Dino Gun Land.
Three weeks ago, my 3 year old son demanded he go to Dino Gun Land. Now, I’m not sure if you have spoken with a 3 year old ever, but it’s hard to dissuade them into thinking something other than what they want. I think the really important part of this story is that, to my knowledge, “Dino Gun Land” doesn’t exist.
However, he wanted to go. The fun thing about three year olds is that they are three. So I told him we were going to Dino Gun Land, loaded him up in the car and drove off. He even invented a “Dino Gun Land” theme song on the way there. I parked the car and we ran inside Staples, the office supply store. For 45 minutes we ran up and down the aisles pretending all the humans were dinosaurs.
We had a blast. Now, whenever we drive by Staples, my son goes “Oh awesome, look it’s Dino Gun Land.” Side note, if anyone is starting a “Dino Gun Land” I may be interested to invest. Otherwise, Boost VC may be incubating a company.
As a Dad, I often think about what information or skills I want my kids to receive from me over their lives, and I’ve started to parse out what those things are based on the things I say most often:
There are gifts you are given, and gifts you have to work for
No, don’t push your brother into the table
We say “I can do this,” in our family
I think dinosaurs were tiny when they were around
Go for it
It’s a great day for a great day (*my wife’s favorite)
When getting into my parentings one-liners, my goal for my kids is to find confidence in the things they do, have conviction in their decisions and have the ability to think critically about the world. However, I have learned that every kid is different and has a different way to acquire these bits of knowledge.
I was going to try to tie this into how I coach startups in this post, but I think it’s more fun just as general parenting phrases rather than coaching startup phrases.
Also - now you know about Dino Gun Land, which I believe will be playing a larger role in my posts in the future.