Parenting Archives - Page 21 of 21

11/02/201023/11/2023

I am Hungry

N’s achievement of the day…
When N got home from school today here’s what she reported. Said she, “Mama today we had a brown daal for lunch. Gunraj (a classmate) didn’t like it at all. So Jean (another classmate) said ‘give it to N’. And I ate up his daal.”

I was stumped.. here I am struggling everyday to get her to finish her food and there she is finishing other kids’ food. School indeed does strange things to children.

Then there was more…
She added, “Then Hrehaan said he also didn’t like the daal, so I ate that too.” That had me appalled. I have been trying hard to instil basic hygiene and don’t even allow H and N to eat from the same plate and there she was eating with all and sundry. I couldn’t help remarking, “Aap ne dono ka jhootha kha liya? Kyon?” “Mujhe strong hona hai na,” said she brandishing her invisible muscles. What can anyone say to that?

08/01/201015/04/2017

To be a boy’s mum

You need a strong heart and a large one too, to be a boy’s mum:

Strong enough to let him get hurt in one of his boy games which are naturally more violent than any girly games could ever be…. and, unfortunately the only ones he enjoys.
Strong enough to watch him cycling precariously fast on his bike.. going up and down speed breakers like they didn’t exist.
Strong enough to watch him wait for the car to come dangerously close before he dodges his bike smartly out of the way.
Strong enough to watch him balance at the edge of the sofa and execute a neat dive just as you reach out to help him.
And a heart large enough to let him play with the boy who hurt him yesterday because he’s your son’s ‘best friend’.
Large enough to handle the guilt, his and yours, when he hurts another kid and to punish him, even while you love him, because he needs to learn a lesson.
Large enough to forgive the boys who hurt your kid because you know they didn’t mean it either.

A heart that needs to be told over and over and over again that

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

05/07/200715/04/2017

All in the Genes – H

Last Sunday I got fever.. pretty high.. 102…. which was a sort of record for me. Obviously mama went into a state of total panic specially because it was a Sunday and most docs were not available. Anyway the indomitable woman that she is, she tracked down our regular doctor, packed me up in a warm jacket (because it was raining like crazy), flew into an auto and rushed to him.

We had to wait for quite some time and I felt more uncomfortable by the minute… it was like my body was on fire. As I grew warmer mama paced up and down waiting for our turn. When finally we got to the doc… one look at me and he told mama to strip off my jacket. My Tee went next and then my pajamas… there I was standing in just my vest and diapers. That was embarrassing for a big boy like me but the cool air felt so good that I forgot to be self-conscious. Then the doc stood me right in front of the fan…. this was better and better.

And then followed a long lecture to mama on how kids should NEVER be covered up when they have fever. And you know what? Nani had done the very same thing when mama was a baby. What’s even funnier she’d told the whole story to mama. who’d then thought that nani had been really silly… everyone knows when kids have fever they shouldn’t be all wrapped up, … and there she was making the very same mistake all over again.
It’s all in the genes. Wot say?

PS: Later on, mama said she was glad she’d made me wear a decent vest that day.