Rockstarism #302 – The Problem With Kids Talking About Wars

#302

Rummaging the toy and craft drawers for bits he can use in a mini project (more on that later)…

Rockstar: <swinging one end of an old skipping rope slowly around – fortunately he’s not too rough, for a boy> Mum. D’you think someone in World War II could’ve turned something like this into a weapon?

Me: Well….. By WWII they were already using guns and bombs but certainly they must have once used stuff like that… It would be under medieval weapons… Oh speaking of which David used a sling shot to beat Goliath, right? From the Bible stories… Wait. You’re doing history now, but you didn’t learn about wars in school, did you?

Rockstar: <thinks carefully> Not much really. Well (someone)’s grandma was a nurse, she helped injured people in WWII.

Me: How did you start thinking about weapons used in wars?

Rockstar: <shrugs> We’re doing history. Wars are part of history. People got hurt in wars. That’s why they needed nurses.

Me: Even if –

Rockstar: – they don’t talk that much about it. 

Me: O-kay. (Belatedly I remember he found a book about the Romans from the I Wonder Why series in the library and (in a not graphic way) it had mentioned gladiators and throwing people to lions for entertainment. Also the wars.) Can you just make sure to avoid too many lengthy discussions with your friends about inventions used to hurt people? In case they go home and repeat it and it bothers some mums?

Rockstar: Yeah, yeah. Usually we’re too busy playing Minion Rush at break. 

Me: It’s not something to be taken lightly, people who got hurt or killed in wars were also mummies, daddies, kids (Rockstar nods gravely)

<pause>

Me: Do you know one reason we learn history? Because we hope not to repeat the same mistakes.

Rockstar: Oh. Huh.

Me: Don’t sound convinced.

Rockstar: Hmm.

Me: Ok but can you please remember not to talk about the things people invented to kill each other, focus on the many other wonderful inventions – antibiotics, people trying to cure cancer, even the cloning isn’t too bad if you stick to Clone Wars (we discussed if the minions had been cloned like in Star Wars – and for real they did successfully clone sheep right) and if you really want to find out about dangerous inventions please ask discreetly. Quietly. Because it’s a little freaky even for me if you trot up to me and ask, “What efficient killing machines did people invent so everyone else would have to listen to them and give them stuff,” coming out of <make hand gesture> that packaging. <Rockstar laughs> (He said bits and pieces of that when we read about the Romans etc)

Rockstar: <snort> Cos we’re kids, no one expects us to talk too much about these. Tsk!

Me: You can talk, you can ask, it’s just you’re going to have to learn how to talk about it too. (Rockstar rolls his eyes – because while he is infinitely hungry for knowledge, he’s really not too fussed about the “packaging”. Unfortunately.)

Me: So yeah, something like that, freaky boy.

Rockstar: HEE HEE HEE. Anyway I can just go look for it. 

Me: Yeah, library is fine but no searching Youtube unless you want to accidentally find something that gives you nightmares.

Rockstar: <decisively> Okay! So on Youtube I shall stick to Despicable Me!

Me: Nice one. Now I actually want you to stick to the Nonsense Banana Song.

(Rockstar starts singing Nonsense Banana Song)

This one was an otherwise unrelated “experiment” from his school science club and something about Newton’s 3rd Law. Taken before his huge bowl of fish ball noodles came and he promptly fell asleep right after scarfing it