Geek Parenting on the Positive Parenting Podcast

Photo by Kyle Cassidy, 2016.

Stephen Segal and I talk about our new book, GEEK PARENTING: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family, with Armin Brott, a.k.a. Mr. Dad, on Positive Parenting, followed by an interview with Deborah Heisz of Live Happy.

(I like the message of our book covers beside one another. 🙂 We have some interesting overlaps in our books’ messages: the importance of play, finding your tribe, being grateful, nurturing creativity. )

Click here to listen: GEEK PARENTING Positive Parenting Podcast

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Share Your Geek Family Portraits!

What did you watch with your parents growing up? What do you read with your kids now?
At part of our promotion for Geek Parenting, we’re looking to celebrate the spectrum of geekiness with family portraits and quotes. Dig deep into your family album or take a photo the next time you sit down to play Clue and put on your stormtrooper masks and tiaras (or maybe that’s just our house?) Follow the link and click the “Submit” tab on the Geek Parenting website to send us your picture and a bit of backstory. We’ll choose one every week to share!
 
Here’s one to start us off from my coauthor, Stephen Segal and his father dressed up as the Doctor and the Master.
 
“Dad and I didn’t have the traditional American father-son bonding ritual of football or basketball to bring us closer together. Science fiction did that for us. We started going to Star Trek conventions when I was 12, and always had a blast together collecting T-shirts, autographs, and memories. Still, it wasn’t until more than 20 years later that I finally talked Dad into putting on a costume for DragonCon. We turned to one of those unforgettable Doctor Who moments that had been on in our living room: the Fifth Doctor waking up in the Fourth’s clothes after the Master tossed him off a 200-foot radio telescope. Sure, Dad’s version of the Master was a little more Roger Delgado than Anthony Ainley, but then, that’s my family: We’ll do it our way rather than the official way pretty much every time.” — Stephen Segal
What does your Geek Family look like?

On Walks and Zombies

When my sister and I were young, my father was a Chicago cop. His schedule varied, but he often worked nights. Sometimes when he’d wake up and I’d come home from kindergarten, we’d go for a walk. My little sister, father, and I would meander through our neighborhood on Chicago’s northwest side. He would share stories about when he was a boy, and I would talk about school or dancing or something we saw on television.

Sometimes we would just walk quietly and watch the seasons changing: new flowers growing or leaves falling; or we’d catch clouds making shapes in the sky. If we didn’t already see her there, we would stop to call the cat who always sat in the second story story window of one particular apartment building on Patterson Street, and we would cheer when she came to the window.

We did a lot of different things with my father: he was a fun dad, eager to indulge the creative whims of his two young daughters, whether that meant allowing my sister and I to “fix” his hair or play Uno, Yahtzee, or Monopoly. But going on walks was one of my favorite things. It’s one of my fondest memories, and it’s one of the activities I treasure most with my own kids.

It may seem an odd message to get from a show about killing zombies in a post-apocalyptic America, but it’s one of my favorites in our book, Geek Parenting.

The Walking Dead doesn’t seem an obvious place to “get a lesson” about parenting, but that’s kind of the point of our book. There is certainly value in reading reference guides that give you lists and milestones for parenting. But so much of who we are is shaped by our daily interactions, by the things we read, watch, and do. So yes, we are influenced by the shows we watch, and sometimes those shows remind us of important things:

Even when we’re not dodging zombies, taking a walk removes many of the distractions competing for our attention. A family amble around the neighborhood or through the park gets us out of our heads and into the world.

Precocious toddlers and young children love the chance to ask questions while meandering. If you’re unsure how to start a conversation with a grumbly tween or a reluctant preteen, point out a car that reminds you of when you learned to drive, or a dog on a walk that looks like a former pet. Perhaps more important, ask questions of them: Who do you think lives in that house? Can you see a face in that tree? What kind of an apartment would you like to live in when you’re older? 

Whatever we see, whatever we talk about, wherever we go, remember that when we set out on a stroll, we are spending time together — come what may.

You can read the rest of the excerpt that highlights Michonne and Carl Grimes from The Walking Dead here, on the Geek Parenting site.