Khuljaye Bachpan...Jab Aap Ho Unke Sung

khuljaye bachhpan

'khuljaye Bachhpan', this theme(a contest topic by Kellogg's) I am sure is going to compel many parents to unveil their interesting parenting ventures… recalling and reliving some indelible moments. For new parents this could be a highly exciting topic as every new parent is beaming with so many lovely moments that they would love to share their experiences.

I believe that parenting is enjoyable at the same time a tricky task. The vulnerable minds of toddlers need to be dealt with extreme care as this forms the very foundation for their personality development in future.

When a new being enters your world it seems to change your world completely especially, being a mother I feel that nothing can change you more than motherhood. Patience, capacity, tolerance and to some extend even creativity …everything expands like elastic and the reward that we get in return is unmatched to any other pleasures.

A Blissful Moment

My four-year old son and I share a wonderful bond. He has always been a very inquisitive mind. It is his unique sense of expression and remarkable activities that make me enjoy every moment of my motherhood with him.

His curiosity to learn new things and explore the unexplored compels me too to be a part of his every learning and to make his learning experience fun.  I feel that his curious activities have gradually transformed me into a highly creative thinker discovering new ideas of fun learning.

Learning Can Be Fun

He was just one and a half when he was highly captivated by the charm of different shapes. I had bought a toy engine for him which had few shapes, within a week he learnt all the shapes and enjoyed playing with them. He was so fascinated with shapes that slowly he learnt all the shapes including the difficult ones like trapezoid, rhombus, octagon and even 3D shapes. By the age of two he was already aware of all the shapes around him.

Looking at his curiosity and interest I also started participating in his fun learning activity. I spent time with him drawing different shapes and coloring them. We then pasted the shapes on walls and talked about them.  These colorful shapes were treats to his eyes and the twinkle in his eyes was my reward.

Later, when he was mere two-and-a-half year old he once watched a planet video (this was a discovery he made himself while clicking for rhymes). Now this new video seemed to captivate him. He loved to watch more and more solar system videos.

I too watched the videos with him. After watching, mother and son sang the solar system song together, recalling the characteristics of each planet. I would later even forget some words but my little master did not fail.

Understanding his new interest I helped him make planets and saw him beaming with excitement. The obsession with planet was so high that he used his toys and did not even spare my kitchen tool to create ‘his Solar System’. I was always there encouraging and applauding him for his creations.

Creating Solar system with rings and kitchen tool

Parents I believe are the very first inspiration for kids. The toddlers learn whatever you offer them. Every child is different and beautiful. With the right type of parenting the parents have the power to transform their tots to bright and confident individuals.

Little master trying his best to write something

MY little toddler is a keen observer who loves exploring things. I always support him with his new learning ventures. His every new learning is a wonderful experience for me too.Whatever he wills to learn and whichever field he shows interest it becomes a matter of interest to me also. 

By the time he was three. He could read short stories, write small words, knew all planets including some dwarf planets(which even I learnt from him),all different shapes, including 3D shapes( even though he could not pronounce some correctly), name of days and months, Arabic letters, sounds of animals, Arabic letters, vehicle etc.

It was not that I sat with him and taught him all what he learnt. He is definitely a child with a curious mind and good grasping power.  All I can say with my experience is that when a parent becomes a child’s buddy then learning becomes fun and when learning becomes fun then there is no limit to exploring the world of knowledge.

Reaction of Other Parents

There were moments when some parents who witnessed my son’s vast knowledge at such a tender age, they were highly surprised. While some complimented me on his sound understanding and unique sense of expression and understood my role, there were others who commented (not complimented) that I was trying to be hard on my child. Some even said, “Ye bada studious type ka hai”, these words were definitely not uttered in a positive way.

For all those parents who think that a three-year old can be forced to gain knowledge I can only say that you are mistaken. It is just not possible to make a toddler do all the learning. Parents can only make learning fun and not a forceful act.

From my experience I can confidently conclude that a child might be fast or slow but when parents guide them properly and take interest in their interest then sky is the limit.

Today my son is four years old. He is on his learning venture, exploring new things, questioning all the time and broadening his horizon of knowledge. My husband and I are there for him, patiently participating in his learning games and cheering him up for his endeavors. 

Exploring all the Fun Zones

Fun time

He is a very active child. Apart from his learning activities he loves to play with friends, enjoys all kids rides, loves cars and not to forget he also loves watching movies in theaters which he calls “Big screen”.

Currently he is exploring the sea world. He loves to watch sea creatures. He wants to know about all the different types of sea animals. Understanding his new interest, his father makes sure to take him for fishing at least once or twice a month. The moments the duo spend near the sea-side is worth a million.

Learning to Help at Home

He is four now and is learning to help me in my little chores… like bringing a glass of water, putting dirty linen into washing machine and sometimes even some cleaning. Every effort he makes is always applauded and appreciated. I make sure to say ‘thank you’ to him and hug him whenever he helps me. This gesture of mine delights him and encourages him to help me willingly.

Parenthood … a multi tasking role

Motherhood brings with it multitasking roles. Apart from the basic functional roles never did I know that my son would turn into a story teller. Every night before sleeping I am requested for a story on unique topics suggested by him. The topics given to me are shapes, numbers, letters, nails etc, and I am geared to take up all with a glee. Much to my surprise I have gradually mastered the art of story creating.

Finding out ways for even most testing tasks

The one task that really tests my patience is his eating. He is a slow eater. It takes really lot of patience to make him finish his meal without losing my temper. But the ever-working mind of mother seems to have found a solution to this too. I use different motherhood tricks to make sure eating is not boring for him.

Currently he is enjoying aircraft videos and games. Now every morsel becomes an aircraft that needs to be landed safely on the runway (that is his mouth).There are smooth landings if the morsel is finished nicely and there are crashes if food falls off or not finished properly. Surprisingly and fortunately the trick is working.The very idea of aircraft excites him.

Innocence at its best...A Hilarious Moment

Once I advised my little one to drink more water. I told him that his urine turns pale because he doesn’t drink water and that it was not a good thing. Now my little master registered this logic and applied it on others who ever asked for water, not sparing even neighbors and strangers. He would innocently ask “oh, you want water, your shu shu must have become yellow”. This comment left us all roaring with laughter.

Khul Jaye Bachhpan Jab Aap Ho Unke Sung...

Finally, I would like to conclude by saying that be a buddy to your toddlers and let them be themselves.

Participation and appreciation are the two key words that can do the magic for all the kids. For this, you definitely need to have patience and keen interest in your kido’s development.

Having an authoritative attitude towards your kid creates distances and gaps between parent-kid relations. Some parents believe that adopting a friendly and frank approach can spoil their kids but the truth is just the contrary. Friendly relation only strengthens the bond and helps your child acquire confidence and feeling of security thus helping him to grow up into a pleasant and balanced personality.

However, there is no denying of the truth that as the kids start growing up the need for a balance of ‘authority and friendliness’ becomes very important.  ‘Friendship with authority’ relation is one that encompasses warmth, trust, respect, companionship and of course limits.
https://www.facebook.com/mychocos