Are the Kids Car Enthusiasts Too?

My spouse and I love cars. My wife and I are at the level of “liking cars more than the average person,” but my husband is a full-blown car geek. People sometimes ask us, “Are your kids into cars as well?”

It’s common to hear stories like “I became interested in cars because my dad loved them,” but how about in our case?

…Honestly, it’s a bit iffy (laughs).

Well, they’re still young, so who knows how things will turn out as they grow, but for now, they’re “neither particularly car enthusiasts nor do they dislike cars.” The other day, I asked our eldest daughter, “Do you want to drive a car when you grow up?” and she replied:

No. I can’t reach the pedals, and I’m scared of crashing.

(I think you’ll reach the pedals by the time you get your license, though, lol) She also recently rode in a friend’s minivan and was impressed by its size, spaciousness, and comfort, saying, “I want to ride in a car like that too. Why doesn’t Dad buy one like that?” But my husband just said,

Nope (-_-)

and that ended the conversation.

As for our younger daughter, when she was about one year old, she would immediately sit in the driver’s seat and grab the steering wheel whenever she got in a car, but she’s stopped doing that recently.

Cars as Part of Everyday Life

Still, it’s clear that the presence of cars is deeply rooted in their daily lives. Recently, we had our air-cooled Porsche repaired at a shop, and besides that, we often leave our cars for inspections and oil changes.

Each time, I tell the girls,

Right now, your car is at the car doctor’s getting fixed.

So they seem to understand the idea of “fixing a car.” Just the other day, they were busy repairing their beloved Porsche themselves (laughs).

Our beloved Porsche broke down, so the sisters are fixing it together, apparently lol pic.twitter.com/waDfVTv8De

— Mina – Porsche Blogger (@Mina_Panamera) August 30, 2019

Also, when the younger daughter rides her toy car, she pretends to drive with quite intense enthusiasm. I wonder who she takes after… lol

So intense lol pic.twitter.com/L64K4umxma

— Mina – Porsche Blogger (@Mina_Panamera) August 22, 2019

Moreover, we’ve been taking them to watch races at the circuit and tagging along to my husband’s track days, so they seem to love the atmosphere of the circuit itself and often say they want to go again.

As for our eldest daughter, she can recognize the (used to recognize) emblems of “BMW,” “Mercedes-Benz,” “Volkswagen,” and “Porsche” in our home, and when she sees those cars, she happily says things like, “Oh, that’s a BMW!” When I was five, I didn’t even know the first syllable of Mercedes-Benz, lol.

In this way, cars are naturally and invisibly part of their environment like air. So even if they don’t become “car lovers,” I think there’s a good chance they’ll own cars or live a life with cars in the future.

Even If They Don’t Become Car Enthusiasts

That said, my spouse and I don’t intend to “force our kids to become car lovers.” More than that,

“We hope they can feel the joy and motivation their parents get through cars.”

We hope they’ll think, “Adults actually seem to have fun,” “Dad (and Mom too, lol) works hard to buy the cars they want,” and “Working hard might bring good things,” so that their attitude toward life and work becomes positive, even if just intuitively.

And when they grow up and understand the value of Porsche,

Wait, Porsche is pretty expensive. Dad must be crazy!

I’m sure that day will come (lol). (By then, I hope to have bought my first Porsche too.) But I want them to grow up without putting up walls in their lives, thinking “Porsche is attainable if you work hard” and “If my parents could do it, I can too.”

That said, watching my daughters wrestle every day and burst into laughter shouting “Poop!” makes me think, “Not sure they’ll grow up that smoothly (-_-),” but well, that’s just how I feel as a parent these days.