Ms. Sulakshana Dasgupta, the parent of Ahona Dasgupta, student of Grade 3 at Ekya School BTM Layout, believes that children pick up habits of their parents just like how they inherit their characteristics. She shares this interesting blog on how we can train children to become good individuals just by ‘practicing what we preach.’
Papa Don’t Preach!
On a lazy Sunday morning, as I struggled to get up from bed, clinging on to the last few moments of my beautiful dream, I heard a lot of clink-clank-clink — they seemed far and distant at first, but slowly became distinct — so much so that I knew exactly from where they were coming! They were coming from the kitchen — drawers were being pulled, cups were being placed on the granite slab, something was being placed on the microwave and then the beeping… I jumped up! Gathering myself for a moment, I rushed out to my kids’ room and found the younger one missing! I turned around and there she was, with a large tray in her hand on which was a neatly placed tissue, two cups of steaming, hot tea and a bowl of my favorite oat biscuits! She said, “Mamma, I have made tea for you and Pappa!” I welled up. There couldn’t have been a better start to the day!
As we sat and sipped our morning cuppa, my older one grabbed a book from the shelves and lost herself in it in a few seconds. She is so much a reflection of me, I thought! Why does she behave so much like me? Why doesn’t she have a personality different from mine? Perhaps that’s why they say, like father, like son! Rather, like mother, like daughter!
The lift is here! I step in. The kids try to get in, and the door almost closes. I wave my hand between the lift doors and the doors open. My younger one tries to do the same. I shout. She should not be doing that! Prompt comes the question — “Why are YOU doing it then, mamma? It can hurt you too!”. I don’t have an answer. We have company inside the lift. A daddy and his son are on their mobiles. Both completely engrossed, so much so that they do not realize the lift has reached their destination. Once again, the ‘like father, like son’ moment! When I tell them so, the father rebukes the son — “what were you doing? Why didn’t you tell me? I was checking a very important email!”. The son retorts — “I was in a very important juncture in my game!” Once again, silence prevails!
Breaking this is the deafening reality — our kids do not listen to what we say, they do as we do. They learn not from what we ask them to do, but from what we do. Hence, the need to let go of all the long sermons and speeches, the long list of do’s and don’ts. Time to act like we want our kid to grow up! Time to keep our mobile aside and pick up a book! Time to take all the precautions ourselves that we want our kids to follow! Time to bite into that apple and not save it for tomorrow’s short break tiffin box! Time to shut down the laptop and play with the kiddo!
Be an example, not give one!
A short profile of Ms. Sulakshana Dasgupta:
A mother of two, Ms. Sulakshana Dasgupta is passionate about all things creative. She holds a Masters degree in English Literature & Journalism and has an enriching career of over 15 years in diverse fields. A digital marketer by profession, wary of the Bangalore traffic and also egged on by motherly desires, she currently works from home. Her hobbies include designing, creating and selling costume jewellery online and teaching dance to a group of enthusiastic kids. A Bengali foodie to the core with a love for all things sweet, she likes gorging on delicacies rather than cooking them!
