I am not a parent. I just want you all to know that before I delve into today’s topic. This is just my opinion and all of my observations come from my years being a nanny and being well, a kid.
Why you should raise your kid as a nerd:
Nerds are all about acceptance. If you’re the kid in school who likes Doctor Who, you aren’t going to be picking on some kid because they play sports. Allowing your kid to find something they are passionate about and showing by example that it is better to be happy than conform can increase your child’s happiness and likelihood of success.
Being a nerd encourages kids to use their imagination and be creative while also boosting their reasoning and logic skills. Many ‘nerd’ activities are logic based and boost rational thinking in children, e.g. chess, board games, and engineering.
Exposing kids to a variety of activities can help them narrow down what they enjoy and what they don’t enjoy. Nerds can play sports if they want to, but they may also enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons. As a parent, it should be important to expose our kids to as many different activities as you can, even if you don’t particularly enjoy them.
Nerds are less likely to get into trouble. Many studies have shown that kids who have engaging activities outside and within school are less likely to have behavioral problems. It is thought that this is because kids that are bored or constrained tend to lash out. Let you child learn new things and find what they like and they will be less likely to be unhappy.
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Basically, what I’m saying is that non nerd parents tend to close off this whole other universe of activities from their kids because they don’t enjoy it. That universe, however, is amazing and diverse and should be accessible to every child. I have seen a slightly alarming trend in parents trying to prevent their kid from being bullied by forcing them to conform to what some people dictate as ‘cool’.How about, instead of forcing kids to conform, we teach them that being different is okay and much more fun. Hopefully, if every parent allows their kids to be nerds, they won’t have to worry about them being bullied. Also, look how cute they are!
An interesting article about the geek brain: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200807/field-guide-the-nerd-its-all-geek-me
Some resources for anti-bullying : http://www.stopbullying.gov/ , http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdph/supp_info/violence_prevention/bullying_prevention.html
daily-dally 