Reply to Coming to terms with having an average kid

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s not your son, it’s the culture they are growing up in- video games, graphic novels, YouTube, low quality school curriculums, low expectations. You’re not alone in feeling this way, promise. [/quote]

You know there’s something to it. But if he at least excelled in the low quality curriculum... [/quote]

Why do people talk about it as though they have no control over how their kids consume this culture? My son is not allowed to play video games except during the weekends. His private school sets high expectations, so he has to read all the time. He’s surrounded by smart, high-achieving kids so that’s the norm. He plays multiple sports and that’s what his peer group does, so he has limited time for YouTube and video games. He loves graphic novels and manga, but they’d part of his reading, not all of it.

Blaming it on the culture sounds like a parental cop out. [/quote]

This isn't totally on the subject, but I want to defend YouTube here.

My daughter watched hours and hours and hours of YouTube when she was younger and she is better off for it. She didn't do homework in elementary school but she knew all about the Cold War, art theory, linguistics, the United Nations, and a million other things. I am pretty sure background knowledge gives her more of a leg up than lots of homework would have.

I know that watching Vox and Crash Course regularly isn't the norm with kids (she also watched a lot of craft, unboxing school supplies, and gaming videos, so she wasn't doing exclusively intellectual videos), but YouTube isn't the terrible thing people make it out to be. If you just watch with your kid (or at least look at the history like a hawk before they know how to delete it) and click "not interested" on things you don't want your kids to see, it can be amazing.

Oh and my other kid taught himself how to code using YouTube.

If a parent complains that their child is watching too much YouTube, I suggest that instead of totally cutting the cord, just cut back on time, limit the junk, and steer their kids toward something that is still within the child's interests but not total brain candy.

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