Breaking Dad 1 -Baby Dragons

Baby Dragons.

Netflix had been on long enough. I told my eight year old daughter to shut off her show that long ago stopped teaching how to train your dragon and do something else. In her typical child-like summer boredom, she said there was nothing else to do.

“Fine,” I said, in full-on Dad mode. “I’d like you to go to your room and write a story.”

 To make this part short, she went to her room and found something else to do as I made dinner.

Over some classic Dad cooking, I asked if she wanted to do anything for her day camp talent show happening the next day. She said her talent was going to be ‘audience participant’ and simply sit and watch the other kids perform.

I asked how her story was going and she said she didn’t have any ideas for one so she had played with her dragons.

“I have an idea,” I prompted, “what about a story about how one of your dragons tried to bite off your Dad’s foot which is why I am in this cast?”

She looked at me funny, mainly because she knew I really sprained my ankle in a freak trampoline fight accident with a ball that more safety-conscious Dads would probably have said "get that off there before someone gets hurt.". 

“Uh, I don’t think so,” she said in the same voice her mother would use, “you stepped on a ball.”

“Well, I want to read your story before bedtime, so you better get on it.”

At bedtime, I hobbled into her room and read her short story. It was good; there was a beginning, middle and end. It was about dragons but no mention of me or my ankle cast. I could live with that.

“You know,” I said, as an idea came to me along with the thought I may be the greatest Dad in the world “you could read this to your day camp for the talent show.”

“I can’t do that, Dad,” she said, shaking her head. “Writing isn’t a talent.”

I went immediate poker face. We all know kids have this way of really cutting deep into someone’s psyche, but they can hide their social rudeness behind their age and innocence. “How come you are so fat?” I’ve heard younger children ask, “Why are you so old?” another question to a relative. It happens.

Writing isn’t a talent?

I saw her side; talent shows tend to focus on active performances; singing, dancing, gymnastics. There aren’t many popular shows for the many other sides of culture; writing, drawing, painting. 

I believe my daughter has lots of talents. Parents should notice the natural talents their children have and encourage it.

“Writing is a talent,” I told her, trying to hide the hurt in my thoughts because I am obviously biased. 

“Creating is a talent. I’m sure a lot of kids would like to hear your story. And you know what? I bet it would make some of them want to write their own as well.”

I wish I could end this story with how I wanted it to end. I want to say she went to that Talent Show, stood up in front of her classmates after they sang and danced. I wished I could say she told her simple story of a dragon bullied by other dragons until she was helped by a girl who made her brave enough to scare away the other dragons.

But she didn’t stand up and read that story for her talent show.

Maybe next time she will. All I can do as a father is to remind her anything she creates is a talent be it writing, painting, or building. 

It doesn’t have to be what all the other dragons are doing.