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I'm not a parent yet. For the parents out there: is there a way of making sure my future kid will like dinosaurs? I have so much to discuss with that kid!

by msoad 6y ago

sharkweek 6y ago
My oldest, a three-year old, is obsessed. I have done nothing to cultivate the interest early or specifically, he just gravitated toward them and now all we do is play dinosaurs. That or firefighters. Or sharks. Or race car drivers.
- abakker 6y ago
  This is the good stuff.
- polka_haunts_us 6y ago
  I was cleaning stuff out recently and found a bunch of papers my mom saved from like 1st grade. What I learned about myself is I really, really wanted to be a car mechanic. Also made me realize that I don't really give a hoot about what 6 year old me thought, these days I don't even want to change my own oil!
- theseanstewart 6y ago
  Have him check out Dino Dana, Dino Trek, Dino Dan on Amazon Prime. My four year old is a big fan and will randomly drop some amazing Dinosaur facts he's picked up from those shows.
aok1425 6y ago
I have the theory that if parents push an interest too hard, the kid will actually dislike that interest. So hopefully you can strike that balance / get lucky.
- dominotw 6y ago
  tiger woods seems to have done pretty well. He is not an exception though.
  - schoen 6y ago
    Also compare https://slatestarcodex.com/Stuff/genius.pdf https://slatestarcodex.com/Stuff/genius.pdf (by László Polgár, whose three daughters are an International Master, a Grandmaster, and the strongest female chess player in history). László Polgár has encountered lots of controversy about his view of child-rearing. My understanding is that his daughters have tended to express support for their childhood experiences.
- foobarian 6y ago
  I should test the theory by forcing my kid to play Roblox! /sob
  - rbanffy 6y ago
    And Among Us...
- throwaway2245 6y ago
  I think it depends (similar to other comments): Either, you are engaging the kid's own personal interest in the thing, which has the potential to grow independently of you as a parent, or, you can demonstrate your personal interest, at a stage while they are particularly fascinated with you - this, they will grow out of.
  - polka_haunts_us 6y ago
    A great deal of that probably comes down to how much you respect/like your parent. I think both my sister and myself resemble our dad far more than our mom, and our mom definitely demonstrated her personal interest onto us. My dad in comparison, while not really engaging with our interests, certainly didn't actively try to get in their way like my mom did.
- JakeStone 6y ago
  In general observation, the kids are going to like what they're going to like. While nature has its role, and both of our kids are skilled in math, and comfortable with the geek nature of puzzling over that which is unknown and becoming skilled at it, neither of them are into programming computers, despite both their parents having the background. Instead, one's a visual artist. The other's a theater geek. I opened the door to introducing them to programming, but with a light touch, as I knew a hard sell would make them hate it. They weren't interested, though I think one is starting to dabble with MineCraft mods. Fortunately, I half expected it, and they're good at what they like to do, so that will hopefully be a source of contentment for them in the future.
a3n 6y ago
Often they'll like what you like if you talk about it and play with it. But you can't force it. Just as fun is to like and play with what they like.
jrsdav 6y ago
One of the early realizations I had as a parent (more-so after my second) was that it's wrong to assume that I have the authority to "make sure" my kids like something. They are their own person from day one, will like what they like, and I personally feel that you're setting yourself up for a good, healthy, relationship with your child if you accept this early. This doesn't mean I can't _encourage_ things; if my daughter displays an interest in dinosaurs, I will be sure to gently fan the spark. If the spark goes out, no big deal. There will be more interests, and my job is to make sure I'm encouraging an exposure to a wide range of them.
- freedomben 6y ago
  Exactly. I have 5 kids, and each one is so different. My oldest loves programming, my middle child couldn't care less. They've been exposed similarly. I think it's more nature than nurture personally.
  - dudleypippin 6y ago
    As my younger brother told me once, “Remember, the ‘nurture’ you got was different than the ‘nurture’ I got, simply because you were around.” My older kid explicitly declined to pick up a hobby that she seemed to be interested in because, “oh, that’s $YOUNGERSIB’s thing.”
    - renerthr 6y ago
      Some days ago I found a comment here in HN talking exactly about that, how siblings want to differentiate from each other. It would be nice if someone finds an actual research paper that delves into this.
  - transreal 6y ago
