Learnings with LittleMM - A Recipe For Adventure

My daughter LittleMM when she was 5-6 years, loved cartoons on the TV. I on the other hand had never watched cartoons before. So I got exposed to them through LittleMM.See my post here about how much I found cartoons fascinating!

Those days, on rare occasions, when I found myself alone with the TV, I would switch to Pogo since I found everything else boring!

One of her favorites was Sofia the First. She liked the show so much that we had bought her Sofia's Magical Amulet which she wore everywhere. Sofia the first was a musical (I am saying "was" since I don't know if it is still aired on Pogo or any other channel!) . 

Few lines of a song are something I remember to this day. It goes like this:

You just need two cups of courage
And a little pinch of pluck
A quarter pound of cleverness
A dash of plain old luck
Then you mix them up all together
Into one tremendous stew
It's a recipe for adventure
Cooking up inside of you
So put on your thinking helmet
Like adventurers must do
I have no doubt
You'll figure out
A great idea or two
Cause the key to finding what you want
Is knowing where to look
And you've got all the ingredients
So now it's time to cook…

I love it so much. The lyrics touches upon courage, thinking, and direction that's all which is needed for anyone to reach their goal...but in such a playful way!

Learnings with LittleMM - Chota Bheem - I Love My Daughter’s TV Cartoons!

This is my Toastmasters Speech from 2016.

I got first place for this speech in club level contest which qualified me to participate in Area level contest....

When I Think of summer…I think streets busy with children playing. The lovely fragrance of mangoes and the soothing lap stories of my Grandma…

Those were the days when children spent their summer vacation with their Grandparents.

I would pester my Grandma to tell me a story...

With my Ajji’s imagination and powerful narration, I will be taken to the land of Raja, Maharajas, to the fierce fight of ten headed Rakshasa, Ravana with Rama, to the tender tale of a cow …Punyakoti.

All the stories of course were loaded with moral values. Fast-forward to a couple of decades and here comes the summer again!!!

Who is telling stories today?? Just peep around the houses. ..if you can.

You would hear TVs screaming with a chirpy chorus...

“Bheem Bheem Bheem Chota Bheem Chota Bheem"

Yes!..you have guessed it right. I am talking about the Indian Televisions superhero Chota Bheem.

Let me tell you how my fascination and association with him began about 4 years back...

It was a lazy afternoon.

On such days… my husband who is an avid philatelist opens up his huge collection of stamps and spends hours studying them.

If something interests him, he would share it with me and we would pick up a discussion.

One such stamp was about Gladiators…We were in the middle of a deep discussion.

My daughter who was about 4 years old was hovering around, proudly announced...

“Amma… I know about Gladiators….

I felt happy that she has started picking up a lot of new things from school and patted my back for putting her to the right school with a hefty Fees.

I asked “Maithu, Who told you about Gladiators?”

My little daughter said that Chota Bheem has gone to Rome and met Gladiators… That made me speechless.

From that point on, be it for Pyramids of Egypt, samurais of Japan or Kumari’s of Nepal, or

beautiful islands of Bali, the cowboys of US, Tribals of Africa…she knew it all...

 And every time it was Chota Bheem who had been there or done it.

I was amazed to learn that her source of intelligence is a cartoon...

So I decided to watch Chota Bheem with my daughter LittleMM.

I was confused..from anything I had ever heard, watched, or read, Bheem has always been one of the five Pandavas and who was shown as a big man with a big mace.

You can imagine my perplexity when I saw this nine-year-old boy with no sign of brothers or a mace..

His companions are, a 7-year-old brave girl called Chutki, Raju a younger boy of 4 years who runs around in his diapers, and Jaggu, a monkey who speaks like a human being are his companions.

If you ask me what links the mythological Bheem to Chhota Bheem is the character’s legendary physical strength. Just like Bheema of The Mahabharata, Chhota Bheem can lift enormous boulders, fight giants, and save lives. But the similarities end there.

Usually, Bheem is busy fighting with evildoers who visit Dholakpur often. When Bheem is not busy fighting evil, he excels at various sports, winning various titles and contests held in a different part of the world and that’s is how my daughter has got exposed to the world at large.

Apart from this Bheem is virtuous and highly principled. All the stories of Chota Bheem are packed with tales of courage, loyalty, and honor... Of course, is important for boosting the morale of our children.

There are cartoons on TV that teach values like

friendship,

teamwork,

courage,

helpfulness,

Kindness

love and determination to kids...

and more importantly Imagination...

And that’s why I say, I love my daughter’s TV Cartoons. I enjoy every bit of it while I watch it with her.

Someone has said...

There are no perfect parents, And there are no perfect children...

But there are plenty of “PERFECT” moments along the way...

And I believe..watching cartoons together is one such “PERFECT” moment.

Learnings with LittleMM - The Charisma of Ramayana & Mahabharatha

Often it comes to mind that whether Mahabharatha and Ramayana did it really happen? If it has not really happened then why it is so much popular and still alive in this geography and in our culture.  I contemplate about it every now and then.

I read a lot of stories to my daughter LIttle MM. Little Golden Books, The Berenstain Bears which had nice illustrations. Dr.Seuss - Cat in the Hat books which had books based on age, etc etc.  These books had a lot of information as well as they taught values to the kids. I would read a story and then we will discuss the value which is brought out in the story till we sleep off. However, advice from one of the educationalists struck me. He said reading books for children is good and to teach values we should always read the stories from Ramayana and Mahabharatha since it is time tested and will always remain so.

