Growing up, my three little dudes would believe anything as long as it was shown to them on TV. At various times in their young lives, they needed a knife so sharp it could cut a Coke can and still slice a tomato. (Of course, they really wanted it to cut the cans in half.) They needed Coco Crisps like a junkie needed his heroin. They were thralls of anything shown on the boob tube. Thank goodness it seems to be wearing off, especially in our oldest little dude, Sarcasmo.
The other day I was talking to him when some commercial came on the TV. I made a smart alec remark about needing it. He snorted.
“What? Don’t you believe everything you see on TV?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “I actually have a brain cell.”
“You’re so young to be so cynical,” I told him.
“I learned from the master.” He bowed to me.
Yes, I thought, my work with this one is done.
Admittedly making your son into a cynical observer of the human condition isn’t something most parenting books encourage you in doing, but I think a little cynicism will make for a slightly less naive (Did you know that Evian water spelled backwards is naive? I know. Old stuff.) life. At least he won’t be falling for any Nigerian banking scams that easily.
I’m saying nothing about whether he’ll fall for any male enhancement techniques. I understand there are a few of them on those internets the young kids frequent these days.
Seriously, though, I’m glad to see there eventually will come a day when I’ll stop being bombarded by requests for whatever garbage the TV is spewing out at the moment.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t still be ordering some blue light sunglasses and night lite slippers. I mean, those things just sound so very useful. I’m sure they work perfectly. After all, I saw it on TV.
– Richard
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