My son goes through stages: Star Wars … Marvel … Kung Fu Panda … The list goes on. Some stages pass quickly; others stick around for longer.  

Recently, he’s been into Harry Potter. We’ve started watching the films. And, owing to his curious nature, which I love, he has questions.  

Lots of questions.  

Too many questions.  

He talks over scenes, usually ones providing the answers to his previous questions. I often find myself pausing the film every few seconds, albeit begrudgingly, for an in-depth discussion. 

I tell him the same thing my mum would always say to me: ‘If you just watch the film, you’ll find out the answers.’ 

I’m not sure how to handle the situation (yet). He needs to learn patience and to focus on the story as it unfolds. He also needs to understand and respect the social parameters we observe when watching a film.  

But also, he’s just a child. Film-watching etiquette lessons can take place another day.  

It’s clearly my hang-up. I’m guilty of entering into a transaction with my son where we each have vastly different expectations. And that’s on me. 

I’m going into the experience hoping to enjoy a film together, where neither of us talks, and I’m off the clock as a parent. Whereas he assumes I’m here to guide him through this latest new and exciting phase, albeit one that’s also confusing – Harry Potter explores a lot of adult themes (RIP Hedwig). 

I know I’m in the wrong, and I know it’s my job to fix it. And I’m trying to do better, but I still haven’t figured out exactly how yet.  

Of course, this is just the ‘next thing’, isn’t it?  

Once my uncertainty about how to handle this situation stabilises, there’ll be something else that’s new to me, something else that I don’t immediately know how to respond to. 

Whatever challenges parenthood throws our way, it’s always the next thing.  

And then the next.  

And the next.  

And that will never stop. Because we never stop being parents.  

Right now, it’s Harry Potter. Tomorrow it will be something else.