By nature, I am a DO IT NOW person. If I have a task in my To-Do list that has a future due date but can be done now, I will do it NOW. I ended up wanting my son to emulate this behaviour too. He would get his work done, but not at my pace or when I ask him to do it.
This time, he had an activity that was due on Jan 21st and it was assigned in December before the vacation. Three times after asking him to work on it, i decided to do it on my own. Atleast as a prototype and also because it looked like a fun activity to take up to test my creativity too. So I sat and created the template and set everything ready. Kiddo just had to write the content and submit. At the time, it looked like the perfect thing to do. Instead of scolding him and nagging him to do it, I could finish most of the work and just make him do things that he absolutely needed to do. The plan was perfect. It was moving according to the schedule. An entire afternoon of cutting, research and drawing the template and I was done.
I take it to kiddo and show it to him proudly. I tell him all he needs to do is write and submit. In all this, I think I forgot the nature of my child. An extremely righteous kid. He never takes credit for work done by someone else. He doesnt take blame for others either. So, naturally, he did not take it well. He completely opposed the suggestion. He WOULD NOT do that. At that very moment, I was filled with pride. I knew it would not be easy for him to do it on his own, but he had resolved to do it without my help.
I decided to stay away from his work so that I do not intefere and get involved in HIS activity. End to end, he sat through patiently getting everthing together, cut, paste, decorate and went further and went on to draw and colour as well. Today, he was proudly showing me what he had done so far. It was absolutely done by a 11 year old kid. It was perfect. He exclaimed that he would use more creativity for decorating it and he was enjoying that activity completely.
The best part of this was I did not have to remind him, i did not scold him, I did not control what he did and yet he completed his activity. I am sure this is not my parenting genius. He is just a good kid and I probably do not give him enough credit for it. His ethics, concern for others, ownership and creativity is what will take him a long way in life.
Second post that I have written in a single day! I am on a roll. Now I need to go do some art. So until next, Happy Reading !
My Father-in-law was not the typical FIL who was distant and would not interact with his daughter-in-law. Well, initially he was like that and then he warmed up to my presence and opened up to me. Over the last few years, as we spent a lot of time together, as we were all living in the same home, he became my close friend, mentor, guide and my biggest cheerleader. He was born in Shimoga, grew up in Amrutur with his aunt, started his family in Sagara and eventually retired into Bangalore. 80+ years, he has had the most enviable life. Don't mistake it for a rosy life or a life with no issues or problems! He was one among 11 - 6 boys and 5 girls. He was the 2nd child and as his mother had more children, she needed help raising the kids and so she reached out to her sister in law to take care of him in Amruthur - a farmland. He grew up under the care of his aunt and love from his cousins, who were all girls. He would eat fresh food from the abundance of the farm and also drink milk so...
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