Sometimes I don’t know if I want my kids to be like us or to be anything but. Not that I really have any choice or say in the matter. What I really want them to be is happy. But it’s never as simple as that is it? We think we know what can help them to achieve happiness. Or at least what will get in the way of it. But how can we really know, and what actually defines happiness anyway?
Part of that happiness is choosing a career that is both fulfilling and pays the bills. I was so lost in high school and had no idea what I wanted to be. Actually I wanted to be a prosecuting attorney, but I don’t think that my grade 5 enrichment course in criminology (at Catholic school nonetheless) fully prepared me for fighting crime. No one takes a lawyer seriously who is hiding under her bed every time a car backfires. Even I knew I was too chicken for that. So I went to business school because it was vague. And I went into public accounting because there was a clear career path. I probably would have been more well liked as a lawyer taking down biker gangs than I would as an auditor. Why can’t I choose something likeable…like the person who hands out samples at Costco? People seem to like them.
I hope that my kids have a better sense of what they want to do with their lives and that they stop at nothing to make that happen. Whether that includes being a computer engineer or a writer like their parents, or something the opposite of those. Except not pole dancer. Or one of those people calling to say that my ducts need cleaning or that there is something wrong with my windows computer. There’s a line. But other than that I will fully support them. I hope. Besides, our niece is already covering off the computer engineer legacy.
She’ll be our favourite if the others don’t pan out.
Grace was talking yesterday about what she wants to be when she grows up. A dance teacher, a gymnastics teacher, a school teacher, or a dentist. Then she asked me which ones pay more because she doesn’t want to be “rich rich” but she wants to make lots of money. She decided on being a teacher during the week and a dentist on the weekends. Apparently I will still be doing her laundry.
Molly talks about wanting to be a scientist, engineer, or a vet, or doing something with the environment.
Maybe Molly wants to be the dentist
Maggie will probably want to be a sample person at Costco. Except she won’t outsource the tasting. It will basically be her in the locker room with a tray of pastries and cheese. She takes after her mother.
Grace has been watching a new special on Netflix called Ever After High: Spring Unsprung, that addresses the theme of following in parents’ footsteps. Basically the children of storybook characters all go to high school together and they are faced with choosing whether to follow the destiny that their parents have set out, or whether to forge their own new path and create their own destiny.
It doesn’t matter to me what careers they choose, but if I ever catch any of my girls wearing heels like that to school they will be going to an internet school and telecommuting to work. From the convent.
Netflix has some other great shows for kids while they are dreaming about their future:
Create Your Own Destiny
Someday, I will…
For Your Little Kids:
For Your Big Kids:
What do your kids want to be when they grow up? Do they want to follow in your footsteps or do something completely different?
Disclaimer: I am a part of the Netflix Canada #StreamTeam and I receive product and a subscription to Netflix in exchange for watching TV writing about the service. My opinions are always my own.
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