    My favorite analogy about being a parent is that children are like a tightly furled lotus buds, and our job as parents is to give them the room to unfurl into the unique flowers they are, rather than clay to be molded into whatever form we see fit. Molding them to follow your passions may seem to work initially - kids naturally want to please their parents - and it certainly could happen to align with their personal excellence, but it can also ultimately rob them from developing their own unique talents.
seanmcdirmid 6y ago
Some kids are simply into dinosaurs, others are into trains or superheroes. I don't think we have much control over it, and we should probably just go with their flow. My 4 year old is obsessed with trains, galaxy railway videos, and has recently discovered drifting trains and trains doing jumps on YouTube (simulations of course). Not much on dinosaurs, unfortunately.
csteubs 6y ago
I recently bought a fairly large fossilized raptor skull mounted on a base for my office. It never fails to get a comment when I have visitors and having a hands-on relic from millions of years ago (even if it's just a cast) is really cool. I suppose my answer would be "tasteful fossil decor". Type in "dinosaur skull" on eBay and see what pops up!
nineplay 6y ago
Almost every kid I know got the Nat Geo _Big Book of Dinosaurs_ at a early age and pored over it. My kid couldn't get enough of it, you could have put her on Jeopardy and I'd have given even money that she cleared that column. There's something inherently fascinating about enormous creatures that used to walk the earth. Kids IME don't need much encouragement.
darkteflon 6y ago
I sat down to watch Jurassic Park with my son just after he turned three. My wife thought that showed questionable judgement on my part but he absolutely loved it and instantly became thoroughly obsessed with dinosaurs. He’s almost 4 now and shows no sign of slowing down. That doesn’t dispose of the question of my judgement - there’s some violence in that film so that’s not a universal recommendation. Parenting is a total mystery. EDIT: Just to say - kids go absolutely bananas for any of the scenes in either Jurassic World movie that feature a Mosasaurus.
- sharkweek 6y ago
  I love this. And yes, parenting is a total mystery. One thing I found to be true for me personally (not trying to imply universal truth here), is that so many instincts just take over. Was never one to think I'd be ready for kids (who is?), but here we are and my partner and I are somehow managing. It's exhausting, but I love it so far. There is nothing quite like joining the imaginary world of a young child in their endless creativity.
  - darkteflon 6y ago
    They’re so great aren’t they. I only wish someone had told me to start younger and have more of them - but I bet I wouldn’t have listened. You can’t tell people anything.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- sciurus 6y ago
  FWIW my wife and I often look to the information on https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ to help us decide what's age-appropiate for our kids to watch.
- bcrosby95 6y ago
  Our first daughter didn't really develop a sense of fear until she was 4. Then it kicked in hard and took about a year for it to go to a more sensible level (she was afraid of almost everything for a period of time). Now, at 6, she likes things that scare her a bit. We have 3 year old twins, and the boy is still fearless but the girl is not.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ddingus 6y ago
Nope. But, you can share your interest and it will be infectious. You've got a great shot at it happening.
toddsiegel 6y ago
Most kids, it seems, are into dinos. There’s also the social aspect where kids are at least somewhat into what other kids are. But then again, sometimes kids reject the stuff you into, just because. They’re excellent trolls that way. :-D
ant6n 6y ago
There´s that geeky dino train show that my 2-year-old-likes. He initially liked it cuz trains, now he likes dinosaurs too.
yardie 6y ago
Oh they'll like dinosaurs, alright. Then sharks Then tigers Then marsupials Then all of Australia Dump trucks and trains. Space ships and astronauts are a given.
99_00 6y ago
They will be exposed to dinos because it is pervasive in children's culture (TV, toys, clothing) and education (preschool, elementary, museums, science centers, books). If they like it is up to them. You can't push it. If they aren't interested at some point in time, they may be latter.
brokencode 6y ago
As others have said, just show them dinosaur cartoons and movies and they are pretty much guaranteed to fall in love. For some reason, kids seem to be predisposed to liking dinosaurs at least a little.
_carbyau_ 6y ago
Others have covered the lack of control and the general policy of "Don't inflict interests, support them." angle. But for me, the biggest realisation was not rushing or expecting things at an age. Do you honestly think talking dinosaurs with your same kid as a teenager or adult will be less fun? It will be different sure, but no less great.
squidbot 6y ago
