My wife bought our son a Leap Frog interactive globe for Christmas. I initially thought her idea was lame. I have subsequently changed my opinion completely. When was the last time you had a conversation with your four year-old like this:
(In response to a discussion about how the horn of Africa countries - Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, etc - are having some trouble these days)
(Circling Saudi peninsula with finger) "But dad, what about those countries? Are they okay?"(Not wanting to discuss Islamic extremist terrorism with my four year old), "Yeah, they are doing okay."(Pointing from country to country with his finger) "But if there are some bad people in Eritrea, then maybe they can go to Yemen.""Yes, you're very right.""And then to Oman, then Iran, then Afghanistan, then Pakistan, then India, then Myanmar, then Thailand, then Malaysia, then Indonesia..."
Or, a discussion like this:
(Talking about soft "g" and hard "g" sounds)
"Dad, I know what makes a soft "g" sound.""What?""Georgia.""Yeah, right next door to us.""But its confusing because it is a place inside the United States and also a place outside the United States."
Great gift. Brilliant kid. It breaks my heart that someday soon he'll realize the coast of Somalia is full of pirates, and Georgia just got the crap beat out of it by a bully named Russia, and daddy didn't go to Afghanistan for shits and giggles, and that virtually every country in that previous string of countries is home to a small, but dedicated, contingent of anti-social types bent on terrorizing the modern world back into the stone age. When that day comes and he asks me why some people are willing to blow themselves (and anyone around them) up to make a point, I will be tempted to simply explain to him that most terrorists just need to get laid. Unfortunately, that will open up an entirely new can of worms.
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