It takes a lot of life experience to know that most of the tangible things in life can be bought, if you know the price. The price may not necessarily be in money, but almost anything can be bought or sold one way or the other.
The Generation Z learns this lesson faster than any other, thanks to constant stream of advertisements washing over us 24x7.
During one of his aggressive phases, Ashir was angry at me.
"Ashir, you are going to clean this mess now and go to bed" - I said.
"No I will not"
"I will count till 10"
"NO COUNTING.." - He shrieked
"One, Two.."
"NOOOO , I will kick the numbers"
"What?"
"You cannot kick the numbers, I am counting.. Three Four.."
"NOOOO I will kick you"
"What did you say?"
"I will kick you out" - He was furious
My jaw dropped - "What? You will kick me out? I will be sad and not come back"
"OK, I will get a new Papa from the Papa Store"
I was shocked. He looked at me for a few seconds and realized immediately that he has said something terribly wrong. He came to me running, held my face with both hands and said.
"Sorry, Papa, I will clean now"
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Max and Ruby
Max and Ruby is his favorite show these days. It is cute but I think it has done a lot of damage lately.
Ashir has always been obedient, he has his own mind but he had always come around to reason, talking and in extreme cases threat of a timeout. But lately he is becoming more and more stubborn. Initially we thought that this is just part of growing up and he will be fine but then after further investigation we concluded that it is this cute bunny show that is the culprit.
Max and Ruby is about a little rabbit Max and his elder sister Ruby. Ruby tries new things and acts like a early (rabbit) teenager, while Max is equivalent of a 2 old boy. He doesnt speak full sentences yet, just one word at a time. So if he needs to drink water he will say "Water".
The twist is that Max is also a whiz with almost every gadget, he can drive a toy car, fly a remote controlled airplane, shoot darts with accuracy and much much more.
Ruby tries to control him but he always does something opposite, at first it looks that it will ruin whatever Ruby is trying to do but in the end the genius Max prevails, to the delight of his fans he always proves right and actually saves the day for Ruby.
So Ruby the elder is always wrong and Max the younger is always right.
We realized this connection when he was throwing tantrums the other day. We always eat on a little dining table in the kitchen, but today he was insisting to eat in his play room.
"Upstairs" - He pointed up
"No Ashir, not now, let us finish our dinner and then you can play for a while"
"Upstairs"
"So will you not eat today?"
"Upstairs" - he pointed to his food.
"No mister you are not getting your food upstairs, we have our food here and then we go up"
"Upstairs" he said sternly.
"No. Eat here or no food"
"Upstairs" - He began to cry
We were puzzled, but then connected the dots when we saw an episode or two of Max and Ruby, he was acting out Max, hoping that in the end he will be proven right.
I think even though the rating agencies give a "C" rating to some cartoons, they should also look at the message these cartoons are conveying. On our part we will block M&R and see if that makes a difference.
Ashir has always been obedient, he has his own mind but he had always come around to reason, talking and in extreme cases threat of a timeout. But lately he is becoming more and more stubborn. Initially we thought that this is just part of growing up and he will be fine but then after further investigation we concluded that it is this cute bunny show that is the culprit.
Max and Ruby is about a little rabbit Max and his elder sister Ruby. Ruby tries new things and acts like a early (rabbit) teenager, while Max is equivalent of a 2 old boy. He doesnt speak full sentences yet, just one word at a time. So if he needs to drink water he will say "Water".
The twist is that Max is also a whiz with almost every gadget, he can drive a toy car, fly a remote controlled airplane, shoot darts with accuracy and much much more.
Ruby tries to control him but he always does something opposite, at first it looks that it will ruin whatever Ruby is trying to do but in the end the genius Max prevails, to the delight of his fans he always proves right and actually saves the day for Ruby.
So Ruby the elder is always wrong and Max the younger is always right.
We realized this connection when he was throwing tantrums the other day. We always eat on a little dining table in the kitchen, but today he was insisting to eat in his play room.
"Upstairs" - He pointed up
"No Ashir, not now, let us finish our dinner and then you can play for a while"
"Upstairs"
"So will you not eat today?"
"Upstairs" - he pointed to his food.
"No mister you are not getting your food upstairs, we have our food here and then we go up"
"Upstairs" he said sternly.
"No. Eat here or no food"
"Upstairs" - He began to cry
We were puzzled, but then connected the dots when we saw an episode or two of Max and Ruby, he was acting out Max, hoping that in the end he will be proven right.
I think even though the rating agencies give a "C" rating to some cartoons, they should also look at the message these cartoons are conveying. On our part we will block M&R and see if that makes a difference.
Bad 11
We all got a flu shot yesterday, he obviously did'nt like it. Today after breakfast he was counting with mommy when he said.
"8,9,10,11,12...... can we remove 11?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can we have 12 after 10?"
"I don't think so, but why would you want to do that?"
"I don't like 11. I got a shot on 11"
We all laughed.
Mommy asked - "But what will we do with 11"
"We will put it in the bad number box"
"8,9,10,11,12...... can we remove 11?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can we have 12 after 10?"
"I don't think so, but why would you want to do that?"
