KidsAikido-2

How To Raise A Bonafide Space Alien

It isn't easy, you know.

Space aliens have their own entire Best Area Practices when it comes to maximizing their potential!

Just like you should never approach nuclear physics without a strong sense of caution, or just like you cannot force fish to relish the wide open spaces….

You soon learn that raising a space alien requires you to throw out your common, earth-bound typical parenting ideas and be open to experiences that are guaranteed to blow what little sanity you might have left over.

Are you now wondering just why MamaBear is such an expert on this topic?

It's simple!  Are you ready?

Okay, here we go…

HD2…IS….a space alien.  There's simply no question about it.

Now, I've always been fond of calling HD2 a space alien these past few years, simply because I have yet to see another kid within or without my family who *thinks* the way she does.

And it's not just outside the box…

HD2 blatantly *dismantles* the box, transforms its components into space-time fabric that evades mortal eyes, and *then* proceeds to wrap her mind outside of it and see where it goes.

I kid you not.

I was reminded of this with the force of a 16 ton anvil, much like the following.

The part in question happens a weee bit after 4:16.  🙂

But I digress.

Every morning, HD2 presents The Daily Molly – it's her comic about her alter-ego muffin friend, Molly Muffin.  And generally they're cute and they're adorable and take a look at this one right now.

Now, just consider, for a moment, the content of this comic.

HD2 connected:

  • "Keeping a secret"

to

  • "Letting the cat out of the bag"

by

  • Creating a "cat" out of the "secret" box and then stuffing that box into a bag.

Ergo,

"If you want to keep a secret, don't let the cat out of the bag."

Now, I don't know about you, but the thought process required to create the above…it just floored me.

Especially as it took her only 3 minutes to devise and then draw this morning (she came home late from Aikido last night).

No way in heck could MamaBear ever twist her mind into whatever contortions were required to come up with that!!

In hindsight, I should have expected this.

HD2 has *always* marched to a different drummer…and sometimes, that caused big huge issues indeed.

Which brings me to the point of this post!

If you are blessed with a kid who breaks all the rules when it comes to child-raising, the following 3 points help.

Step #1.)  Explain to your child he or she should never lose the creativity…but they need to "think normally" for school.

HD2 used to do miserably on multiple choice tests, because she would think from the HD Zone, and not from the "here's what the teacher expects" zone.  Once she explained to me her thought process for arriving at her answers, it would always make perfect sense….but it wasn't what the teacher wanted to see.

So she'd fail.

In other words….

  • The teacher wanted the expected answer, *not* the creative answer.

This took me alot of time to teach HD2, let me tell you!

  • And while she was learning that, I was cautiously walking the line of ensuring she valued her uniqueness…while still being able to show her how to "act like every other kid".

Once she internalized that, her test grades went up up up!

Oh, sure, I could shriek from the rooftops:

"My daughter is gifted!  My daugher is unique!  She deserves special consideration!"

But alas, real life just does *not* work that way.  The school does not have to fit HD2…she has to fit within the school.

So if your child too is a space alien, they still need to blend with their peers and meet their teacher's expectations when taking tests.

Step #2.)  Always expect the unexpected.

The plain fact is, your space alien child is 'way smarter than you, 'way more creative than you, and 'way more empathetic than you.

So you cannot look thru "normal child glasses" when viewing your kid!

Instead, you need to be open and ready for whatever new discoveries are unearthed from the space alien zone.

And then you need to process them…and ideally, refresh yourself with 36 cups of your favorite hot beverage.

Step 3.)  Give your space alien child the tools they need to be different.

Teach your child all about the wonders of Google and how to search…and then turn them loose.

'course, you need to have instilled stranger-danger and other internet safety thingees like:

For example, HD2 has decided that her Camp Ling this summer will focus upon learning Korean (she's getting into Kpop).  Earlier this year, she found me Learn Korean 101 and I signed her up; I had told her it was her responsibility to find me the best online resource for her interests.

Notice how I didn't do the research…she did.

Space aliens kids need to know  how to find what they want to learn online, because quite often, the interest will be sooo bizarre, you won't have a clue as to where to find it.

Step 4.)  Always be there to listen.

Space alien children generally view the world far far far *far* different than mortal children…and their insights are something almost always guaranteed to leave you with your jaw dropped 'way open.

Thing is, sometimes their peers just don't *get* them, because they *are* so unique.  And you then need to step up to the plate…and be there for them at all times.

Tiring indeed it is…but definitely…most worthwhile indeed.

Space alien

HD2's space-alien qualities surface long long ago, you know.  Back when she was 10, she was infatuated by Winx.  Lots of kids were making fan-based videos, but she didn't know anything about such things.

So she taught herself.

Here's her first transformation:

And here's what she worked her way up to.

She knew nothing about animation…so she taught herself by making stills and adding them to a video. 

Over 800, I might add.

In closing, sometimes you might realize that your child is just plain out of this world.

Helping him or her achieve be the very best they can…it's exhausting.

But oh, so worthwhile indeed.

Parent Powerfully,

— MamaBear

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