TRANSCRIPT
[Music]
If I had children, how would I want to raise them? The first thing is, I would want to raise my kids in the countryside, in nature. They can have their own lives, with their own friends and their own private self, without being intruded upon. Lots of animals, domesticated animals and wild animal beings that think differently, that live differently, that eat differently, that express their feelings differently.
I’d want to be in really good health, and I would want my partner to also be in really good health. A partner whom I really loved, who really loved me. We were really there for each other. We nurtured each other, we cared about each other, we respected each other.
I would want to have a job that allowed me to be at home and not be out of the house for 50, 60, 70 hours a week. I’d really want to be surrounded by a lot of really good, deep, close friends when I could be able to get my emotional needs met from adults, not from my kids. I wouldn’t want a nanny to pay someone to help raise my kids. I’d want to do that myself. That I believe would be my job—doing hikes and going out in nature and playing sports and doing all sorts of things with them.
An environment when there’s lots of different languages being spoken naturally by people, especially by people close to them. Now, I know I’m asking for a lot. I’m creating a real idealistic picture, but why not? I think it’s a wonderful possibility if kids can grow up learning two, three, four languages. Kids, their minds are so open; they really have the possibility to sponge up languages.
I would not want to do the whole playdate thing. I see a lot of parents, especially in the cities, they always are setting up dates for their children to play with other kids. They can have their own lives, with their own friends and their own private self, without being intruded upon. They can walk to visit their friends, or maybe their friends are so close they don’t even have to walk.
Definitely, if I had a boy, do not circumcise him. No psychotherapy, no psych meds. If my children are having problems, probably something that I’m doing to them, so I’d want to work out my problems. I want to move from place to place. Traveling is nice, moving around a little bit, but always being sure to not travel for too long, to be able to come back to a stable home.
Here’s an important one: I’d want to raise my kids in an environment with as few electronics as possible. I don’t see any value in having to witness violence, also threats of violence, to shield my child from sexual content—sexual content on television and movies and books and adult conversation and billboards and advertisements. But a child, be a child. They’re gonna figure out all about life soon enough.
Another thing is consistent bedtimes, consistent bedtime routines, consistent times to wake up, consistent meals. Lots and lots of wild, new, and interesting things always going on, but their life could be bounded by consistent bedtimes, consistent times to wake. Breastfeeding—we are mammals after all.
Another one: music. Lots of interactive music going on all the time. Lots of good storytelling. Their eyes, and they can just picture a whole world going on. Lots and lots of books. The world is full of so many wonderful, interesting books that actually have been written for children.
I would want my kids to be raised with math being naturally integrated into their daily life. I loved math, but I hated math in school. I would not want my kids to go to school. Now, does this mean there would be homeschooling and they would have homeschooling lessons? No, I’m actually not into that either. Nature could be their teacher. Animals could be their teacher. All of it. Let there be no real boundary between school and life and family and fun.
Sports for fun. Sports is a game. Sports is a chance to explore skill. I want to raise my children around natural bodies of water. I think it’s a great thing if kids learn how to swim really early. It’s a great skill for life, and then lots of different types of water.
I’d want to have a garden, maybe even a farm, and I would want a partner who likes that too. I’d want my children to see where their food actually comes from, so it’s not a big mystery. Lots and lots of discussions of history—history of the world, history of our planet, history of geology, history of evolution, evolution of animals, evolution of people. But also my own history, their history, our family history, the history of my parents, my grandparents, the history of migrations. Where did all the different people come from? How did humanity spread across the planet?
Some transcendent view of our life. I would want to be as emotionally healthy as possible, and I’d also want a partner who was as healthy as possible to give my kids the best opportunity to grow up in a non-traumatized way.
[Music]