It is a fact that not many people out there are making money off of cubing, yet despite its other merits the hobby gets a bad rep in the general public for being unproductive.
Now in previous posts I have discussed possible solutions for how to dispel the misconceptions associated with cubers, like how cubers have to be smart or how we’re socially inept. It is definitely true that a large part of the whole “cubing isn’t a productive hobby” misconception has to due with these ideas, but since I have previously covered them I’m not going to be talking about that.
Rather, how can we solve the issue of parents not being supportive of their child’s pursuit of cubing?
This is a real issue in the community. After all, most cubers are on the younger side. It would be a scary site if one day we just have 13 year-olds, Rubik’s cube in hand, barreling down I-95 towards cubing competitions.
Young cubers need parents. They need them to drive them to competitions to be active members of the community, they need their credit cards to buy cubes, and most importantly, they need their support in order to be able to practice in the first place.
So what can we do about this?
Cubers:
If you are a young cuber without the support of your parents, show them what they want to see. Growing up, my mom was always concerned with how much social time I was getting in. When I was younger a huge reason my parents drove me to competitions was the social aspect of cubing.
Actively advertise your friends. I have been to 3 US nationals (it’ll be 4 plus my first Worlds after this summer) and I have met countless people from all over the nation. If you’ve had the privilege of going to a nationals, name drop some one from a different state to your parents. That will certainly impress them.
Maybe your parents value skills and academics. Show them how your improving your speed when solving. Show steady success at the competitions you go to. Show them that it is worth it for them to continue to allow you to hone your skills so that you can use those skills for applications for university or jobs later in life. I got into college because of an essay about cubing. I have a friend that got into Princeton from an essay on cubing. I know people who have gotten jobs because of cubing on their resumes. This is a real thing. I’d recommend checking out a seminar on writing cubing essays for college by Daniel Goodman.
If college is way in the future for you, maybe take advantage of your cubing skills in school now. Do projects on cubing. If your parents start to see A+s because of your knowledge of your hobby, they will enable your hobby.
Parents:
In general it’s a bit of a cop out to say “be a good parent.” Is there a such thing as spending too much time and money on hobbies like cubing? Yes. And it is definitely likely that at some point you will have to tell your son or daughter “no,” to a cube or competition they want to buy/go to. But it’s also your job to determine this from an educated perspective. Don’t just drop off your kids at competitions and sit in the corner. There is a community of cubing parents; some of the even start solving cubes themselves.
Join Cubing Moms and Dads on Facebook and learn about the community. Be involved in the speed solving success of your child by learning what it is that they’re doing and they, seeing your approval, will continue to delve deeper into the community. What starts off as solving a puzzle quickly becomes something to make lifelong friendships and open up real opportunities.
Most importantly, and I hopefully really don’t have to say this, if your child likes a hobby, support their interests.
Conclusion:
There is a large minority of parents that exist that don’t think cubing is a productive way to spend time. Cubing, in most cases, is a productive hobby. It is the job of a parent to learn about the community in order to support their child’s interests and learn when it it is appropriate to say “no,” and it is the job of the cuber to push their family members to recognize cubing’s benefits.
Bartholomew
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