AdventureDad

In the last few days I've been reading more about children and their education at a very young age.  I discussed this here and here on The Blogfathers.  Seems like the common approach today, especially in the U.S. is to go heavy on the homework and tests from the very beginning.  Apparently parents believe  their kids will become rocket scientists if they pile on the homework and decrease the playing at age 6.  That's not the we do things here in Sweden and I'm very happy about that.  For a toddler or first grader, fun and play is the focus and this continues into the teenage years.  I guess all parents want their children to grow up with a good education and nice job at some point.  But have you ever thought about what kind of occupation will suit your kids when they grow up?  I think it's fascinating to see what kind of occupations my son is interested in right now and what gives him that sparkle in the eye and big smile on his face.  Is that a good indication of what he will be interested in later in life?  If so, my son won't need to go to school for very long, study hard, or do much homework.

 

Below are Daniel's favorite jobs.  They consistently bring him joy and he can't stop talking about them.  And it gives me pleasure any time I can expose him to these occupations.

 

1.  Dump truck driver -  When Daniel hears the dump truck coming for it's 7.30 am morning route he runs to the balcony cheering loudly.  Then he stands there until all the recyclable stuff has been collected.  He even covers his ears to protect them from the noise.  It's the cutest thing ever.  Occasionally the dump-truck will run late and we'll catch it on our way to day care.  That's the best thing that can ever happen, at least according to Daniel, and we must stay and see every single bottle being collected. 

 

2.  Police, Ambulance, or Fire Trucks – Pretty much anything that has flashing lights is extremely popular and belongs to the "wee-wee-wee" category as Daniel calls them. Wherever we go he spots them, way before I do.  It's too bad for him that crime is very low here and there doesn't seem to be any fires either.  Since he loves loud fire trucks flashing their lights, do I need to mention how much he loves New York City!!?:-))

 

3.  Trains - I guess the ultimate would be to be the actual driver but I think it would suit equally well to work with servicing trains or collect tickets.  He loves trains!  On the weekends we ride around on the train or subway for a couple of hours just because he enjoys it.  We hang out near the tracks at the main Central Station and watch excitedly how the trains pull in and out.  The other weekend we got to  hop on the train and take a quick tour of the drivers area.  Can you imagine how popular I was that day?

 

4.  Bus Driver – A bus rides is sometimes added to the  aimless weekend riding on the train.  He loves to call the bus driver "senor" and must push the button for every single stop.  Some kids seem unhappy riding the bus but Daniel can stay there for hours.  

 

5.  Boat Captain – We have a small ferry near our house which only shuttle people on a three minute ride across a small river.  The boat driver is another "senor" and we regularly ask for permission to go up and see the captain while he driving the boat. The boat ride is thankfully quick otherwise I would have to quit my job and ride full time.   When we want to go totally overboard we take the ferry and then bike to a nearby bridge which opens, like the ones in Ft. Lauderdale, to let through large boats.  We stand right next to the bridge and see it open and if we're lucky a couple of trains will pass by while we're waiting.  Talk about heaven!

 

Since I know how much these things mean to our son I've made some specials plans tonight and Saturday.  I'm guessing it will  be something he will remember.   Tonight we will be watching grown men play with miniature trains.  There seem to be quite a few who loves to build and construct miniature railways, usually a copy of some particular station, and  tonight we will be extending Daniel's bedtime and watching as Stockholm Association Of Miniature Trains run their huge collection of trains.  I used to love trains as a toddler but my parents never bought me one of those railways I desperately wanted.  Daniel has briefly watched miniature trains during our trip to Germany and was intrigued to say the least.  Saturday morning we will be visiting Nirvana.  I've called the local fire station and arranged to stop by there while they do their weekly service of the fire trucks.  We did stop by there last week just to look at the trucks from far away and I almost had to drag Daniel into the car. Should be a couple of memorable hours.  I can't tell you how much I love doing this things with our son.  It brings me little pleasure personally but giving him this simple but powerful experiences is worth billions to me.

 

It's obvious that many small boys have a period when they love trains/buses/police but I'm wondering when, if ever, it will  come down to a more normal level?