Get some dinosaur kids books. Kids love it when you read with them and tend to latch on to the ones you make really fun. As others have said, nothing is guaranteed, but it will certainly improve the odds. Worked with both my kids, one girl, one boy. They are teenagers now and don't care as much about dinos now, but still think they are cool.
User23 6y ago
Have children with someone that liked dinosaurs when they were a child.
Robotbeat 6y ago
There’s some great shows on Amazon Prime called Dino Dan, with follow-ups Trek’s Adventures and Dino Dana. All great fun. Live action episodic show for kids probably 3-8.
adamredwoods 6y ago
Buy fossils!
daveFNbuck 6y ago
You could adopt a kid that's old enough to already know whether they like dinosaurs. I'm not sure how adoption agencies will feel about this line of questioning.
hodgesrm 6y ago
> is there a way of making sure my future kid will like dinosaurs? In my experience it's unusual for kids not to be interested in either dinosaurs or fire engines at some point. I once asked a fire department rep at an open house whether he liked fire engines as a kid. Turns out he loved them--no surprise--and really enjoyed paying it forward with new generations of kids.
OldHand2018 6y ago
Like others have pointed out, do not try to force your interests on your child. However, “liking” dinosaurs is pretty likely to happen, if only for a time period in their life. All of my kids “like” dinosaurs, but one likes them far more than others. For a time, we lived close enough to the Field Museum in Chicago to be able to ride bikes there. We got a membership and visited 50-100 times per year (seriously). They have a world-famous dinosaur collection, but it’s located inside a much larger exhibit that takes you through earth’s history and places the dinosaurs in their proper time period (if I’m remembering correctly it’s between the 3rd and 4th mass extinction event). There is so much information and it’s so well presented that you can’t help but enjoy it and learn from it. My kids have never seen Jurassic Park or any other pop culture dinosaur movies, and they didn’t need to.
LanceH 6y ago
Dinosaurs, space or cars. You don't get to decide, they'll pick their own major.
hluska 6y ago
My little girl is almost five so I'm not a very experienced parent but I'll tell you what I've learned. She is an individual and she's interested in her own things. Sometimes we share interests and other times, I have to seriously up my own knowledge (and beg for help on Hacker News) to share her interests with her. For the most part, I just try to build a loving environment where she can feel secure to enjoy the things that she is into. I encourage her to be exactly who she wants to be. Luckily, I'm privileged enough to be able to fill her environment with interesting, somewhat age appropriate things. Incidentally, here is one of the things that she is really into right now. I don't understand it, but she loves it enough to draw it fairly often. To this day, she refers to _ph_ as a 'really cool dude'. Armagon is another 'really cool dude' as well. I'm still not but I sure love that _ph_ and armagon are!!! :) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993864 Once again, I love you Hacker News. Edit - I'll find and link to an ask HN that I asked while she was having one of the biggest, most awful tantrums of her life. She wanted to see the ISS and was the angriest she has ever been when I couldn't remember the link. "Me no yike you," screamed out at the top of her lungs while we were grocery shopping.....joy! :) Here it is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21576409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21576409
knz 6y ago
PBS has a show called "Dinosaur Train" that kids seem to love - https://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain https://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain
irrational 6y ago
I talk to my kids about how birds are dinosaurs. I've trained them to refer to birds as dinosaurs. "Look at that blue dinosaur!" We get weird looks from other people, but it helps to solidify for them that dinosaurs were and are real.
dbcurtis 6y ago
In my observation, pretty much every 5 year old loves dinosaurs. So just wait. Enjoy it while it lasts. Most kids move on... some not. When my kid was 5, mom arranged for a couple of days of family vacation at a dig run by a museum just on the Colorado side of the Utah border, in dino country. You could pay a few dollars for a day of digging, where you paid them to move their dirt. :) Great fun for the kids. The 2 days we participated there was a herd of 5-6 year old kids, and associated parents, digging under the supervision of a quarry master. Said QM being a paleontology graduate student (one of those kids that never outgrew dinosaurs). One of my most memorable moments as a parent: during lunch break as we were all munching on bologna sandwiches, chips, and orange drink that were part of the package, the quarry master was surrounded by an adoring crowd of kids. One boy about 6 years old looks at him very seriously and says "I want to be a paleontologist when I grow up." -- the QM looked at him and said with full sincerity and seriousness: "Yeah. Me, too." The kid, of course, took that at face value and drank in the kinship. For us parents, the moment was an "Oh yeah, I feel your graduate student life. Half-done thesis, summer jobs at museums and a diet of ramen noodles. Keep the faith, buddy." I sure hope that guy is a tenured professor somewhere by now.
