July 31st, 2008 by Stinkhead
I was thinking about my Toy Run video the other week, the one where I take my son around to various toy stores, showing him everything. I made a joke in the post that I could potentially be cultivating ADD later in life.
Is ADD genetic? Is it learned?
As a hobbyist toy collector and reviewer, our house is full of toys. It can be overwhelming. I can be overwhelming. As I get excited over which toys my son likes the most, I find myself constantly providing entertainments, but I also find myself asking, am I doing too much? Will he get used to a constant “feed feed feed” and not be able to concentrate on the things that do not interest him? If he’s playing with one toy, and I go to “clean up” another one he’s not playing with, his attention instantly goes to the one I’m touching. I know that’s normal and healthy for an infant, but if his life is constantly a choice between 2, or 3, or 20 different distractions, that I am ultimately responsible for, am I doing him a disservice for later in life?
School will be boring. There will be 30 other kids. At least. This is the last time in his life that someone is paying attention to his every need, including boredom or lack there of.
I was never diagnosed with any type of learning disability as a child, but I worry that my behavior and habits can be passed along. I certainly don’t want to damage the little guy, or make his 13 years of school that much more difficult.
On top of all the concentration issues, I also worry about the materialistic aspects. At some point I’ll have to say “no, I’m not buying that” or even “I know you saved up enough money and you can afford ____, but you’re not allowed to buy it” (Then he’ll just buy it and blog it 20 years later, just like I did here.)
What did you do to make sure you didn’t overload the kid growing up? Are there milestones or measures you can use to make sure you’re not going overboard?
 |
Posted in advice, article, baby | Comments Off on Am I really going to cultivate ADD?
