I’m a nerd Dad. I have two awesome nerd kids. That being said, Being nerds doesn’t mean that we always share the same passions. When my teenage son started getting into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic I didn’t get it. But then I had never watched the show. My son is a great kid who is passionate about the things he loves and has shown this from a young age. I encourage these passions and was a very proud father when, at his grade 2 ‘graduation’ ceremony his teacher would remark, “Chance knows more about Star Wars than anyone I have ever met.” I had a young padawan for a son, I was pretty good at this whole being-a-dad thing.

But kids grow up and their tastes change. My son left Star Wars behind and became engrossed in Bionicles. He wanted all the toys, he watched the movies, he the books, he had the encyclopedia. He didn’t just play Bionicles, he wanted to know everything about them. Eventually he would grow out of this and graduate to the Halo video games, books, and Halo fan videos on Youtube. And now, at the age of 17, he is a 100%, full-on, fandom-gushing Brony. It isn’t enough to just watch the show, he writes fan-fiction, he has the dvds, toys, t-shirts, even Rainbow Dash onesie pyjamas that he sometimes wears to school. I can’t say I really understood it, so I watched a bit of the shows trying to see what all the fuss was about. And it wasn’t bad, just not to my tastes. Sadly, I wept a little inside remembering the young padawan that I used to know. But my passions are not his passions and I have to let him be his own nerd.

Recently we had a family outing to McDonald’s where kids were encouraged to wear pyjamas and we al went out and both my kids wore their pyjamas, Angry Birds Star Wars for my youngest and my eldest in his Rainbow Dash onesie. Oh, we got some looks and stares and pointing. At first I was embarrassed but then I remembered how I used to dress when I was younger. This was my son’s choice and my job as his father is to be supportive of him, even if I don’t get it. But I certainly can’t say anything negative about My Little Pony. If it teaches about caring, loyalty and friendship then how can it be a bad thing?

Follow Kirby on twitter @bigbabyberkeley