ggm 6y ago
Maybe forbid them to having anything to do with dinosaurs. But, provide a lot of tempting dinosaur information if they can find it. A bit like the parent whose child is "secretly reading under the blankets" and hasn't yet realized their torch has infinite life batteries... (ours is 28. he still likes dinosaurs. we didn't forbid this, its endogenous in some genotypes apparently)
omarhaneef 6y ago
Almost all kids love dinosaurs. I don’t know why but I have a theory: They’re not allowed violent content of any kind. No horror, no blood, no gore. But they’re allowed to watch these prehistoric monsters devour others from limb to limb. It’s actually ultra violent but the kids can watch it because it’s real, therefore natural, therefore science. This is the same reason kids love big cats, sharks and other predators. Anyway, if you want your future kids to like dinosaurs, just don’t let them watch other forms of violence. (Again, just a theory)
hinkley 6y ago
Reverse psychology. Hide dinosaurs around the house, when caught looking at one deny everything but look guilty.
watwut 6y ago
If you are excited about it and gladly read this books, chances are little one will too. You can make kids think X is cool easily. Mostly talk positively about X. However, with the main hobby, at age of 8, peer pressure does a lot. And so does wish to be individuality. So your kid will like dinosaurs and debates about them with you, but to can't make it super obsessed or something. You can't make kid into copy of you and it would be harmful anyway.
xorcist 6y ago
There's really no way to make anything sure. From an early age they are influenced not only by you but also friends and other people. This will only increase as they get older. What you can do is create an environment that encourages learning. Take an interest in them, and their interests, even if it's not the same as yours to begin with. Ask lots of questions! Then they will start asking you, too. If there's one universal truth to parenting, it's that kids don't really do what you say, but what you do. If you keep musical instruments around and play a little regularly when they are around, sooner or later they will try themselves. If there are books of dinosaurs around, and the parents take an interest in dinosaurs, sooner or later they will be curious to find out what's so fun about them.
lukaszkups 6y ago
show them dinosaur, if she/he don't like it, show transformers - no matter if she/he like it show them DINOBOTS transformers team. Problem solved :D
koonsolo 6y ago
I had a colleague who was into cycling. It was his uttermost passion, the biggest thing in his life. His kid didn't like cycling, he likes wakeboarding. My colleague absolutely hated it, said it wasn't really a sport, said you didn't have the suffering that you have riding a bicycle. After some weekend on one of his rides (alone), he came across a father and a son. The son was all into cycling, took his dad everywhere. The dad didn't really like cycling, but his son was so passionate that he was willing to ride long distances with his son. My colleague noted "I wish I had such a son", but in my mind, I thought "Your son probably wishes he had such a dad". You will have to decide what kind of father you want to be, the one where your kid follows your passion, or where you follow your kids passion. The first option will not result in a close relationship. And as a father of 4 myself, it seems most kids don't really have an extreme passion. And if they do, it shifts quickly. Plus, when you talk about your passion all the time, they will soon be pretty bored by it, don't want to hear about it anymore. Just enjoy the time you spend with your kids, do fun stuff that you both like. You can always discuss dinosaur stuff with people who are as passionate as you.
- esja 6y ago
  This is a wonderful way of expressing something I've been thinking about for a while. Thank you.
- orzig 6y ago
  Posted at 4am - parent status checks out
- JudsonStevens 6y ago
  Really appreciate this perspective - couldn't agree more and you framed it eloquently. Thanks!
dinobook674328 6y ago
Someone on HN mentioned the book 'Titanosaur: Discovering the World's Largest Dinosaur' written by the two paleontologists who led the discovery - José Luis Carballido and Diego Pol. It's illustrated and seems to have very good reviews. https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/titanosaur-by-jose-luis-carballido/ https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/titanosaur-by-jose-lui... Personally, when I was a teen, the first 3 Jurassic Park films whirled my brain and had nice vivid dreams about the island and dinos.
astura 6y ago
This is a terrible thing to say, children are humans, not abstract playthings.
roland35 6y ago
They will like whatever they will like!

