tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post7921217154990774454..comments2023-11-02T09:08:09.242-07:00Comments on <i>Daddy Dialectic</i>: My son's top five imaginary charactersJeremy Adam Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-88490045451413374792007-09-12T14:50:00.000-07:002007-09-12T14:50:00.000-07:00I have to share an anecdote: This morning Liko ann...I have to share an anecdote: This morning Liko announced to me that his Frank Lloyd Wright doll was pregnant.<BR/><BR/>"Oh," he said, "Frank is having the baby! Push, Frank, push!" <BR/><BR/>Liko plucked something invisible from Frank's tummy and held it up for me to see. <BR/><BR/>"Look, daddy," he said. "It's a baby building!" <BR/><BR/>"Aw," I said. "It looks just like the Guggenheim."<BR/><BR/>Liko peered at the baby building in his hand. "No," he said. "I think it looks more like Fallingwater!"Jeremy Adam Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-49368332421906866032007-09-09T08:55:00.000-07:002007-09-09T08:55:00.000-07:00Jeremy writes: "I think that sometimes parents ere...Jeremy writes: "I think that sometimes parents erect too strong a wall between adult and kid culture."<BR/><BR/>Totally. If Liko was obsessed with Linus Pauling or Rimsky-Korsakov, more power to him; great inspiration can also be taken from Bugs Bunny or the latest Youtube video. Modern culture is to a large extent a hodge-podge and what matters is that Liko's interests not be discouraged because something is thought to be "high" or "low".chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-48073155774856425052007-09-08T12:48:00.000-07:002007-09-08T12:48:00.000-07:00Hmm. I detect the slap of a back-handed compliment...Hmm. I detect the slap of a back-handed compliment there. <BR/><BR/>You know, the thing about the characters that Liko pretends to be is that I just never know who will catch his attention. Why Mozart of Play, Mozart, Play instead of Thomas the Steam Engine, which he has also read? Why Frank Lloyd Wright instead of Mickey Mouse?--Liko knows all about Mickey Mouse. No response. It's very puzzling to me. <BR/><BR/>I think that sometimes parents erect too strong a wall between adult and kid culture. A friend pointed out to me that my wife and I don't make much of a distinction between our adult activities and kid activities--we just pursue the things that interest us and take Liko along for the ride, and of course we also do the things he likes to do. Some things make an impression, some don't. I see my job as exposing him to as broad a range of culture as possible, and he can do whatever he wants with it.Jeremy Adam Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-51839072932936056152007-09-07T01:24:00.000-07:002007-09-07T01:24:00.000-07:00Haha. So cute. Your child's friends are a good adv...Haha. So cute. Your child's friends are a good advertisement of your parenting, how very cultured.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-36359465158279980302007-08-28T06:29:00.000-07:002007-08-28T06:29:00.000-07:00I think the increasing biodiversity of action figu...I think the increasing biodiversity of action figures has helped broaden the horizons of kids' top imaginary characters. Our son has a Rosie the Riveter action figure, complete with rivet gun and lunch box. Unfortunately, the rivet gun and lunch box were lost long ago in the morass of toys, so Rosie doesn't do much riveting. <BR/><BR/>It has been argued, and convincingly, in my opinion, that toys that are too single-purpose or "directive" in their playability limit imagination -- i.e. a track that cars just whiz around fosters less creativity than, say, a big bucket of blocks, out of which any number of vehicles, structures, roadways and even meals can be imagined. <BR/><BR/>But I think it's more two-way than that. Our son, like many preschoolers, is fairly obsessed with the Cars from Disney/Pixar's "Cars" movie. We have practically all of the die-cast characters, including the recently-recalled "sarge." Initially this bothered me, because we try to steer clear of massively promoted licensed characters, and to not glorify the internal combustion engine. <BR/><BR/>But to watch him play with them is fascinating. Yes, they do their share of zooming and crashing, but they also has complex dialogues and interactions that have nothing to do with their car-ness. They have disputes over sharing, they take care of each other, etc -- pretty complicated narratives that no doubt reflect things our son is working out through developmental stages. <BR/><BR/>So, yes, kids can be passive recipients of mass-marketing, something which corporate america exploits to the tune of billions in annual profits. Yet even 3 year olds can change the terms of the interaction, and "reclaim" some independence in how toys are used and meant to be used.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-35740123603971734972007-08-27T18:59:00.000-07:002007-08-27T18:59:00.000-07:00Yay Liko! I have the Sigmund Freud action figure t...Yay Liko! I have the Sigmund Freud action figure too, cigar in hand, right here on my desk. Liko might also be interested in the Foucault action figure, as well as Anthony Giddens [http://www.theory.org.uk/act-faq.htm] Ages: 3-30, at which point one stops believing in "theory".chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.com