Be Passionate Of Your Kids' Passion : A Solution For Generation Gap

Generation gap is one of the problems that parents and children face in their daily life.  Most of the time, children are having a difficult time understanding parents because of generation gap, and vice-versa. 

“The generation gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between a child and his or her parent's generation.” – Wikipedia

How do we solve generation gap between us and our kids, nowadays?  I don’t know if it works for you, but this method works well for me.  In my case, I respect and support my children’s passion.  Fortunately, my girls and I share the same passion – these are books, music, movies and sports (not much for my eldest girl). 

EAM during the US Tour Concert 2008

Music:  My girls love anything and everything new in the sound waves.  Sometimes I have to admit, it’s difficult for me to like what music that they love.  Maybe it comes with age; some tend to be too noisy for me or too blunt.  Well, what else can I do but to join in and learn their music – on the other hand, my kids are trying to love the music that I love.  One common thing we enjoy most is Broadway, Disney, and pop tunes.  Oh, and the three of us loves to sing.  My eldest, being the performer and the star of the family, is highly supported by her younger sister and me; us being her number one fan. All her performances, here and abroad, are  all well-documented.

EAM performing "TOMORROW"

EAM's 1st US Tour (videos of San Francisco, Washington DC, South Carolina finale number)

Homecoming Concert (after the US Tour) - "Castle on the Cloud"

KIM with ITF-Davao and trainer Ryan Cordero

Kimmy during her first days in ITF-Davao

Sports:  It was just recent that my youngest daughter found her passion for taekwondo. As much as I wanted to learn the sport, I guess I’m too old for it.  Instead, being with her and supporting her in all her classes is the best I could do for her.  Her sister, on the other hand, joined her this summer and learned taekwondo to show her love to her sister.  She’s not the sporty-type of girl.  

Books and Movies:  EAM, my eldest girl, lives in the world of books since she was four years old.  She’s a bookworm.  When she was younger, she would rather read than play.  She would rather go to the book shop than go to the toy shop.  To show my support for her love in books, I’d read most of the books that she has and discuss some of our favorite parts.  I remember how much we enjoyed the Twilight Series.  My little girl, KIM, is hooked with Nancy Drew right now.  Having read most of them when I was a little girl, we too have our own moments of sharing our favorites.  Like books, movies are one of the bonding moments that my girls and I share.  We’d watch movies together – I’d watch even the silliest cartoon with them.        

Being supportive and being passionate of what your kids love would definitely bridge the generation gap between you.  Let your kids know that you care for whatever is important to them.  Teach them to compromise – to learn loving what you love, and in return, love what is important to them.