Dear Piya,
This world exists in opposites.
There is black to white.
There is day to night.
There is zero to one.
And then there is child to mum.
Let’s talk a bit about that last contrast.
I wish for you to learn good things. Through these I believe you will incorporate good behaviour. And for this, I have been communicating, the benefits of being good, to you since you were in the babble-phase-of-life.
For every good deed done by you (picking up your toys, finishing your meal, brushing your teeth instead of your lips, accepting the pair of clothes I have chosen for you to wear, etc.) I always make it a point to say aloud “What a good girl you are!”
In line with the opposites of the world, then, for every bad deed I wish you wouldn’t do (throw things around, spill the food everywhere space exists, refuse to eat, refuse to take a bath, refuse to go to sleep, refuse to wake up, etc.) I try to evoke good behaviour through “Are you not a good girl? Do you want to be a bad girl?”
You must be wondering how silly all this sounds. Well, wait no more for it to get sillier. I actuate your good behaviour with your liking for the animal kingdom.
“The peacock did not spread its feathers today. Do you know why? Because you haven’t brushed your teeth yet.”
“Can you hear the dog barking? It is angry with you for not eating your meal.”
“See? Even the pigeons are flying away to sleep now.”
Now the beauty of childhood lies in two essential elements-
1. A young mind, being a blank slate, is very trusting. This works a lot in the favour of parents finding the journey a bit tumultuous with unstoppable little merry-go-rounds like you
2. A young mind, being a brilliant learner, learns of all their parents tricks in no time, leaving the poor parents with little respite from their unstoppable merry-go-rounds
Simply put, you were very receptive of my ‘Need to be good’ strategy - a reward for good deed and then some scolding for the bad deeds. I was conditioning you well, I believed, and slept peacefully for many a night.
That was till you figured out that being good is nothing but lame. Everything you really ever wanted always happened to fall in the ‘bad’ category.
And so, thereafter, to every “Aren’t you a good girl?” query of mine, you became quick with a smiling acceptance of “Nope! I am a bad girl”.
I guess you thought ‘Eh! What does bad bring in anyway? I might as well embrace the tag and enjoy the forbidden treats!’
You now relish ice-creams at night, as I stare my ray of ‘Bad girl!’ at you from across the room. Since you have already flaunted being a bad girl, you simply giggle from behind the ice-cream-moustache around your mouth.
For every time that I claim that the dog is mad at you for not going to sleep, you tell me to go put the dog to sleep instead.
And then, there is the never-ending drama-wail of yours which you seldom restrain from your lips; it’s effective & immediate solution is that I give up trying to convince you to behave, and simply shout out “Do what you want! Sleep. Don’t sleep. Eat. Don’t eat. Bathe or don’t! Why do I care!”
And this is how you bring out the third interesting essential element of childhood -
3. A young mind, being a kind heart it is, will always beat with sweet sounds of ‘Mumma’ on its lips
I guess you realise that you enjoy being bad for only as long as it bothers me.
And so, the minute I give up on you is the time you decide that being bad isn’t worth it after all.
This should be the answer to the question mark that popped in your head when I put child & mum in the ‘opposites’ of the world, right?
Love,
Maa.
This world exists in opposites.
There is black to white.
There is day to night.
There is zero to one.
And then there is child to mum.
Let’s talk a bit about that last contrast.
I wish for you to learn good things. Through these I believe you will incorporate good behaviour. And for this, I have been communicating, the benefits of being good, to you since you were in the babble-phase-of-life.
For every good deed done by you (picking up your toys, finishing your meal, brushing your teeth instead of your lips, accepting the pair of clothes I have chosen for you to wear, etc.) I always make it a point to say aloud “What a good girl you are!”
In line with the opposites of the world, then, for every bad deed I wish you wouldn’t do (throw things around, spill the food everywhere space exists, refuse to eat, refuse to take a bath, refuse to go to sleep, refuse to wake up, etc.) I try to evoke good behaviour through “Are you not a good girl? Do you want to be a bad girl?”
You must be wondering how silly all this sounds. Well, wait no more for it to get sillier. I actuate your good behaviour with your liking for the animal kingdom.
“The peacock did not spread its feathers today. Do you know why? Because you haven’t brushed your teeth yet.”
“Can you hear the dog barking? It is angry with you for not eating your meal.”
“See? Even the pigeons are flying away to sleep now.”
Now the beauty of childhood lies in two essential elements-
1. A young mind, being a blank slate, is very trusting. This works a lot in the favour of parents finding the journey a bit tumultuous with unstoppable little merry-go-rounds like you
2. A young mind, being a brilliant learner, learns of all their parents tricks in no time, leaving the poor parents with little respite from their unstoppable merry-go-rounds
Simply put, you were very receptive of my ‘Need to be good’ strategy - a reward for good deed and then some scolding for the bad deeds. I was conditioning you well, I believed, and slept peacefully for many a night.
That was till you figured out that being good is nothing but lame. Everything you really ever wanted always happened to fall in the ‘bad’ category.
And so, thereafter, to every “Aren’t you a good girl?” query of mine, you became quick with a smiling acceptance of “Nope! I am a bad girl”.
I guess you thought ‘Eh! What does bad bring in anyway? I might as well embrace the tag and enjoy the forbidden treats!’
You now relish ice-creams at night, as I stare my ray of ‘Bad girl!’ at you from across the room. Since you have already flaunted being a bad girl, you simply giggle from behind the ice-cream-moustache around your mouth.
For every time that I claim that the dog is mad at you for not going to sleep, you tell me to go put the dog to sleep instead.
And then, there is the never-ending drama-wail of yours which you seldom restrain from your lips; it’s effective & immediate solution is that I give up trying to convince you to behave, and simply shout out “Do what you want! Sleep. Don’t sleep. Eat. Don’t eat. Bathe or don’t! Why do I care!”
And this is how you bring out the third interesting essential element of childhood -
3. A young mind, being a kind heart it is, will always beat with sweet sounds of ‘Mumma’ on its lips
I guess you realise that you enjoy being bad for only as long as it bothers me.
And so, the minute I give up on you is the time you decide that being bad isn’t worth it after all.
This should be the answer to the question mark that popped in your head when I put child & mum in the ‘opposites’ of the world, right?
Love,
Maa.
No comments:
Post a Comment