I'm not a parent yet. For the parents out there: is there a way of making sure my future kid will like dinosaurs? I have so much to discuss with that kid!

by msoad 6y ago

I'm not a parent yet. For the parents out there: is there a way of making sure my future kid will like dinosaurs? I have so much to discuss with that kid!

sharkweek 6y ago

My oldest, a three-year old, is obsessed. I have done nothing to cultivate the interest early or specifically, he just gravitated toward them and now all we do is play dinosaurs. That or firefighters. Or sharks. Or race car drivers.

abakker 6y ago
This is the good stuff.
polka_haunts_us 6y ago
I was cleaning stuff out recently and found a bunch of papers my mom saved from like 1st grade. What I learned about myself is I really, really wanted to be a car mechanic. Also made me realize that I don't really give a hoot about what 6 year old me thought, these days I don't even want to change my own oil!
theseanstewart 6y ago
Have him check out Dino Dana, Dino Trek, Dino Dan on Amazon Prime. My four year old is a big fan and will randomly drop some amazing Dinosaur facts he's picked up from those shows.

aok1425 6y ago

I have the theory that if parents push an interest too hard, the kid will actually dislike that interest. So hopefully you can strike that balance / get lucky.

dominotw 6y ago
tiger woods seems to have done pretty well. He is not an exception though.
- schoen 6y ago
  Also compare https://slatestarcodex.com/Stuff/genius.pdf https://slatestarcodex.com/Stuff/genius.pdf (by László Polgár, whose three daughters are an International Master, a Grandmaster, and the strongest female chess player in history). László Polgár has encountered lots of controversy about his view of child-rearing. My understanding is that his daughters have tended to express support for their childhood experiences.
foobarian 6y ago
I should test the theory by forcing my kid to play Roblox! /sob
- rbanffy 6y ago
  And Among Us...
throwaway2245 6y ago
I think it depends (similar to other comments): Either, you are engaging the kid's own personal interest in the thing, which has the potential to grow independently of you as a parent, or, you can demonstrate your personal interest, at a stage while they are particularly fascinated with you - this, they will grow out of.
- polka_haunts_us 6y ago
  A great deal of that probably comes down to how much you respect/like your parent. I think both my sister and myself resemble our dad far more than our mom, and our mom definitely demonstrated her personal interest onto us. My dad in comparison, while not really engaging with our interests, certainly didn't actively try to get in their way like my mom did.
JakeStone 6y ago
In general observation, the kids are going to like what they're going to like. While nature has its role, and both of our kids are skilled in math, and comfortable with the geek nature of puzzling over that which is unknown and becoming skilled at it, neither of them are into programming computers, despite both their parents having the background. Instead, one's a visual artist. The other's a theater geek. I opened the door to introducing them to programming, but with a light touch, as I knew a hard sell would make them hate it. They weren't interested, though I think one is starting to dabble with MineCraft mods. Fortunately, I half expected it, and they're good at what they like to do, so that will hopefully be a source of contentment for them in the future.

a3n 6y ago

Often they'll like what you like if you talk about it and play with it. But you can't force it. Just as fun is to like and play with what they like.

jrsdav 6y ago

One of the early realizations I had as a parent (more-so after my second) was that it's wrong to assume that I have the authority to "make sure" my kids like something. They are their own person from day one, will like what they like, and I personally feel that you're setting yourself up for a good, healthy, relationship with your child if you accept this early. This doesn't mean I can't _encourage_ things; if my daughter displays an interest in dinosaurs, I will be sure to gently fan the spark. If the spark goes out, no big deal. There will be more interests, and my job is to make sure I'm encouraging an exposure to a wide range of them.

freedomben 6y ago
Exactly. I have 5 kids, and each one is so different. My oldest loves programming, my middle child couldn't care less. They've been exposed similarly. I think it's more nature than nurture personally.
- dudleypippin 6y ago
  As my younger brother told me once, “Remember, the ‘nurture’ you got was different than the ‘nurture’ I got, simply because you were around.” My older kid explicitly declined to pick up a hobby that she seemed to be interested in because, “oh, that’s $YOUNGERSIB’s thing.”
  - renerthr 6y ago
    Some days ago I found a comment here in HN talking exactly about that, how siblings want to differentiate from each other. It would be nice if someone finds an actual research paper that delves into this.
- transreal 6y ago
  My favorite analogy about being a parent is that children are like a tightly furled lotus buds, and our job as parents is to give them the room to unfurl into the unique flowers they are, rather than clay to be molded into whatever form we see fit. Molding them to follow your passions may seem to work initially - kids naturally want to please their parents - and it certainly could happen to align with their personal excellence, but it can also ultimately rob them from developing their own unique talents.

