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Thoughts on my big nostalgia project...
Dec. 4th, 2011 06:03 pmSo, why am I doing this, exactly?
It's not that I'm an expert; I'm certainly not. Not a parent, not a teacher, not an early education specialist, none of that. I haven't been isolated from kids, and I follow news and theory about child development possibly more closely than most childfree folks, but I'm most definitely an amateur at all of this. My sole qualifications are that I once was a kid, and I've continued to follow kids toys and books out of personal interest.
On the other hand, unlike most parents I have time to fiddle around with this, and unlike most people, I have an obsessive streak that makes spreadsheets and research like this a source of entertainment and relaxation. And if I'm doing it anyway, my general impulse to share information I find goes into full effect. Especially since it's such a chance to "drop seeds" about my passions, and hopefully excite others about them. Also, it's a fun way of connecting with some of the parents in my life (including my new partner), and hopefully useful to other friends who have kids in their life but none of their own.
In terms of interests and tastes, my biggest passions are science and stories, so that's where the focus is. I thought about trying to broaden beyond that, but I don't think I can honestly provide useful reviews of things that just don't connect that much for me. Also, although some books and movies will wander into other territories, most of the fiction will likely have a fantastic or scifi slant to it, since that's what I loved as a kid (and still do), and what I know best. The list isn't meant to be comprehensive, or balanced, or any of that. Just some places to start, some ideas, some things that are near and dear to my heart.
And I'm trying not to toss in everything I liked as a kid -- plenty of it was pretty crappy, and there's better available today. I don't think kids need to be raised on a steady diet of 80s nostalgia! Also, it matters a lot to me to reflect my social justice views* in the gifts I give or recommend, so I try to keep a close eye on representations and messages. I've especially eliminated some options that I enjoyed then but find problematic now. I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched, for example, were favorites of mine, but have such godawful gender politics I can't recommend them in good faith to a modern child -- oddly, I see much less of that problem in The Addams Family, and will happily rec that one.
*Social Justice Views: Pretty obvious if you've followed my LJ for more than a day or so, but I'm really big on lessons about diversity, acceptance, justice, skepticism, autonomy, environmental concern, and gender freedom. Also, I'm an atheist, and therefore prefer not to be the source of religious messages in kids' lives. Although I grew up very (happily) religious, and there are a number of books I loved at the time that were distinctly christian in nature, I don't tend to rec those without some other overwhelming reason.
I am, however, partially constructing a personal map of much of the media (books, magazines, shows, movies, etc) that shaped me, and there's a very personal element to that. I'm not going to hunt down and reread/rewatch everything I mention. Some of my memories will be thoroughly fuzzy, and deeply influenced by my life at the time. All I can say is why _I_ still remember it. If my memories didn't track some big massive problematic element that you know of, please feel free to let me know. I also love hearing other people's recommendations.
OK, so there are my thoughts on that for now. Back to the spreadsheet.
It's not that I'm an expert; I'm certainly not. Not a parent, not a teacher, not an early education specialist, none of that. I haven't been isolated from kids, and I follow news and theory about child development possibly more closely than most childfree folks, but I'm most definitely an amateur at all of this. My sole qualifications are that I once was a kid, and I've continued to follow kids toys and books out of personal interest.
On the other hand, unlike most parents I have time to fiddle around with this, and unlike most people, I have an obsessive streak that makes spreadsheets and research like this a source of entertainment and relaxation. And if I'm doing it anyway, my general impulse to share information I find goes into full effect. Especially since it's such a chance to "drop seeds" about my passions, and hopefully excite others about them. Also, it's a fun way of connecting with some of the parents in my life (including my new partner), and hopefully useful to other friends who have kids in their life but none of their own.
In terms of interests and tastes, my biggest passions are science and stories, so that's where the focus is. I thought about trying to broaden beyond that, but I don't think I can honestly provide useful reviews of things that just don't connect that much for me. Also, although some books and movies will wander into other territories, most of the fiction will likely have a fantastic or scifi slant to it, since that's what I loved as a kid (and still do), and what I know best. The list isn't meant to be comprehensive, or balanced, or any of that. Just some places to start, some ideas, some things that are near and dear to my heart.
And I'm trying not to toss in everything I liked as a kid -- plenty of it was pretty crappy, and there's better available today. I don't think kids need to be raised on a steady diet of 80s nostalgia! Also, it matters a lot to me to reflect my social justice views* in the gifts I give or recommend, so I try to keep a close eye on representations and messages. I've especially eliminated some options that I enjoyed then but find problematic now. I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched, for example, were favorites of mine, but have such godawful gender politics I can't recommend them in good faith to a modern child -- oddly, I see much less of that problem in The Addams Family, and will happily rec that one.
*Social Justice Views: Pretty obvious if you've followed my LJ for more than a day or so, but I'm really big on lessons about diversity, acceptance, justice, skepticism, autonomy, environmental concern, and gender freedom. Also, I'm an atheist, and therefore prefer not to be the source of religious messages in kids' lives. Although I grew up very (happily) religious, and there are a number of books I loved at the time that were distinctly christian in nature, I don't tend to rec those without some other overwhelming reason.
I am, however, partially constructing a personal map of much of the media (books, magazines, shows, movies, etc) that shaped me, and there's a very personal element to that. I'm not going to hunt down and reread/rewatch everything I mention. Some of my memories will be thoroughly fuzzy, and deeply influenced by my life at the time. All I can say is why _I_ still remember it. If my memories didn't track some big massive problematic element that you know of, please feel free to let me know. I also love hearing other people's recommendations.
OK, so there are my thoughts on that for now. Back to the spreadsheet.