This is when I picked up to read these classics myself. I read Ramayana and Mahabharatha by C. Rajagopalachari long years ago. Though we buy and give away many books these books are always there on our bookshelves! Later on, I also read other and retold versions as well. The charisma of reading and rereading is enigmatic. 

Every time I read, I discover a new thing, a new question arises, a new thought springs up...Well, this may be the reason why so many writers have gone back and retold these stories... as books and movies. The concepts, values, predicaments, emotions which come out here are Universal and valid even today even though it happened thousands of years back!

That's why there is a saying that -  there is everything in Mahabhartatha that can happen in the world and anything that can happen in the world, is found in Mahabharatha.

Growing Younger with YoungMM - Finding Sweet Spot with Karate

We started with basketball very early for my daughter as she was taller than her aged kids. She had the classes on Saturday evening and Sunday mornings. She is very diligent and obedient went to practice every week without missing and without a bit of complaining. She was also going for the summer and Dasara camps every year for about 3 years in a row.

Though she went so many years she was always in the Junior group. Kids who started much later and much shorter were moving to the next category but she continued in the same category. I observed this and but this did not bother me as we considered it as a form of exercise. I was really surprised when she did not even try to join the basketball team at school. This made me think and I had an open discussion on why is it so. Then only I got to know that she does not like basketball and she is not able to play wholeheartedly. This is when we stopped Basketball.

LittleMM now Young, did not go to any sports for a while. She dabbled with swimming, explored classes for Table Tennis but nothing actually stuck with her. She also joined a Bollywood dance class with her neighboring friends. She enjoyed it a bit for the people who were running it, but not really as a pastime.

One evening as we were passing through a park very near our house we saw a group of children practicing a few Karate moves. Then we stood there for a while and saw them practice. There was a small lean girl who was fighting with zeal. This impressed us a lot. So casually my husband asked if my daughter wants to join Karate. We were surprised when she said Yes, as she has always been a very mild and soft person and I could not imagine her in Karate fights.

As she started with Karate she went to each class with enthusiasm and energy. Since the class was closer to home I picked her from the class and my father-in-law dropped her. So I never got to see how she was doing in the classes. After about 6 months, YoungMM said she wants to go to a Karate Tournament that was upcoming. I was shocked. I tried to persuade her not to go to the tournament as I believed that it is too early to get into competitions and if she gets hurt and she may discontinue it. But she was very firm about this. Also, her Karate Sensei said she is very good with Kata. At this time I had no idea of Karate techniques. 

We went for her first Tournament. It was amazing to see so many small kids geared up for the competition very early in the morning. School ground where these tournaments are held turn festive with many Karate rings, trophies, and medals.

My daughter's turn came after a long time and she displayed Kumite in several rounds. Me not able to grasp much was pleasantly surprised when she reached finals and won first place! This was just the beginning of her long and lovely association with Karate.

I learned that, whenever we are bored with something, it always helps to take a break, step back, and see if we can start with something else which can be our sweet spot.

Reminisce Learnings with LittleMM - Color Cards

My work needs me to connect with the US counterparts after I am back from the office. There will be meetings or discussions during the evenings. Usually, it will be after 8pm for an hour or two. Occasionally it will go beyond this time.

I could not spend much time with my daughter when she was a toddler.  The Primetime I spent with her was only in the evenings that is after 6 pm. This was the time of the day I most cherished. Little MM and I would go for a walk or to the park. Sometimes to her nearby friend's house. After we were back, we watched multiple Rhymes CDs and sang and danced with them. There were no smartphones or smart TVs to watch from youtube. Hence the CDs! 

After dinner it was my favorite time again! that was the storytime. I had to read a complete Children's book. We read Tulika books, Pratham books, Amar Chitra Katha, Little Golden Books, The Berenstain Bears etc. 

Calls in the evenings meant missing most of the evening fun. It disturbed her a lot and LittleMM would scream and interrupt by calling Amma..Amma..Amma....constantly.

With this background noise, I had to struggle during meetings as I was not able to communicate with her. 

I came up with an idea to use Toastmasters Timer Cards with a twist as a way of communication during these meetings.  I gave her one each of green, yellow, and red colored foam sheets and put across a few guidelines to use the cards.

She had to flash Red card vigorously if she felt like crying or screaming. That meant I had to drop from the meeting and listen to her immediately. 

Else she can show a yellow or green card if she had to just say something and she just wants to be around.

This system worked well with both of us. LittleMM would step into the room and would flash the Green or the Yellow card to say that she is just around and I can listen to her after a while. 

After she was got hold of language and was able to understand it, we did not have to use this system!

Back to the Routine

Today my in-laws were back from their vacations. And I was back to my routine.
While I was talking to my friend..we thought we will start writing a blog about our experiences in a conventional joint family, our kids, our work and with many more things.

Now I will tell why I was so relieved with my in-laws return. My two-year-old daughter LittleMM spends most of the time with my-laws at home while I am away at work.Her daily activities are closely coupled with my in-laws. Beginning with brushing in the morning ..to breakfast, boarding the van for the play home, while getting down from the van after the school, going to potty and drinking the milk for each and everything she needs her Tata(Grand Father) and her Nanamma( Grand Mother) does all the support functions…

When they were away, for the first time since she turned one…she was very confused and kept on asking for her Grand Parents…later somehow she thought that they have gone to Tirupathi and they will come back with Tirupathi laddu!
LittleMM was so emotional when she saw her nanamma and tata back that she was in tears , I was shocked and happy to see such a pleasant relationship she shares with them!!!!!!!!!