seanmcdirmid 6y ago

Some kids are simply into dinosaurs, others are into trains or superheroes. I don't think we have much control over it, and we should probably just go with their flow. My 4 year old is obsessed with trains, galaxy railway videos, and has recently discovered drifting trains and trains doing jumps on YouTube (simulations of course). Not much on dinosaurs, unfortunately.

csteubs 6y ago

I recently bought a fairly large fossilized raptor skull mounted on a base for my office. It never fails to get a comment when I have visitors and having a hands-on relic from millions of years ago (even if it's just a cast) is really cool. I suppose my answer would be "tasteful fossil decor". Type in "dinosaur skull" on eBay and see what pops up!

nineplay 6y ago

Almost every kid I know got the Nat Geo _Big Book of Dinosaurs_ at a early age and pored over it. My kid couldn't get enough of it, you could have put her on Jeopardy and I'd have given even money that she cleared that column. There's something inherently fascinating about enormous creatures that used to walk the earth. Kids IME don't need much encouragement.

darkteflon 6y ago

I sat down to watch Jurassic Park with my son just after he turned three. My wife thought that showed questionable judgement on my part but he absolutely loved it and instantly became thoroughly obsessed with dinosaurs. He’s almost 4 now and shows no sign of slowing down. That doesn’t dispose of the question of my judgement - there’s some violence in that film so that’s not a universal recommendation. Parenting is a total mystery. EDIT: Just to say - kids go absolutely bananas for any of the scenes in either Jurassic World movie that feature a Mosasaurus.

sharkweek 6y ago
I love this. And yes, parenting is a total mystery. One thing I found to be true for me personally (not trying to imply universal truth here), is that so many instincts just take over. Was never one to think I'd be ready for kids (who is?), but here we are and my partner and I are somehow managing. It's exhausting, but I love it so far. There is nothing quite like joining the imaginary world of a young child in their endless creativity.
- darkteflon 6y ago
  They’re so great aren’t they. I only wish someone had told me to start younger and have more of them - but I bet I wouldn’t have listened. You can’t tell people anything.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
sciurus 6y ago
FWIW my wife and I often look to the information on https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ to help us decide what's age-appropiate for our kids to watch.
bcrosby95 6y ago
Our first daughter didn't really develop a sense of fear until she was 4. Then it kicked in hard and took about a year for it to go to a more sensible level (she was afraid of almost everything for a period of time). Now, at 6, she likes things that scare her a bit. We have 3 year old twins, and the boy is still fearless but the girl is not.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ddingus 6y ago

Nope. But, you can share your interest and it will be infectious. You've got a great shot at it happening.

toddsiegel 6y ago

Most kids, it seems, are into dinos. There’s also the social aspect where kids are at least somewhat into what other kids are. But then again, sometimes kids reject the stuff you into, just because. They’re excellent trolls that way. :-D

ant6n 6y ago

There´s that geeky dino train show that my 2-year-old-likes. He initially liked it cuz trains, now he likes dinosaurs too.

yardie 6y ago

Oh they'll like dinosaurs, alright. Then sharks Then tigers Then marsupials Then all of Australia Dump trucks and trains. Space ships and astronauts are a given.

99_00 6y ago

They will be exposed to dinos because it is pervasive in children's culture (TV, toys, clothing) and education (preschool, elementary, museums, science centers, books). If they like it is up to them. You can't push it. If they aren't interested at some point in time, they may be latter.

brokencode 6y ago

As others have said, just show them dinosaur cartoons and movies and they are pretty much guaranteed to fall in love. For some reason, kids seem to be predisposed to liking dinosaurs at least a little.

_carbyau_ 6y ago

Others have covered the lack of control and the general policy of "Don't inflict interests, support them." angle. But for me, the biggest realisation was not rushing or expecting things at an age. Do you honestly think talking dinosaurs with your same kid as a teenager or adult will be less fun? It will be different sure, but no less great.

squidbot 6y ago

Get some dinosaur kids books. Kids love it when you read with them and tend to latch on to the ones you make really fun. As others have said, nothing is guaranteed, but it will certainly improve the odds. Worked with both my kids, one girl, one boy. They are teenagers now and don't care as much about dinos now, but still think they are cool.

