Being a parent is the most challenging obligation I have ever undertaken.

I am responsible for everything these little humans that I have given birth to will know.

But, alas, no one ever taught me all of the things that I will need to know in order to do a good job as a Mom! Therefore, I must teach myself.

Human physiology, medicine, history, arts and crafts, business and finance, physical education, science, mathematics, botany, zoology, chemistry, physics, computers and technology, marketing, playful learning, swimming, dancing, jewelry-making, geography, nutrition, cooking, meteorology, sibling rivalry, and more and more. The list can literally go on forever because every day I realize how many more tools I need in my parenting toolbox.

Anyways, I want to talk today about a part of my reality that I call parental self-education. This is a vital part of my daily life and I wonder how many other parents out there do something similar. It is made up of a combination of daily audio lectures and book reading in parallel.

So, here goes:

Breakfast preparation: Listening in to a free “History of the World” course online (so I can answer the kids questions about history and how we got here)

Lunch preparation: Listening to The Big Picture MBA: What every business school graduate knows audio CD (for my new business venture).

Dinner preparation: Listening to a lecture series on internet marketing in Hebrew  (for my new business venture)

In between: listening to The Panic Virus audio book (about vaccines – must decide whether or not to vaccinate partially)

In the car: listening with the kids to Elizabeth the Queen – Queen Elizabeth’s biography (17 cd’s in total – we are on cd #3!)

On my bed I: Reading The Longevity Diet book (a life changing book which i will talk about more i another post about parental weight loss and nutrition)

On my bed II: Reading the book How to Write Poetry since I have no idea how to even approach this subject.

First Floor Restroom: Tribes by Seth Godin (to increase my knowledge about business for my new venture).

Second Floor Restroom: Children’s Book of Music (how to teach kids about various types of music and musicians)

And, yes, I get to each and every one of these media elements every single day.

Two minutes here, two minutes there. It’s mostly fragmented but I am learning all the time. The kids often make too much noise and I must press “Pause” very often (every 3 minutes or so). But I am not giving up.

At the end of each day, I am more knowledgeable about child education, business and finance, medicine and physiology, nutrition, internet and web marketing, history of the world on many levels and literature. It’s a university at home. I really feel good about this.

To compensate for my lack of knowledge in the classics, I read classical stories along with the kids. We read Little House on the Prairie daily, Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island, Harry Potter. Mom has a lot to learn.

Honestly, there is SO MUCH TO KNOW. I don’t think I will cover one thousandth of it in my lifetime. But I am sure as heck going to try.

Why?

1. Because it is fascinating! Really! I enjoy learning new things tremendously. These audiobooks and books are so rich with colors, flavors, stories, tensions, discoveries – TOOLS. I find myself a better person just by having broader knowledge.

2. Because I feel that my childhood was wasted and that’s too bad. instead of reading books and learning about the world around us, I watched idiotic TV shows and wasted time with mediocre middle school and high school intricacies. what a waste. i wish someone would have told me what i am missing. Why didn’t anyone tell me books were so powerful????

3. Because as a parent, I am an educator and that is a huge responsibility. I owe it to my kids to fill up my knowledge bank so that their knowledge bank will grow as well.

Some days I feel that this disproportionate hunger for knowledge can’t possibly be normal. I am starved. I mean, there is rarely a minute that i am not learning something new or teaching something new to my kids.  Inside the house or outside. I don’t think this hunger can ever be fully satiated.

Surprisingly, Academy Dad is hungry like a wolf as well. I see him with his ear phones plugged into his iPad educating himself with free history, mathematics, real estate and business lectures online.

For the good or the bad, learning is a bug. And we’ve caught it big time.

Is there any other parent out there who is self educating in ridiculous doses daily?

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