The exhausted dad: It’s OK to be a Barbie tween

“Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.”

That’s a popular phrase in my house. Ex. One kid LOVES pinto beans and another kid HATES them. It’s totally fine to like what you like, but it’s not OK to say things like, “Pinto beans are disgusting!”

Message being: Just because YOU don’t like something doesn’t make it bad. Let that person enjoy what they enjoy.

(Note: I’m fully aware that my other regular column in Coeur Voice is one where I sometimes criticize movies I don’t like. I try to provide support for those criticisms, and discuss objective reasons why something may not work, but at the end of the day, hopefully most people understand that it’s ultimately just my opinion).

The “Don’t yuck someone’s else’s yum” phrase works beyond food obviously, and it’s heartening to see other people take the same approach with their kids as well. Case in point, I recently walked into a conversation my 11-year-old daughter was having with one of her school friends.

Her friend was detailing the most recent season of “Stranger Things,” a television show my daughter hasn’t seen for various reasons. What kids watch is ultimately an individual parenting decision, and I just happen to know my daughter isn’t quite ready for the ghoulish delights of the popular series. After all, she tells me she’s still traumatized by that time I showed her “The Goonies.”

As her friend finished her thoughts on “Stranger Things,” my daughter began describing an episode of a “Barbie” cartoon series. Then she said something about “Curious George.”

Now, back when I went to middle school, I would NEVER admit to watching anything that didn’t sound cool.

“No, I didn’t see ‘Toy Story!’ I just watched ‘From Dusk Till Dawn!’”

(I totally saw “Toy Story.” Multiple times.)

My daughter didn’t think twice about sharing something about these “kid” shows she enjoyed, even after her friend just spent several minutes talking about blood and Demogorgons or whatever. Her friend then veered straight into the “Barbie” conversation without pause. She seemed interested, and more importantly, she seemed supportive of what her friend enjoyed.

There was no yucking a friend’s yum.

I suppose this won’t seem all that revelatory to people who surround themselves with supportive friends, but I still come across many adults who think they’re “above” certain things. People who volunteer comments like, “I don’t watch television. That’s such a waste of time.” Or “Football is for idiots.”

Just recently, one of my friends I attend school with snickered when I asked them if they had a Disney Plus account.

“Why would I have a Disney account? I don’t have kids.” They remarked.

I took a second and tried not to take offense. Ultimately I said, “Lots of adults like Disney Plus. There’s “Star Wars,” and Marvel and National Geographic and Pixar.”

“Ugh,” they said. “Why would I waste my time on dumb, kiddie things like that?”

Talk about yucking the yum of millions of Americans, am I right? Has this person seen how emotional grown adults get just about “Star Wars?”

I tried to be nice. But this was the best (and nerdiest) I could do:

It’s OK for people to like those things. I loved Pixar as an adult long before I ever had kids. Forget about animation, there isn’t a better streak of cinematic achievements like the run of “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E” and “Up.”

(I omitted “Cars,” but the person I was talking to wouldn’t know the difference.)

All this person said back was, “Sounds like you like kid movies.”

I guess I do. And I guess my daughter still likes “Barbie” even when her friends are watching things that are “more mature.” But at least her friend isn’t spitting “Barbie” out and yelling, “That’s disgusting!” like it was some mushy pinto bean.

• • •

Tyler Wilson is a freelance writer, full-time student, and parent to four kids, ages 5-11. He is tired. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.