User23 6y ago

Have children with someone that liked dinosaurs when they were a child.

Robotbeat 6y ago

There’s some great shows on Amazon Prime called Dino Dan, with follow-ups Trek’s Adventures and Dino Dana. All great fun. Live action episodic show for kids probably 3-8.

adamredwoods 6y ago

Buy fossils!

daveFNbuck 6y ago

You could adopt a kid that's old enough to already know whether they like dinosaurs. I'm not sure how adoption agencies will feel about this line of questioning.

hodgesrm 6y ago

> is there a way of making sure my future kid will like dinosaurs? In my experience it's unusual for kids not to be interested in either dinosaurs or fire engines at some point. I once asked a fire department rep at an open house whether he liked fire engines as a kid. Turns out he loved them--no surprise--and really enjoyed paying it forward with new generations of kids.

OldHand2018 6y ago

Like others have pointed out, do not try to force your interests on your child. However, “liking” dinosaurs is pretty likely to happen, if only for a time period in their life. All of my kids “like” dinosaurs, but one likes them far more than others. For a time, we lived close enough to the Field Museum in Chicago to be able to ride bikes there. We got a membership and visited 50-100 times per year (seriously). They have a world-famous dinosaur collection, but it’s located inside a much larger exhibit that takes you through earth’s history and places the dinosaurs in their proper time period (if I’m remembering correctly it’s between the 3rd and 4th mass extinction event). There is so much information and it’s so well presented that you can’t help but enjoy it and learn from it. My kids have never seen Jurassic Park or any other pop culture dinosaur movies, and they didn’t need to.

LanceH 6y ago

Dinosaurs, space or cars. You don't get to decide, they'll pick their own major.

hluska 6y ago

My little girl is almost five so I'm not a very experienced parent but I'll tell you what I've learned. She is an individual and she's interested in her own things. Sometimes we share interests and other times, I have to seriously up my own knowledge (and beg for help on Hacker News) to share her interests with her. For the most part, I just try to build a loving environment where she can feel secure to enjoy the things that she is into. I encourage her to be exactly who she wants to be. Luckily, I'm privileged enough to be able to fill her environment with interesting, somewhat age appropriate things. Incidentally, here is one of the things that she is really into right now. I don't understand it, but she loves it enough to draw it fairly often. To this day, she refers to _ph_ as a 'really cool dude'. Armagon is another 'really cool dude' as well. I'm still not but I sure love that _ph_ and armagon are!!! :) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22993864 Once again, I love you Hacker News. Edit - I'll find and link to an ask HN that I asked while she was having one of the biggest, most awful tantrums of her life. She wanted to see the ISS and was the angriest she has ever been when I couldn't remember the link. "Me no yike you," screamed out at the top of her lungs while we were grocery shopping.....joy! :) Here it is: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21576409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21576409

knz 6y ago

PBS has a show called "Dinosaur Train" that kids seem to love - https://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain https://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain

irrational 6y ago

I talk to my kids about how birds are dinosaurs. I've trained them to refer to birds as dinosaurs. "Look at that blue dinosaur!" We get weird looks from other people, but it helps to solidify for them that dinosaurs were and are real.

dbcurtis 6y ago

In my observation, pretty much every 5 year old loves dinosaurs. So just wait. Enjoy it while it lasts. Most kids move on... some not. When my kid was 5, mom arranged for a couple of days of family vacation at a dig run by a museum just on the Colorado side of the Utah border, in dino country. You could pay a few dollars for a day of digging, where you paid them to move their dirt. :) Great fun for the kids. The 2 days we participated there was a herd of 5-6 year old kids, and associated parents, digging under the supervision of a quarry master. Said QM being a paleontology graduate student (one of those kids that never outgrew dinosaurs). One of my most memorable moments as a parent: during lunch break as we were all munching on bologna sandwiches, chips, and orange drink that were part of the package, the quarry master was surrounded by an adoring crowd of kids. One boy about 6 years old looks at him very seriously and says "I want to be a paleontologist when I grow up." -- the QM looked at him and said with full sincerity and seriousness: "Yeah. Me, too." The kid, of course, took that at face value and drank in the kinship. For us parents, the moment was an "Oh yeah, I feel your graduate student life. Half-done thesis, summer jobs at museums and a diet of ramen noodles. Keep the faith, buddy." I sure hope that guy is a tenured professor somewhere by now.