"I don't like 11. I got a shot on 11"
We all laughed.
Mommy asked - "But what will we do with 11"
"We will put it in the bad number box"
Remembrance Day
It was remembrance day and when Ashir came back from school he had a poppy sticker on his shirt.
"So what happened today at school"
"Nothing" - Standard answer when he doesnt want to talk, his eyes were set on his toys
"Where did you get this sticker then?"
"Oh this was given at the assembly"
"Assembly?"
"Yes, the teacher told us about soldiers"
"Soldiers?"
"Yes, when soldiers die they go to war"
"What?"
"And when we die we all go to the same place"
"What, did your teacher tell you this?"
"Yes and then teacher gives us this sticker"
"Oh OK"
"But mommy?" - came a puzzled look on his face
"What is a soldier?"
"So what happened today at school"
"Nothing" - Standard answer when he doesnt want to talk, his eyes were set on his toys
"Where did you get this sticker then?"
"Oh this was given at the assembly"
"Assembly?"
"Yes, the teacher told us about soldiers"
"Soldiers?"
"Yes, when soldiers die they go to war"
"What?"
"And when we die we all go to the same place"
"What, did your teacher tell you this?"
"Yes and then teacher gives us this sticker"
"Oh OK"
"But mommy?" - came a puzzled look on his face
"What is a soldier?"
Monday, November 1, 2010
Onety
Ashir is learning to count and recognize numbers. He had a good handle till 30 and then his Mommy took him all the way to 100. Looks like he developed some logic in his mind to recognize the numbers pretty fast.
Yesterday, Neena asked me to test his number recognition. I started writing on a practice white-board and he did pretty well... until...
I wrote "49"
"Forty Nine"
"Good", now I wrote "64"
"Sixty four"
"82"
"Eighty Two"
"97"
"Ninety Seven"
I was wowed, then..
"13"
"Onety-Three"
"17"
"Onety-Seven"
I understood his newly built logic and then wrote
"40"
Sure enough came the expected answer
"Forty-zero"
Yesterday, Neena asked me to test his number recognition. I started writing on a practice white-board and he did pretty well... until...
I wrote "49"
"Forty Nine"
"Good", now I wrote "64"
"Sixty four"
"82"
"Eighty Two"
"97"
"Ninety Seven"
I was wowed, then..
"13"
"Onety-Three"
"17"
"Onety-Seven"
I understood his newly built logic and then wrote
"40"
Sure enough came the expected answer
"Forty-zero"
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Frown lines
Children have an innate ability to understand expression. Even when he was very young he understood not just sounds of different moods but also facial expressions. Recently he has started reacting to expressions, even when not vocalized.
"Ashir turn off the TV, enough of Max and Ruby" - I said.
"Ok, one last, please" (Standard negotiating tactics)
I frowned but knew that since he is going to do some letter recognition practice, it may not be the best time for confrontation.
"OK last one, after that we will do letters"
"OK..remove those lines" - he said smiling
"What lines?"
He came to me and touched my forehead
"These lines"
"Ashir turn off the TV, enough of Max and Ruby" - I said.
"Ok, one last, please" (Standard negotiating tactics)
I frowned but knew that since he is going to do some letter recognition practice, it may not be the best time for confrontation.
"OK last one, after that we will do letters"
"OK..remove those lines" - he said smiling
"What lines?"
He came to me and touched my forehead
"These lines"
Wired Generation
Mommy gave Ashir some grapes in a bowl. Some of the grapes still had pieces of stem attached to them.
He is finicky about food and usually doesn't want to work on his food more than chewing.
Came to me with the bowl and said -
"Papa unplug these grapes"
"What?" I didn't get it.
"Unplug the grapes from the wires"
He is finicky about food and usually doesn't want to work on his food more than chewing.
Came to me with the bowl and said -
"Papa unplug these grapes"
"What?" I didn't get it.
"Unplug the grapes from the wires"
Which Dad?
My cousins Rajan and Ramin are twins and are remarkably similar. Ramin has three daughters and Rajan is single. Many times we see them together in family functions. One day they had visited us and just when they had left, we were cleaning up and Ashir found something, I don't recall what it was now, perhaps a cap or a glove.
He asked - "Whose is it?"
I said - "This must be Ramin Uncle's, you know Maya's Daddy"
"Which one?" - there came a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Which one? Maya has two Daddy's"
He asked - "Whose is it?"
I said - "This must be Ramin Uncle's, you know Maya's Daddy"
"Which one?" - there came a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Which one? Maya has two Daddy's"
Rules of engagement
"Papa let us play cherry game"
"But you have already broken the dial of the game, how will we play"
"No not that game, in this game let us collect as many cherries as we can and load them up in freight cars"
Cherries are small red plastic balls that came with the game and are some 30 or so of them.
I start to collect cherries strewn around the floor and so did he and we loaded them up in our toy freight cars. After we finished collecting, we counted, he is learning counting and found that he had 11 and I had the rest.
"OK Ashir so I won"
"No no wait a midet (minute) ..the game is - whoever has lesser cherries wins"
"But you have already broken the dial of the game, how will we play"
"No not that game, in this game let us collect as many cherries as we can and load them up in freight cars"
Cherries are small red plastic balls that came with the game and are some 30 or so of them.
