Wonder Twins
I’ve been making a habit of bringing my offspring with me to social media gatherings. First it was the Boy Genius at Blog Orlando and Blog Philadelphia. Then Twin Princess Number Two (on the left) to the New Communications Forum.
This evening, Twin Princess Number One (on the right) and I will be heading south to DC for Blog Potomac on Friday.
I bring my kids along, not just to show off how cute they are (and they are), but for far more pragmatic reasons.
First of all, they are fun travel companions. Nothing is worse than being alone in a hotel room in a strange city. If you can share a late-night viewing of “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody” with someone, it makes all the difference in the world.
But the main reason is that it’s good for them. My wife and I share a deep mistrust (verging on disdain) for the formal educational system in this country. From what I’ve figured out from our own local school district is that it will do a very good job preparing my children to compete in the job market of 1960.
Exposing my kids to you all is my way of teaching them the paths to success in life are based on what moves and excites them and not on what is the most sensible thing to do. By meeting all of you, they learn that they don’t have to accept the jobs and career paths that will put them behind a desk doing something they dread every day for the rest of their product lives. Their love of learning - which even at their age I can see being quashed by the school system - is re-energized.
For my daughters, they get to see women, who like my wife (already the best role model I know) have built their own businesses and gained success on their own terms.
I wish more folks attending these things would bring their own kids along. The combined smarts of all of our offspring would be something to see and behold.
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Incredibly cute! I’m debating about bringing my 2-year-old to BlogHer. Plus side: BlogHer has all day daycare for attendees and then she can join me at evening social events. As long as there is food and she has had her nap, she is a happy camper. Also, I love exposing her to new people, places and things. She is cute, talkative and funny. Down side: It is hard for me to toggle between Mommy Brain & Professional Brain so may end up missing conversations and contacts with toddler in tow. And she’ll go around asking people for a sip of their drinks so people will think I”m raising an alcoholic.