Getting ready to raise a geek girl

Back in July my wife and I welcomed our first, completely new person--a baby girl. Those of you with kids already know what I'm learning--what an incredible experience it is to be a first-time parent--and that the human body begins to fall apart without sufficient sleep! (Actually, she's let us sleep a lot more than we expected.)

Anyway, in the last several months--including many leading up to her arrival--I've spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of media (okay, geek stuff!) we'll expose her to and, of course, when and how much. We've made a conscous descision to try to stem the pink princess tide as much as possible. If it happens it happens, but we're not inviting it (try having that conversation with an overly-exhuberant grandma!).


Truth is, geek girls have it a bit rougher since a lot of this stuff has historically been geared towards males. It's worth noting that there's a lot I thought would be "fine" for a boy, but the second I found out we're having a girl, I seemingly became very sensitive to what's "appropriate." My own definition of that is still evolving. Thankfully, websites like A Mighty Girl and Star Wars Parenting have certainly helped to give me ideas for content and activities. That said though, we hope to get her interested in "the basics" as it were.

A Classical Geek Education

Star Wars is a given. Original Trilogy all the way! And we'll only bring up the prequels if we have to, like when

One of a select few approved princesses....

some kid talks it about it at school and then we'll talk about in hushed tones with heavy guilt and embarassment. And then, when she's a bit more savvy: Star Trek (maybe closer to 9 or 10 years old?).

Of course we'll introduce comic books, but with a heavy dose of regular books as well. Wonder Woman can sometimes be complicated, but ultimately she's the most reconizable heroine.

My personal favorite: Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld. Yeah, I know, trading purple for pink, isn't much of a stretch! But Amethyst can hold her own and she's a truely original warrior princess--2 years before She-ra arrived(who was based off a boys' toyline) and long before Xena.

And I'll introduce her to my passion for Ray Harryhausen films. Too bad there's no girl-centric films in that vein. But I also want to be able to experience games and fun projects where she (and I) might actually learn something!

I know there will be some beloved games I'll teach her my favorite, Dungeon!* when she's old enough to grasp dice without swallowing. But it had me thinking, what about other family-oriented games, like the Munchkin series from Steve Jackson? (Frankly, I'm not too familiar with those games.)

Eventually we'll try some RPGs, X-plorers for sure, but also Marvel Superheroes (FASERIP Forever!) and yes, even D&D. Probablly one of the Mentzer or Holmes box sets to start.

This is where you come in...
I know there's also plenty of homebrew or retroclone games specifically for kids--what I don't know is how many of you have played or with what level of success.

I've got my list of nerd stuff, but I'd like to open it up to readers. And not just game stuff--if you're a parent (or an aunt or an uncle) and are charged with nerding up your ward--what's been the most fun/rewarding stuff?

List your favorite geek activities and recommendations in the comments!




*Of which I currently possess 3 different versions!