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What do your kids see?

My wife copied me with her e-mail quote-of-the-day yesterday: "Don't worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you."

As the father of a sixteen-month-old, I have certainly learned that my son watches me closely. It didn't take him long to figure out that the big button on the front of the television will turn it on. Now the battle will be to convince him not to reach for the volume knob on the audio equipment.

Of course, I've resolved to be careful about the little things, like showing my temper or yelling at the dog. But I'm sure my son is going to learn a lot of things from my behavior that I don't consciously think about. Hopefully he learns more good than bad, but I don't think he will be blind to either.

In thinking about this, I started to wonder what he will learn as he watches me get farther and farther into this crazy audio hobby. Will it be good? Bad? Or will it have no noticeable effect on him at all?

I'm curious what those of you with kids have seen over the years. How have your kids responded to your love of music, your love of equipment, and your pursuit of sonic nirvana?

Have they learned to love music? Care for equipment? Or have they picked up some of the more negative traits of audiophiles?
swingman
elgordo
530 posts
 
My two daughters, born 1971 and 1975, have grown up with the hobby. They both loved going to bed while listening to Dahlquists or Quads from the living room. The result? Both are audiophiles. The older daughter has Dahlquist DQ10s with a sub-woofer, while the younger one prefers 'stats and has a pair of Acoustat 2+2s. The younger daughter is a singer and plays stringed instruments and uses tube amplifiers only. She also has a home recording studio. She comes to me with questions like: "Dad, can you make me a 25 foot Mogami mike cable with female XLR and 1/4" TRS terminations?" My older daughter's 3 year old son is learning to play guitar. I highly recommend raising audiophile kids. Don
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,124 posts
 
I used to keep "the System" in the living room when the kids were born. We have since moved and the basement is better suited to listening. Our equipment was always there to listen to, so the kids grew up listening. They're only ten and thirteen now, but both like to listen. Mostly to things I have, but also to a few things I would never even consider.
The youngest is taking music lessons and the older is waiting for us to find a good viola teacher. Having the music on made them both want to learn. After several years on the guitar the younger wants to quit. I told him he could quit if he did not like it, but not till he took lessons for five years. He actually likes it, he just doesn't want to practice!
I grew up in a non-musical home where music was never really a focus. I never learned to play anything other than Krell, Aragon, Pass Labs, etc. Your children/child has a great opportunity. Build a love of music, all music, not just your favorite styles. The child will only benefit from it.
Keep in mind though, people are more important than things. This is difficult when your toddler son pokes his finger through the grill cloth and into the driver, but equipment goes away, children are there for a lifetime!
swingman OP
30 posts
 
Two very good points, Nrchy. I've caught myself jumping up as soon as my son toddles too close to the floorstanders. Mainly because they're heavy, but also because I don't want them knocked over. I'm sure there will be some accidents (hopefully minor) in the future as he grows up and gets more rambunctious. But I'm definitely hoping that having him grow up around music will be worth whatever trouble it involves. When I was growing up, I was offered the opportunity to take lessons, but I turned it down. We weren't a very musical home and I just didn't have the interest in it. Now I regret my choice. I'm hoping that my son will grow up with a love of music and will make a different choice given the same opportunity.
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
I always let my son sit and listen with me, even when he was a baby. He learned to operate the equipment not long after he could walk. I never told him "no," instead I showed him how everything worked and helped him.

The only off limits thing was the electrical outlets and the cables running to them. One day he crawled over to one of my dedicated lines and stared at the outlet. I crawled over beside him like a giant child and stared too. He looked at me and began to laugh ( I can still see his face in my mind !) I pointed at the wall covering near the outlet and calmly said, "cold." He smiled. Then I pointed to the openings leading inside the outlet and said. "Hot." He immediately drew his hands back to his chest, the same pose he made when he thought his dinner was too hot.

May sound silly, but they are smarter than you imagine. Just get them to understand with a little patience and love and they will not only learn, they will help you later on.

Last week he paused his computer game to help me move my new Soundlabs. For those unfamiliar with teenage boys passion for computers, you cannot fully appreciate this situation.
ronmor
3 posts
 
My eldest girl as a toddler (she's now nine), stood up on my speaker wire like it was a tightrope. The monitor ended up crashing into the amp. I found myself instinctively concerned for her, which gave me good news about myself. She wasn't hurt and as it turned out only the speaker was scratched.
My other daughter liked to mimic her daddy changing records. She twice grabbed and broke the cantelever off cartridges. That cost me some money, but she's the one that gets out of bed and cuddles with her daddy when he's listening late at night...priceless!
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