I love being a geeky mommy and figuring out what that means for me with Harley. It’s a daily journey as I try to learn how to be a mommy, and a geeky mommy at that. However, there are some awesome ladies who are further along on the path and have some really cool ideas that I’m totally going to steal. Welcome to the Geeky Mommy Files, where every Friday, I will be introducing you to one.
I met Ryaura through a community member on that other site I write for, Lazygamer.net. She’s a gamer and a mom, and is also incredibly wholesome in her approach to this whole parenting thing; it’s always so great to hear about parents with an awareness about the media their kids consume. Plus, she is amazing with baking and crafts – I totally need to commission some costumes for Harley when she gets bigger because there’s no way I can make anything near as cool as Ryaura has – those costumes are awesome!
What makes you geeky?
The era I have grown up in I guess. I remember getting our first Apple pc when I was about 4or5. I would play type on it. Many years later my brother got a pc which he pulled apart and fixed up, there I’d play California Games, mostly skateboarding 😛 Later in highschool, internet became available in our house! Whoooo I’d play some children online gaming with fantasy pets. I laugh at all this now because it’s pansy stuff compared to when my husband introduced me to WoW, but boy did I love WoW! I feel it’s hard in this day and age to not be a little geeky with all the technology we have around us and on us on a daily basis. Besides my screen addiction, I always have my nose in an epic tale….one with real pages! lol
Is your partner also into geek culture?
Indeed! And how! We had to have some fancy shelving installed in order to display his amazing figurine collection, with a few glaves and knives. This collection will just keep growing as they are wonderful gift ideas for a man who wants nothing else. He spends a vast amount of time gaming, which I would never complain about as it works out perfectly for us all.
How have you shared geek life with your spawnlings so far?
Well…I have a son who is Star Wars crazy! He has chosen to be Darth Maul for world book day. His Lego is Star Wars, his drawings are Star Wars, his PS3 games are Star Wars…you get the idea:P Both my kids will choose to watch movies such as Antman or Ironman or…I could go on forever here, the point is they prefer these to the typical movies aimed at children. In fact, my son has been waiting for the new Star Wars to come out on DVD so that he can finally watch it, it should be arriving today, I cannot wait to see his excitement! We do let them watch a few cartoons but top of the list is Adventure Time, one of my favourites!
What are your plans for future geekery with them? (if any)
Planning future geekery? No, geekery is just all around us all the time! Hahaha. We once took them to the Rage Expo, they dressed up for it and had quite a bit of fun. I definitely think we should do that again. Otherwise a trip to the comic book store is always met with great enthusiasm.
How does being a geek change your parenting style? (if at all)
This is a toughy, I guess it has made me more lenient when it comes to the children playing games, however, I will make sure (and keep an eye on), the age restrictions and content of the games they are exposed to. Even when they are teens (Oh we all have grand ideals until we get there) I find my crafting and baking now has very geeky themes too.
If you could give other moms one piece of advice, what would it be?
BALANCE!
This is imperative especially when we find children these days with Playstations and tablets and mobile phones and televisions in their rooms. (Over my dead body will this happen lol) While I have geek tendencies I am also rather Hippy. I send my children outside when I think they have been staring at a screen too long. There are strict rules in place over tablet use and WHERE it is used. No sneaky playing on your tablet at 10pm on a school night! It is important for them to stretch their imaginations, get fresh air, feel the sun, and perhaps fall out of a tree. It is equally as important to get them away from the electro-magnetic field these devices give off….I did say I was hippy right!
Lastly, we all do the best parenting job we can, breathe, you’re doing well and are the perfect parent for your child.
You can find Ryaura on twitter.
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