Summary
I ALWAYS knew from friends with older children that parenthood would very quickly move from the initial stages of baby-care and nappy changes to the second phase, with its school-choosing, taxi- driver duty and value judgements. I just didn't realise that it would move quite so fast. Our boy won't be turning four until December. In my eyes, he's still a baby - of course, he is. But "out there" seems to have suddenly entered his world without so much as a by your leave.
Take global warming. The boy goes to a nursery down the road (one of the best in Scotland, according to the latest inspection report - you see? I've already turned into competitive dad), and the staff have been teaching him about the perils of climate change. Their method is blunt but effective. Basically, if you leave the lights on in the house or the taps on in the sink, those nice cuddly polar bears in the corner of the class are for the mincer. Consequently, my three-year old has already taken on all the worst characteristics of the eco-fanatic. We run the bath - "The polar bears will die!" We switch on our (low-energy) lights in the kitchen -"Polar bears, Daddy!" I've heard similar stories from other fathers too; one told me recently that he refuses to take his five-year-old to the supermarket any more because of demands that he buy all the expensive organic stuff. Another 15 years of this kind of schooling and my son will be disowning me for putting potato peelings in the black bin.See the full content of this document
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Daddy Cool
Then there's all those extra-curricular activities ...
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