Parental Guidance

 


Hey Koko,

Since you are six years old now and in Class 1, I have started treating you like a big boy. I don’t need to do everything for you, so I encourage you to independently complete your work. Finish your food, dress yourself, comb your hair, keep you room arranged.

The initiative is well, in the initiative stage still. Have not seen a great amount of success very honestly. Routinely I see unfinished food on the table and you sitting somewhere far away, daydreaming, or playing or some such. The room is a mess, the hairstyle is suspect, and don’t get me started on the t-shirt worn wrong. Now your father has an insatiable appetite to put up with such whims, I do not. After being patient for a while, I feel, the boy will go hungry, let me feed him. He will learn to finish food another day. If things go this way, his hair will never be properly combed, so I brush your hair again. You wear your pants such that the drawstrings are at the back and you pretend to be monkey. No monkeying around while I am there I think, and I promptly get it back in order.

So the other day, while you were intent upon buttoning up your night suit, I mentioned that you do not need any parental guidance to do it as you are a big boy now. I meant it purely by the way of encouraging you and pat came the reply from you, “You are always parental guiding me Ma!”

OMG! I am dreading the teens already. But ok, point taken, let’s have you with the unkempt hair and wrong pants for a month and see if any guidance is required or you learn to not remain hungry.

Love,

Ma

Comments

  1. iraniMay 13, 2021 at 8:42 AM

    Lovely letter on parenting....I am sure after the initial helter skelter, koko will soon learn to put everything in order.
    And for the maa, i really appreciate how u gather so many little things and make such a fine man out of koko. Loads of love to both of you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elementary, my dear Koko

Image
When I ask you how was school You smile, or frown, or play around You don't have the patience To recall the names of your friends, or teachers A slight yes here, and a no there That is all I know of your school Then I play Holmes And rummage your bag Or your pockets or almanac Do I see some sand on your bag? So you've been to the park Again rolling about Now, I'd need to wash your uniform again Do I see a toffee wrapper in your pocket? Must have been someone's birthday Do I see some paint on your pants? Some serious painting must be going on Is that some chutney on your napkin? So you're sharing food with your friends  When I ask you these to confirm You're wide-eyed  in awe I smile, it's elementary my dear Koko.
Read more

The Usual

Image
Dear Koko, I have been highly irregular, but then life has been highly irregular the last couple of months - no about a year now?  I am sorry you had to see all this now. Now when you should be going to school and filling up your pocket with sand and share everything with your friends. Instead we are teaching you to be wary of people, stay away from them, not shake hands, not hug, not share. What a strange world it is! The other day I was telling you to sit and complete your homework. I know homework is such a chore for you. You don't want to do it. You'd rather watch TV and play video games. I used to get very irate initially (full disclosure - I still do) when I'd want you to read and paint and you sneak out for some TV time.  I think to myself, watching so much TV will fry your brain. But then wouldn't this crazy loneliness too? This weird time when both parents are home but hey can't give you focused attention for whatever reason (work mostly, or their own sanit...
Read more

The 2024 Euro Trip: Chapter 1 - Take Off!

Image
 Dear Koko,  I would say I had the privilege of travelling with the most enthusiastic 9 YO ever on the most high-octane Euro trip ever. While we wanted to be lazy and relaxed, we ended up packing our days with so much to do, and you kept up at every step. There was never a complaint from you. I am so happy that you adjusted so fast and so well. I know you had a lot of fun, so did I. In fact we had so much fun that one letter would not justify what we did.  I had in fact kept in mind about our letters so I had kept a short journal of sorts, which I will now transfer to your letters. So here is the first in the series. Let us start at the beginning. This trip did not start now when we took our flight and set foot far away from home. This vacation started months ago when we first started planning. Each of us had opinions which were tugging us in three different directions so zeroing in one place which covers all our interest areas was the first hurdle to cross.  Once we...
Read more