What not to do as a Geek Dad. (As taught to me by Star Wars and Indiana Jones)

I have been told repeatedly, and by several people that there are several things that I SHOULD NOT do when raising a child. Most of those things are not essential. The most notable thing someone told me was: "Don't get him vaccinated on a Friday, that is when the Hospitals use the bad shipments of vaccines."

Now, I am a very clear headed person. Until someone gives me advice that is truly good advice, I will adhere to the following things that I have learned about parenting from Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

1.) Don't ever go into politics with your father. As we see in "The Empire Strikes Back," Vader attempts to recruit his son Luke into "ruling the galaxy as father and son." There are several reasons why this is a bad idea. The most notable being that we have recently experienced the results of this very experiment for the past eight years here in the United States with the Bush family. Not just George W. and George H. but with Jeb as well. This was a veritable triumvirate of family power that led this nation into an economic depression, as well as at least one or two grammatical SNAFUs. ("Pototoes" and "Ffolks" aside.) If you look in past history this didn't work out too well, either. The Roman Empire as well as the British Monarchy were plagued with familial squabbles and murders. Hopefully we can avoid those in our family.

2.) Do not allow yourself to be seduced by any Austrian spies. Demonstrated by Professor Henry Jones and Professor Henry Jones Jr. in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," this is kind of an easy one to avoid. But trust me....just don't let yourself get caught in that kind of situation--it is awkward whether or not you are tied together in two chairs during a fire. "She talks in her sleep" should be in reference to Mom only.

3.) Don't EVER let your child go to the Tosche station to pick up power converters. They can waste time with their friends when the chores are done. It's as simple as that.

4.) Don't ever ask your son if he knows how to fly an airplane. This will invariably result in an awkward dogfight with an Messerschmidt and a crash landing on a Tunisian guys' goat farm. Just assume that he does know how to fly (he must know something...he's sitting at the controls...) and maybe you can avoid these unpleasant types of crash landings.

5.) And last, but most definitely not least, the one piece of advice that I think deep down in their heart every parent knows, DO NOT let your child turn to the dark side. As demonstrated by Vader in ROTJ, if you believe in your kid then anything is possible. Even the redemption of yourself through them.

So there it is. Those are the core things I am going to try to remember/pass on/live as I help my child grow and change. I must note, that all of this is being said without him actually arriving yet, so these priorities may change a little bit.