ggm 6y ago

Maybe forbid them to having anything to do with dinosaurs. But, provide a lot of tempting dinosaur information if they can find it. A bit like the parent whose child is "secretly reading under the blankets" and hasn't yet realized their torch has infinite life batteries... (ours is 28. he still likes dinosaurs. we didn't forbid this, its endogenous in some genotypes apparently)

omarhaneef 6y ago

Almost all kids love dinosaurs. I don’t know why but I have a theory: They’re not allowed violent content of any kind. No horror, no blood, no gore. But they’re allowed to watch these prehistoric monsters devour others from limb to limb. It’s actually ultra violent but the kids can watch it because it’s real, therefore natural, therefore science. This is the same reason kids love big cats, sharks and other predators. Anyway, if you want your future kids to like dinosaurs, just don’t let them watch other forms of violence. (Again, just a theory)

hinkley 6y ago

Reverse psychology. Hide dinosaurs around the house, when caught looking at one deny everything but look guilty.

watwut 6y ago

If you are excited about it and gladly read this books, chances are little one will too. You can make kids think X is cool easily. Mostly talk positively about X. However, with the main hobby, at age of 8, peer pressure does a lot. And so does wish to be individuality. So your kid will like dinosaurs and debates about them with you, but to can't make it super obsessed or something. You can't make kid into copy of you and it would be harmful anyway.

xorcist 6y ago

There's really no way to make anything sure. From an early age they are influenced not only by you but also friends and other people. This will only increase as they get older. What you can do is create an environment that encourages learning. Take an interest in them, and their interests, even if it's not the same as yours to begin with. Ask lots of questions! Then they will start asking you, too. If there's one universal truth to parenting, it's that kids don't really do what you say, but what you do. If you keep musical instruments around and play a little regularly when they are around, sooner or later they will try themselves. If there are books of dinosaurs around, and the parents take an interest in dinosaurs, sooner or later they will be curious to find out what's so fun about them.

lukaszkups 6y ago

show them dinosaur, if she/he don't like it, show transformers - no matter if she/he like it show them DINOBOTS transformers team. Problem solved :D

koonsolo 6y ago

I had a colleague who was into cycling. It was his uttermost passion, the biggest thing in his life. His kid didn't like cycling, he likes wakeboarding. My colleague absolutely hated it, said it wasn't really a sport, said you didn't have the suffering that you have riding a bicycle. After some weekend on one of his rides (alone), he came across a father and a son. The son was all into cycling, took his dad everywhere. The dad didn't really like cycling, but his son was so passionate that he was willing to ride long distances with his son. My colleague noted "I wish I had such a son", but in my mind, I thought "Your son probably wishes he had such a dad". You will have to decide what kind of father you want to be, the one where your kid follows your passion, or where you follow your kids passion. The first option will not result in a close relationship. And as a father of 4 myself, it seems most kids don't really have an extreme passion. And if they do, it shifts quickly. Plus, when you talk about your passion all the time, they will soon be pretty bored by it, don't want to hear about it anymore. Just enjoy the time you spend with your kids, do fun stuff that you both like. You can always discuss dinosaur stuff with people who are as passionate as you.

esja 6y ago
This is a wonderful way of expressing something I've been thinking about for a while. Thank you.
orzig 6y ago
Posted at 4am - parent status checks out
JudsonStevens 6y ago
Really appreciate this perspective - couldn't agree more and you framed it eloquently. Thanks!

dinobook674328 6y ago

Someone on HN mentioned the book 'Titanosaur: Discovering the World's Largest Dinosaur' written by the two paleontologists who led the discovery - José Luis Carballido and Diego Pol. It's illustrated and seems to have very good reviews. https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/titanosaur-by-jose-luis-carballido/ https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/book/titanosaur-by-jose-lui... Personally, when I was a teen, the first 3 Jurassic Park films whirled my brain and had nice vivid dreams about the island and dinos.

astura 6y ago

This is a terrible thing to say, children are humans, not abstract playthings.

roland35 6y ago

They will like whatever they will like!