I’m raising weird kids. You could almost say it’s a goal of mine. Not that I want to purposely make them “different” out of some misguided attempt at originality. After all - I didn’t name them Scout, Rumer, Mitsubishi, and SeaTrout… I named them Daniel, Andrew, Benjamin, and Joshua. We’re not striving for random uniqueness here. The weirdness we are aiming for includes more directed qualities. For example, from toddlerhood my oldest son has been receiving training in gentlemanly behavior - like holding doors open for ladies. (Ladies, of course, are becoming an endangered species if I judge by current clothing trends - but we won’t tell Daniel about that just yet) Despite the rumors of rampant feminism, we have yet to encounter anyone who wasn’t complimentary of my little man. “What a little gentleman!” is the usual comment - and I just laugh, say “Thank you” and if I’m in the right kind of mood I add “Yup - I’m raising him to be slapped by feminists”. I’m joking - I think. I can’t tell really. In this world, raising my boys to be gentlemen may be severely anachronistic.
I was in a waiting room once watching a father teach his little girl how to hit properly, having her practice on him… She was about the same age as my oldest son - at the time he was under five - I couldn’t help but be dismayed. I’m teaching my boys that you don’t hit girls. He’s teaching his girl to kick #$%. This could be a problem, especially when my sons start wife shopping. But what am I gonna do? I can not - WILL NOT change our goals to raise manly men who treat women with gentleness and respect. But what to do when little girls are being raised to kick butt and take names? My kids are just going to have to be weird and chivalry is just one of the ways. Hopefully there will be some weird girls out there who like it!