The Child Has Begun to Teach the Parent

I have noticed a disturbing trend over the past few months with my children.  I think the balance has shifted from what I am teaching them to more of what they are teaching me.  Gone are the days of teaching my children the simple basic skills of life.  They have begun to master most of these.   Now it's more often them telling me some fact or skill that I did not know.  Don't get me wrong I do still have them beat on learning life lessons and they still have to be reminded to remember to do certain tasks.  I am not ready to be put out to pasture yet but I do feel like I can now see the pasture off in the distance.

There are some noticeable knowledge gaps.  They definitely have me beat with video games.  That ship sailed several years ago and I know I will never be able to catch up.  Board games used to be a sure bet but that is no longer the case.  Both my kids are very competitive and are pretty ruthless especially when we play Monopoly.  My only hope now are trivia games that have obscure pop culture questions from the 70's and 80's.  

Although I am still pretty tech savvy there are times when they will do something on the Ipad that I have never seen before.  I can still teach them things about a personal computer but who uses those anymore?  I still don't need their help on how to use the TIvo or cable remote.  

Yes it is pretty cool to know your kids are at a point in their life where you can see all the things you have been teaching them over the years actually did process in their head.  It's also cool when they show you something they have discovered and it broadens your perspective just as much as theirs.  

Although my kids are teaching and sharing new things with me, I know that there are still plenty of things left to teach on the parent side. Driving lessons, decisions about college, help with homework are still on the agenda. I look forward to those teaching moments but I have to say the learning moments are fun too.