I start to collect cherries strewn around the floor and so did he and we loaded them up in our toy freight cars. After we finished collecting, we counted, he is learning counting and found that he had 11 and I had the rest.
"OK Ashir so I won"
"No no wait a midet (minute) ..the game is - whoever has lesser cherries wins"
What is Dead
We were in LA recently and went to see the Mummies exhibition at the California Science Center. We didn't think much until we bought the tickets and were in the line - Ashir asked -
"But Papa - what are mummies?"
"Mummies are...." I paused, I was going to say dead but he didn't know dead yet
"Mummies are bodies of people or animals from very old times"
"Why?" (Standard follow on question for everything)
"We will see once we get in"
The first exhibit, presumably to awe people, was that of an Egyptian boy, very well preserved for a mummy but grotesque for a 3 year old to watch. It had its teeth intact, shirvelled leathery skin and some hair..
"What is this?"
"Hmmm this is a mummy of a boy.....when people died in old times they made mummies of their bodies" I had thought of something by then.
"What is dead?"
"Dead means that people can't move any more. Like when you squished the bug the other day.. it died. Same thing happens to people"
Surprisingly, he didn't ask any more questions on dead, kept looking at exhibits, asked other questions but not about dead.
Several days later back at home while playing with his trains he was speaking out a story aloud. This is how he plays alone, just making up new stories and speaking out loud. I was working on the computer and between thoughts looked up at him narrating the story -
"Gordon was going so fast that he could not apply brakes in time, round the bend he slipped and bumped hard into Thomas who was taking a washdown by Tidmouth sheds... he hit him so hard that he fell down and did not move.. he was dead"
"But Papa - what are mummies?"
"Mummies are...." I paused, I was going to say dead but he didn't know dead yet
"Mummies are bodies of people or animals from very old times"
"Why?" (Standard follow on question for everything)
"We will see once we get in"
The first exhibit, presumably to awe people, was that of an Egyptian boy, very well preserved for a mummy but grotesque for a 3 year old to watch. It had its teeth intact, shirvelled leathery skin and some hair..
"What is this?"
"Hmmm this is a mummy of a boy.....when people died in old times they made mummies of their bodies" I had thought of something by then.
"What is dead?"
"Dead means that people can't move any more. Like when you squished the bug the other day.. it died. Same thing happens to people"
Surprisingly, he didn't ask any more questions on dead, kept looking at exhibits, asked other questions but not about dead.
Several days later back at home while playing with his trains he was speaking out a story aloud. This is how he plays alone, just making up new stories and speaking out loud. I was working on the computer and between thoughts looked up at him narrating the story -
"Gordon was going so fast that he could not apply brakes in time, round the bend he slipped and bumped hard into Thomas who was taking a washdown by Tidmouth sheds... he hit him so hard that he fell down and did not move.. he was dead"
Sure or not sure
I am not sure he understands what is "sure" - I mean what sure means but he gets the drift.
In this act he is playing with his toys and it is close to his bedtime.
"Ashir"
"Yes Mommy"
"We are ready to go to bed, clean up.."
"OK in five midets" (minutes)
...after 5 minutes.....
"Now we are done, Ashir, do you want to go pee?"
"No" (Standard answer for anything that takes him away from his toys)
"Are you sure?"
"Hmmm if I am sure?"
"Then you may not pee"
"If I am not sure?"
"Then you will have to go to the bathroom"
"Then I am sure"
In this act he is playing with his toys and it is close to his bedtime.
"Ashir"
"Yes Mommy"
"We are ready to go to bed, clean up.."
"OK in five midets" (minutes)
...after 5 minutes.....
"Now we are done, Ashir, do you want to go pee?"
"No" (Standard answer for anything that takes him away from his toys)
"Are you sure?"
"Hmmm if I am sure?"
"Then you may not pee"
"If I am not sure?"
"Then you will have to go to the bathroom"
"Then I am sure"
Why the blog
My son is growing and changing. A few days ago we met someone whom we had not seen in a couple of years, they exclaimed - "He has grown so much and look how he talks ! ".
Of course we have pictures, thousands of them and also videos, not so many, but quite a few thanks to ubiquitous movie camera in DSCs in Phones etc. However, countless moments of his growing years are lost forever. We don't notice subtle changes in him, words that he learns, new sentence formation and most importantly reasoning that he is developing... no picture or video can capture that. So this is my attempt at chronicling some of those times.
I am hoping that we will be regular in scribing and when he grows up into a man, he will read this and not just look at pictures the way we reflect upon our childhood.
Of course we have pictures, thousands of them and also videos, not so many, but quite a few thanks to ubiquitous movie camera in DSCs in Phones etc. However, countless moments of his growing years are lost forever. We don't notice subtle changes in him, words that he learns, new sentence formation and most importantly reasoning that he is developing... no picture or video can capture that. So this is my attempt at chronicling some of those times.
I am hoping that we will be regular in scribing and when he grows up into a man, he will read this and not just look at pictures the way we reflect upon our childhood.
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