Over at The Root, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites, Rebecca Walker (estranged daughter of Alice Walker) writes an interesting piece about the things that she is going to make sure her son sees and experiences. Her first instinct upon seeing a picture of the Obama’s:

Call me old-fashioned, call me a fashionista who loves to see classic couture meet the new black aesthetic, call me fashioning a blog post out of a media moment, but I ran downstairs and got my son from his room. I wanted to make sure that, even though he’s only three-and-a-half years old, he could see a new kind of Presidential family. I wanted to make sure he could see what the world looks like, circa today.

She then recounts all the things her mother made sure that she saw and experienced: having a kiss by BB King, getting Cicely Tyson’s autograph, meeting Nelson Mandela, talking to Harry Belefonte, and the list goes on. While some commenters chided her on the high-post-ness of her list, I think her point was well made. There are all sorts of things that I want to make sure my kids see, hear and experience in life.

When I was growing up, we didn’t have the money to take expensive trips or the social clout to meet famous people. But my parents made sure that once a year, they splurged to take my brother and I to a live entertainment show of our choice (mine was Janet Jackson, his was Wrestle-Mania.) My mother made sure that literature lined our walls, especially those of black authors. My father made sure that we heard all different types of music, from rock to classical to rap to jazz. Not to tout my own horn but that of my parents: to this day I think I am one of the most widely read and know more about music than most people my age who had a lot more than I did growing up. It was through books and music that I learned about greatness, much how Rebecca Walker learned about greatness through shaking greatness’s hand.

So what do I want to make sure my kids see, hear, and experience? My kids are too little to understand the significance of an Obama ticket, but they sure can hear the excitement in our voices as we talk about it. I want to make sure that my children realize that the world is bigger than them, by doing simple things that showing them the ocean this weekend. I too want to introduce them to the world through books, to make sure that they know what’s out there even if they don’t always get to see it.

What do you want to “make sure” for your kids?