10 Things I've Learned About Parenting By Watching Star Wars

Like most kids growing up in the '70s and '80s, my childhood revolved around Star Wars. That magical little trilogy was just the greatest thing ever invented next to snow days. Now that I'm grown and have kids of my own, I've had the sheer pleasure of reliving it all through their eyes. (As well as reliving the nightmare that is the Prequels.)

Now if you're a parent and you haven't seen Star Wars, well, what's wrong with you? Stop reading right this second, go rent Episodes IV - VI and watch them. Then we'll talk. For all you other folks, whether your kids are old enough to watch it or not, I've realized something pretty magical about that Galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars is a great teacher.

Not about war preparation or special effects or crazy alien languages. Uh uh. Star Wars is a wonderful resource for parents. There are a slew of powerful life lessons you can grasp from the movies to help shape your younglings' lives. I've compiled a list of the 10 most important parenting lessons you can absorb from watching Star Wars. Some of these are great advice for parents to follow, some are great to pass on to your kids, and many apply to both.

Read on and, of course, May the Force be With You.

1. Choose your destiny. Even if you have incredibly lofty goals, like say ruling the entire galaxy with your son by your side, it's their life, not yours. You need to let your kids follow their own path. Don't "Force" them into what you want them to become.

2. Do or do not. There is no try. Okay, so maybe Yoda's advice doesn't really apply to things like potty training or trying to ride a bicycle, but the essence of his fortune cookie ramblings is that you shouldn't be wishy washy with things. Make a decision and stand by it. Either do it or don't. Don't try it, meaning you don't give it your full attention.

3. Han shot first. True Star Wars fans will completely agree with me on this one. For those wondering what the heck I'm talking about, in the original Star Wars, Han Solo shoots Greedo in the cantina and then escapes. In George Lucas' updated Special Edition of the film, he changed it so that Greedo shot first and then Han fired in self-defense. The lesson here is twofold. First, it's okay that sometimes "good guys" do bad things. Or "not so nice" things. And second, you do NOT mess with a classic movie.

4. Love your sister. (But not like that!) Family is everything. Even if you grew up on completely different planets and didn't know about each other's existence, family is important. You should be there for each other. Just be sure you know who your biological sister is before you accidentally start playing tonsil hockey with her, okay? Ewwww...

5. Everyone's family is dysfunctional. Whether your father is the Dark Lord of the Sith, your single mother was a slave on a desert planet, or you literally have thousands of identical clone brothers, it doesn't matter. Every family is dysfunctional, so don't for a minute think yours is any weirder than someone else's.

6. Bullies never win. They can hurt you mentally and physically. They can create a fully operational planet-sized weapon of mass destruction. Twice. But no matter what, in the end, bullies will always get what they deserve.

7. Ignore the Smells. Hopefully you'll never find yourself stuck in a frozen tundra somewhere with the only means to your survival resting on the warm guts inside of a large, furry beast. But even still, parenting has its fair share of "ickiness" that you just need to suck up and look past. From projectile poop to puke, there's plenty of grossness that'd make any sane human run for the hills. But just like in life, sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves, find some guts (preferably your own), and push on.

8. Teddy Bears have teeth. Always watch your back. Those cute adorable walking teddy bears may seem furry and harmless at first but they carry big sticks (and spears) and can do some serious damage if you're not careful. So never jump to quick conclusions about a person or situation without uncovering more details first.

9. Trust your instincts. All the data in the world and computerized targeting systems cannot replace human instinct. If you think you can hit the bullseye with your eyes closed, and you truly believe it and feel it, go with your gut. Same goes for any situation you just feel is wrong.

10. Let the Wookiee win. Pretty sound advice for anyone no matter their age.

 

Andrew Kardon is a daddy blogger over at Mommy's Busy, Go Ask Daddy, as well as a freelance writer. He regular contributes to Singlemommie.com where he dives into the super scary world of... parenting!

Last Weekend was Amazingly Fun

Noah and I like to do fun things together on the weekends. We do fun things everyday but those are more around our home.  This past weekend we went to a Pioneer place. They were having a BBQ competition.  Now we weren’t really in to the whole food aspect of it. We did however have a lot of fun.  We went on a hayride. It was Noah’s first one. We always talked about going to the pumpkin patch but that never happened.  So, Noah was unsure about a hay ride. He told me he didn’t want to do it. He wouldn’t like it, but tough cookies kiddo. We were going. Well, the moment he saw the tractor pulling the wagon, he was so excited. He loved every moment, minus the screaming kids, without supervision.  We also fed some chickens. We grounded the corn ourselves, and I realized that I needed to work out. It was so tough trying to turn the wheel, but I figured it out.  No starving chickens on my watch.  After the hayride and feeding the chickens, who had laid an egg, we went to do other things. We made candles.  I used to love to make candles so it was extra exciting for me.  I admit I was nervous about Noah and hot wax.  He did a great job though.  His candle is awesome.  I had so much fun.  We also made homemade butter. It is so easy to do.  It was the best butter I had ever tried.  I had used a butter churn at Conner Prairie before but this was so much more fun.  I will be posting articles how to make both very soon. 

We also enjoyed hot dogs and sno-cones.  We came home and later went to the beach.  It was a beautiful day and the water was fun. There were some waves but not the wipe out variety.  I was so nervous because my boy had no fear. I was so worried that he would wipe out, like I used to do.  No one wiped out.  We also made a tidal pool. It started out as my foot spa, and then Noah took over.  I told him we should dig to China. He told me that is not possible. So I changed it to digging for buried treasure.  I didn’t find anything though. I also had a chance to be in the water all by myself. Sometimes you need that break in something absolutely beautiful to recharge. I spent a lot of time thinking about things and relaxing. We had a great day.  It was almost perfect.

What do you have planned for this weekend?

Shop Now with Kiddie Wow

Noah is really growing up. He seems to have had another growth spurt, which means he will need more clothes.  He has always been bigger than the average child. His pediatrician called him a linebacker when he was a baby.  It can be challenging to find cute clothes for him that fit well.  I am not really big on character clothing, and neither is he. He is very persnickety about what he wears.  He prefers clothing with sea life and planes over any cartoon character any day. Unfortunately, a lot of the clothes you find in stores have those characters on them. Forget about finding cute jammies, they all have characters on them.  He also likes to wear plaid button up shirts. I think they are a classic kid’s look.  He has been wearing them since he was a baby; they are great for when you are going to church or somewhere nice. 

I found about Kiddie Wow today. They have a lot of cute kid’s clothes.  I really like the shirt in blue depths. It would be great to have when we go out to dinner.  They also have a really cute sun hat that he could wear when we go on walks or go fishing.  Sun protection is a must in sunny Florida.  I have a lot of friends that are expecting, so I also looked at the baby clothes. They have so many cute items too.  When Noah was a baby, he spent most of the time in sleepers, so those are my favorite baby gifts to buy.  I love that you can also buy accessories and even whole outfits.  I will definitely keep an eye out on their amazing weekly deals and price drops too.  This mama loves a great deal, especially when it seems like I just bought Noah new clothes. He is going to be so tall when he is an adult.

What kinds of clothes do your children like to wear? I look forward to reading your comments.