Things Children Teach Us!

We, as parents, think that it is us who teach the children the nuances of life. We go about reading parenting books while we are expecting and smugly think that we won’t be making any of the “mistakes” we think the other parents are making. In our heads, our child is the best behaved, well mannered, widely read and a delightful child.

But just the first few days after childbirth makes sure we discard any such thoughts. The advertisements showing a cherubic infant happily suckling away and a mother who looks almost angelic are, well, just adverts. Real life is not like that. If you had thought you would exclusively breastfeed your child, there are 99% chances that the baby wouldn’t want to latch on or would be inclined towards a feeding bottle. Or vice versa. If you had thought, you would look half as good as the women in the advertisement, be content with the fact that you get 60 seconds in a day to brush your teeth and take a shower.

And so while the children bring us face to face with reality, there are also a lot of things that we can learn from them.

1. Passion : You don’t think you are passionate enough to fulfill your ambitions? Look at a child who wants his/her feeding bottle NOW. The crying, wailing, shouting, flailing arms and legs. That is what you call Passion for something that you want. Don’t stop until you get it 😉
2. Patience : Look at a kid who’s learning to turn over on the stomach or to crawl or stand. You will be amazed at the constant flurry of activity. They don’t stop. They don’t get agitated if they don’t get it right the first few times. They try and try until they master it. That’s the kind of patience that can make an ordinary into a genius.
3. Courage : Now, would you, try to put your fingers in electrical sockets? Or dare to hang from the balcony for a view of that bird? Or try to stand upright under the bed? That’s what courage is made up of! Trying to do the unthinkable. To not be afraid of the outcome and explore the world at their fingertips. Quite literally.
4. Simplicity : We are often “bored” even though we can communicate with the other people of our species via talking, writing, reading, social media and what not. Look at these little people with such little scope of communication. Garbled words that make no sense, at least, until we learn to make sense out of them. And yet, these little beings are always busy exploring the world. Toys, chairs, utensils, dogs, cats, you get the drift.
5. Being Ghajini : Now, all of us, at some time or the other have shouted or shown anger at our little ones. Sometimes they are too young to even understand the concept of anger. But sometimes, we do hurt their sentiments for things which are natural for them like being too naughty or asking incessant questions. But a few moments later, they come back running to tell you something that they have just discovered or smile at you for no reason. Aren’t these little Ghajinis the best? For forgetting the ugly parts of life so easily and remaining the little curious adventurists that they are?

No wonder, Child is the father of Man! Do you have any learnings from your tiny tots?

Ghata has been quite the center of attention during her school and college days due to her unique name, but now she enjoys her new found title of Mommy to her 5 month old hyperactive princess. She is an Engineering Graduate and works with an MNC for a living. But what she really loves is reading books, spending time with her baby and writing about anything that catches her fancy. She blogs at My World. Also, she is the author of a future bestseller. At least in her head 🙂