stopped pestering me, i started reading Goosebumps and Archie Comics. lol
I am a bookworm. I loved reading books. I loved how I was able to go places thru books. I remember how my sister and I always stop by the library before we go home from school to check out books. We started from Archie comics, Sweet Valley books, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, Ann Rice, Sidney Sheldon and so on. We got it from our Mom who has a huge collection of books of all sorts.
I also used to draw a lot on my hand. I remember the nuns in St. Paul would often scold me because of those. Oh how I loved to piss them off. haha I smell a one proud mama in this blog hehe
It’s true that they will do what we do. My kids love the computer–right now, it’s mostly nickjr.com, but someday, maybe they’ll create their own website.
Chiara, re “i don’t think being dictatorial ever worked for anybody”
I remember my mother insisting that I take up Journalism in college. I didn’t want to, hated the idea, but enrolled anyway. After one sem, I shifted to Philo. 25 years later, here I am — writing for a newspaper hehehehe
Trina, naku, ako din, I started with my mother’s book collection until I started collecting my own.
ASianmommy, perhaps, even more than that. Who knows? Maybe the next Facebook or something.
Art and reading are inseparable. I went to art school but I have about 100 novels. Hahaha, your daughter is safe on the art side.
Oh, but I’m such a voracious reader but have no talent in art.
Hmmmm… Well, unless web design and writing are art.
If your photography isn’t art, then I’m not so sure what is.
Thank you. Now that truly inspires me.
Well children will be children but soon they will bloom into something you never know they would be. This is what my parents did for us, they let us explore anything we want to do when we were little so long as it will not harm us. This is why I’m incline into anything I can grasp, sports, movies, music and just about anything under the sun.