Calvin is a born performer. He absolutely loves being the center of attention and will skillfully utilize it once he has it to break dance, sing, pontificate, parkour, or generally do whatever he can to make you laugh or clap. I appreciate that most kids will do this but, for better or worse, we’re deciding to feed this behavior.
He loves Youtube and just about any performance platform (Tik Tok, Snap, Instagram, you name it). He is constantly narrating his stories, games, and playtime and constantly wants to try new things.
With all that in mind, it was a fairly easy decision for us once Calvin proposed launching his own YouTube channel. Our thinking was that as long as he works at it, realizing that its not just fun and game play, it’s a great activity for him. I really believe in letting kids experiment, fail, learn, and, most importantly, see the fruits of their labor. YouTube is awesome for that. We posted his first video a couple of weeks ago and he lit up! Its rough but that’s mostly the fault of the videographer and sound editor (future posts as I learn more….). He didn’t care if it had rough edges and could not wait to show Alyse or our families. When a friend of mine told him a couple days later that he liked Calvin’s video I swear Calvin was floating the rest of the day. Calvin still watches it every couple of days and his face still lights up.
It’s that kind of inspiration that a child, or anyone, has to experience for themselves, it can’t be told. They have to do something, finish it, and then feel that sense of accomplishment.
He chose the name Brave Captain Calvin simply because he liked it. He plans to have unboxing videos, gaming videos, life videos, and Lego build videos. Again, we’re letting him make these choices and proposals and then doing our best to support him as long as he is driving it. I’m moving slowly on picking up gear but its become clear some is needed.
His first video was not too difficult to record but I have loads of lessons from putting it together! We play with some toys he earned for behaving extremely well during some boring family photo shoots. (As an aside, I love the fact that he’s so into 80’s and 90’s throwback toys! I honestly had little to do with it. Thanks Netflix and YouTube!)
He knows that maintaining a channel involves participation day in and day out. As long as he stays energetic and involved, we’ll support him and stay involved. So far he’s only picking up speed. I can’t wait to see what he does with Brave Captain Calvin!