Story About Teaching with Patience

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Basics taught in school and at home during the kindergarten days of a child form the stepping stones to a child’s prosperous future. Hence they need to be handled with lots of care during this stage of their life, when their brain opens up to accept new things being taught by their parents, friends, family and teachers at school. However the problem is they some times lack the desire the zeal to learn new things. As a parent I have often faced situations when Niti would simply give up learning and show complete lack of interest in that what is being taught,

Tuesday evening was such a day, she had been taught writing numbers 6,7 and 8, 6 and 7 were easy for her, but 8 was a real problem. Teacher at school had remarked several times in her book that she needs to practice writing 8. So, on Tuesday I had decided that I will teach her writing 8, hold her hand make her practice. But as we started I was pissed off, she showed no interest in writing, she would constantly divert her interest into toys. First I scolded her, but still she was reluctant to do it, I had to let go as I never like to force her to do things that she did not wanted to do. I was a little annoyed, but then, that is how it is, I had to live it to her.

Soon we closed the books, she started playing with a rope and I went on cleaning the room. I finished my cleaning within 15 minutes, Niti was still playing with the rope passing it through the window frame. I was watching her when she looked at me and said “mamma do you want to learn how to pass the rope through the window frame?” yes, was my reply and she was keen to teach me. She tried several times to teach but I behaved as if I was not able to get it. After 6 or 7 failed attempts to teach me, she gave up and was annoyed with me saying “Mamma I am trying to teach you in every possible way, but why don’t you understand? It is so simple. I am not going to teach you anymore”.

I told Niti, yes, it is really easy for you and me, but I did that purposefully to make you understand how it feels when you do not take in what I teach you. I know that you can write 8 very well, but today I do not know why you did not wanted to give it a try. Just like you, even I got hurt when you were not able to pick it up. Her reply was “Oh! Mamma, I am so sorry to have done that, let us write 8 and I am sure I will learn it instantly.” Then we wrote 8 several times and this time she was able to grasp it easily. 

I was so happy!! This was and is my way of making Niti do her school work, had I been strict with her, she would have not only got angry with me but would not even understand the importance of things like this. 

When Did She Grow to Think About My Happiness?

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My angel Niti, my about to be 4 year old daughter had called me yesterday. It was a call from our landline number, I was expecting it to be my mother-in-law, but, to my surprise it was Niti.

As soon as I picked up the call she said “Mummy I am back from school, had my lunch and now going to sleep” I asked, “what did you have for lunch?” there was a pause hmmmm.. and then came the reply that I expected “roti and sabji”

But I could make out from the long pause that she had lied and was able to catch her instantly on my next question “Which sabji did you eat?” and she instantly said

“Mummy,, I do not eat subji with milk it has to be eaten with roti, don’t you know that?”, I felt a little annoyed and so I confronted her saying “Yes, I know with milk you eat biscuits and with subji you eat roti” with some sternness I asked “Now tell me exactly what you had for lunch” and the reply was “Milk”.

I was displeased at first then thought what made her lie to me. I told her “If you had milk and not roti sabji then why you said that you had roti sabji, lying is not good, be true in whatever you say and do”.

Yes, of course I was waiting for a reply from her, and, she did gave the reply a reply that touched me deep inside 

“Mummy I know you don’t like it when I simply drink milk instead of having a proper lunch but Mummy I also know that you have lots of things to worry about in the office, if I say that I had milk then you would be annoyed and keep worrying about me, I do not wanted that and lied so that you feel happy and can concentrate better on your work, I am sorry”.

What I felt later was overwhelming, could not be expressed in words, she is just 3 years old, an age when children think only about themselves all that matters to them is their happiness, little do they ever think of the people around them, and here my 3 year old was thinking about my happiness. I don’t know when she became so caring,, there are no words to express…

Miss you Baby

Mamma