I was struggling with a particularly difficult word during my daily tryst with crossword puzzles when I asked Ranjan to help me. Ranjan simply said, “google for it dad” and pushed off. I said to Manjiri a bemused observer of the scene that it is now the turn of Ranjan to be my parent.
I mentioned this to another friend who had called up for something else and he said that I should now read a book a review of which he had just read. I googled for it and this is what I found.
Apart from anything else, it costs 80 GBP and I really do not need to worry any more about parenting.
Strangely enough, just the other day on Facebook, I had posted this video on the use of English language where Fry talks about nouns becoming verbs.
This post is a classic example. The title is a noun parent that has now become a verb and further, google, a noun too has become a verb.
To revert to the topic under discussion, it is a measure of the times that we live in that serious studies are undertaken about a natural process and tomes are written about, published and sold for 80 GBP! I parented a son who has turned out to be quite a nice young fellow as have many of my relatives and friends with similar outcomes and when we had some problems, we simply consulted an elder parent or a GP if the problem was something to do with the child’s health. Today, I suppose parenting means acquiring some specific skill sets the absence of which can have serious repercussions on our societies!
NUTS!
I don’t remember my parents consulting any how-to books on parenting. They just did what they thought was right and as you say took advice from their own parents or friends or GPs. Mind you, considering the mess they made of my upbringing, perhaps they should have consulted a few experts.
Nick recently posted..Ignorance is bliss
Nick, scant comfort: I know little about the way your parents brought you up but, reading between the lines, I dare say that a manual wouldn’t have made much difference.
U
Ursula recently posted..Too little too much
If I were to comment on this post, I would have simply said “ditto”!
Quantification of a traditional human activity?
You do have a way with words Megh. Yes.
Hello Rummy,
80 quids for a book on parenting? THAT is nuts. I would prefer to consult with an older member of my family: it is better and cheaper.
I like using “google” as a verb (it is more practical) but I do have my pedant linguistic moments…I admit that much.
So, did you google the word you needed for your crosswords?
Cheers
Max Coutinho recently posted..Comment: Bras de Fer between Russia and the West
Yes, I did though I consider that a slightly more dishonest method than asking a human for help!
I agree with you Max. Much better to seek help from an older family member who you can discuss stuff with. I used to discuss a lot of things with my grandfather when he was alive and I cannot thank him enough for teaching me things about life that I would otherwise have a very hard time learning.
PS. Noun became a verb? Interesting 😀 I like it.
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NUTS! perfect word.
the world is being overrun by ‘experts.’
some of them are only in their 20’s and 30’s and writing books!
i’m sorry. but they’ve barely LIVED. how can they possibly be an expert?
oh my. i sound like my own grandmother! LOLOL.
tammyj recently posted..four more years
I am often told by Ranjan that I sound like his grandfather!
‘How To…’ has become big business and paper won’t refuse ink, add in the well worn phrase ‘A fool and his money are soon parted’, and you see why books cost so much.
All down the generations, parents and wise friends were the encyclopedias that held the key to advice on parenting. Alas, nowadays with easy access to world travel and jobs in far flung places, family units are more scattered and the elders are not as easily available on a day to day basic to ask for advice. A book on the shelf in the corner or a “google” search for information has replaced the hands on help. Only time will tell if it has worked.
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A little off topic, but for info purposes: Did you know that normally author royalty which is based on a 10% of Net Receipts figure and this fluctuates depending on the discount given to retailers.
No, I did not but I would consider that as very meager!
On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for the information overload. Watch out for my next post.
Some people seem to think the book is about how to parent. It’s really a scholarly book on how parenting varies cross-culturally. Scholarly books are usually very expensive as well as being heavy reading. You might ask your friend why he recommended it. If he read it he could tell you what he learned.
I do think it’s interesting how ideas of parenting vary with time and place. I recently read an article about a tribe that believes children need to learn from experience. Most of them have scars from burns and cuts. They have first hand experience with fire and knives. And I just read a book, The Glass Castle, where the parents believed the same thing. The author was in the hospital for weeks when she was scalded with boiling water when she was three. She had been cooking herself a hot dog and the pot tipped over After she got out the mother let her keep cooking. How else would kids learn to deal with life?
Jean, you are so beautiful when sarcastic.
U
Ursula recently posted..Too little too much
I wasn’t being sarcastic. That’s what the mother said.
Cheerful Monk recently posted..Fire!
You weren’t sarcastic, more is the pity: “How else would kids learn to deal with life?” Well, Jean, please do send that mother to me and I’ll present her with a hungry lion. Let’s see how SHE’ll deal with life then. No doubt, she is of the school of letting her child light a match to show her what it’s like to see your house (and anybody in it) burn down. “And now, Sweetheart, lesson No Futile you’ll dial 999. Nine, that’s right, nine, that’s right, and another one. Good Girl. No, don’t ask for ‘Parent Police’ ask for ‘Fire Services’. Good Girl. Well done.”
Jesus Christ,
U
Ursula recently posted..Too little too much
What a hoot. If you’re freaking out about my attitude I suggest you don’t read the book. The matter-of-fact tone comes from the author, the daughter who was scalded. That’s what makes it so powerful. It was one crazy family and the kids managed to overcome it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Castle
Cheerful Monk recently posted..Fire!
My friend knows that I read scholarly tomes too and thought that this would come in handy in my counseling work. I did ask him subsequently and he has promised to send it to me or give it to me when I land up in the UK.
Ranjan once burnt his palm on a hot iron that I had left to cool after use. Since then, he has an aversion to iron anything at all. He takes his clothes to a laundry.
Jean, I hope I interpret you correctly. Would you let have let your daughter near hot water and knives before she UNDERSTOOD the implications? Of course, you wouldn’t have.
I don’t go for parenting by negligence. In fact I despise it. “The kids managed to overcome it”. Sure. It’s called survival. And the fit do. I commend my father who taught me – at an early age – how to AVOID unnecessary danger.
U
Ursula recently posted..Too little too much
Why do you think your opinion is relevant to the family involved?
Cheerful Monk recently posted..Fire!
What an odd question you ask, Jean. My “opinion” is not relevant at all. The damage is done.
U
Ursula recently posted..Too little too much
Your comment about your father reminded me of mine. His advice to me was, “Watch what I do and do the opposite.” I thought that was incredibly sweet, even though it took me a long time to figure out how to do it!
At any rate, fortunately Kaitlin has thrived in spite of her parents: http://cheerfulmonk.com/2013/06/09/yay-kaitlin/
Cheerful Monk recently posted..Fire!