Houston We Have A Problem

Houston, we have a problem.  Pre-school and daycare have been a part of my son’s life since he was an infant.  Our pediatrician is one of those socialist eastern European types that do not believe in raising a child at home. No. Children benefit from daycare and a communal upbringing. It’s good for the immune system to have that exposure as well as for developing a strong social competency. Check. Our guy has been at daycare since she gave us marching orders at his 3 month wellness visit.

So far I can vouch for the immune benefits. Ev gets exposed to every bug in the county and seems to handle them with an admirable degree of immuno-competency. Not that his parents fair quite so well. Some of the crud that moves through a community daycare should require those kids to be kept in individual zip-lock bags for 10 to 14 days. Those kid-bugs seem to get special pleasure in taking residence in the adult upper respiratory tract.

The real problem rests with the social development.  I'm a public school kinda guy. I like heterogeneity. I like it, that is, until that heterogeneity starts influencing my kid to come home and talk in this deep guttural satanic voice. I like it until my kid comes home talking about bombs and guns and blowing people up. Just because my brother and our friends were playing war, shooting stick guns, and having dirt-clod fights by the time I was 5 doesn't mean it's good for the flesh of my flesh.

The dilemma we face is this: How do we steer our kid away from that rotten little bad citizen who is destroying our sweet little boy? I've tried explaining to Evan that someday little Johnny will be his client. That is, little Johnny will be his client if Evan chooses a career in criminal law. So far we haven't broken the spell this little future meth-dealer has on our kid.

I know I'm blowing this out of proportion. We'll calm down. After all, I guess all one can do is lead by example, emphasize the good, and extend a world of opportunity in the hope your child will find his proper place. All of that and maybe a visit to the gallery of the county courthouse.