Son ready for adventure
As a mother of relatively younger children (aged 9 and 5), I crave for the time they will become self-sufficient and independent. Most of my time is spent in teaching the kids in “how-to”s –
- how to make up your bed
- how to warm up milk
- how to tie shoe laces
- how to buy bread from the apartment supermarket
- how to apply sunscreen
- how to switch on the DVD player (the last in this list doesn’t require much training, mind you)…
Of course, what escapes my naive mind is that kids grow up faster than you could say “Facebook!” The innocent Doraemon-watching boy of mine has transferred his television affinity to Varun Dhawan and Mike Hussey! The little boy who used to play on his toy rainbow-coloured xylophone sits with his real guitar practicing ‘major’ and ‘minor’ chords. The mamma’s boy who would hold my hair while falling asleep is off on his overnight trip with his summer school gang!
And, as I pack my son’s backpack for the overnighter, I suddenly realize that my 9-year old is stepping “out” of the house – on his own. And, that’s when it hits me – all the dangers lurking at every corner: the bullying by the boys at his fear of darkness, the unwanted-free internet ads appearing on his iPad screen, the dirty videos of half-naked girls sprinkled all over the YouTube page, the list seems endless.
So, today I packed something extra for my adventure-seeking boy: an ounce of good-motherly advice: “Follow your instinct when you need to make a choice. Trust yourself to know what is right and what is wrong! Do what you would do if I was watching you!”
