Did you know that when she was 7 years old, pop star Selena Gomez was a cast member on the "Barney and Friends" kids' show?
If I didn't have children who watched the purple dinosaur as toddlers - and who now listen to pop music - the probability of me knowing this about Miss Gomez would be approximately zero.
Mark KennedyView other columns by Mark Kennedy
One of the overlooked benefits of parenthood is access to lifetime learning. And it's not just learning about pop culture. For example, only because I have two sons, ages 14 and 9, I know that:
* Adding two negative numbers yields a negative sum.
* A cobra once bit a chef several minutes after the snake's head was severed with a knife.
* India was once an island.
* The ancient Chinese used to wear sunglasses made out of quartz crystals.
* Beavers have yellow front teeth because of their iron-rich diets.
The next time somebody tries to talk to you about presidential politics, feel free to use any of the these factoids to change the subject. I suggest injecting the headless-cobra fact. That should freeze for them for the three seconds it takes you to run away.
Some of the above are from "300 Outrageous Facts" by National Geographic, part of my 9-year-old son's summer reading. Would this be on my nightstand if we didn't have kids? No way.
Just being around children is the best continuing education course you can take. There are really two reasons:
1.) Inquisitive children will invariably ask you things you can't answer and have to look up.
2.) Just watching a child grow up exposes you to information that you'd never otherwise encounter.
In a house without children - I didn't become a dad until 42, so I know - your mind becomes a self-perpetuating loop of your own musings. It's even worse now in the digital era when the internet is happy to curate information tailored to your interests. For example, if I were to rely on my Apple News feed, Twitter pals and Facebook friends for information, I would only be learning about sports, politics and cats. I would never have been exposed to such interesting truths as these:
* Besides your face, under a fingernail is the most painful place to get hit with a BB.
* Eliminate offsides in soccer and the average score would be, like, 20-19.
* "American Ninja Warrior" may one day become America's pastime.
* The average middle-schooler's backpack weighs more than a bag full of car batteries.
Some of the parental learning is cultural. Because of kids I have a clearer sense of where the country is headed than when all my sensibilities were shaped by my baby boomer peers.
Here are some things I know just from listening to the boys talk:
* Bullies are a despised class among everyone under 30.
* Most suburban teenagers would sooner eat a bug than smoke a cigarette.
* American-brand muscle cars, not import autos, are trending among American teenagers.
When people talk to parents-to-be, they invariable say, "Kids will change your life." They typically are talking about the parental sleep deprivation that comes with bringing home an infant.
A truer admonition is that: "Kids will change your WHOLE life."
Yes, when it comes to "food for thought," children are an endless picnic.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-645-8937.