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As my mother was fond of saying, "Insanity is a hereditary condition- you get it from your children." That adage is always likely to provoke a laugh, but it also contains an element of truth. Virtually all discussions about development focus on what parents do to shape their progeny.
However, it is important to keep in mind that the little ones also do a lot to shape their mothers and fathers. And in my opinion, it is nice to recognize, respect and actually appreciate this "reciprocal socialization," which is an often overlooked aspect of the parenting experience.
Some parts of reciprocal socialization may be considered rather superficial. For example, once we become parents we have a tendency to let our sense of fashion atrophy. If not for the horrified looks on the faces of our little ones, we would think nothing of leaving the house with clothes and hairstyles that are significantly and embarrassingly out of date. While we may not be foolish enough to attempt to adopt the appearance of modern-day rock stars and movie icons, we at least are motivated to lose the bell bottom pants and bouffant coifs.
Similarly, kids help us out when it comes to keeping up with any and all advances in linguistics. Making a comment that your daughter really "digs" a certain celebrity or that your son's bedroom decorations are "groovy" will elicit a wince that will encourage you to pay more careful attention to currently acceptable lingo.
And the little ones are of enormous assistance with regard to interpreting the language now being used to send messages via computers and telephone texts. Once your child explains to you what "LOL" means ("laughing out loud," not "lots of love"), he or she becomes your "BFF" ("best friend forever").
Which leads us to the subject of technology in general. This is...