Engaging My Toddler

As I sit down to write this column, I am still collecting my thoughts on what are the possible ways and means to engage my toddler baby, at home, with stuff that's constructive and engaging.

The last time my daughter's school had a parents-teacher meeting day, I heard many parents bombarding the montessori experts with questions like "why is it that my child behaves when in school but never when he/she gets home?". And the experts would smile and reply..."I told you ma'm, its all about the environment. When your child steps into school, he/she knows that this place follows a discipline and is seasoned to behave from day 1. However, at home, your child feels "at home" and therefore, exercises his/her freedom.

Sometimes I wonder what wrongs if my daughter feels free to do anything she wants at home...after all...if she is not herself in her own home, where else can she be herself.

But as much as I wish that I had allow her to play for hours together in the bath tub, litter her fruit salad all over the house and mess up the sofa with her glass of juice, I have started to understand that freedom does not necessarily have to come without discipline. And to ensure that I need to plan my little one's day out keeping in mind her activity and energy level through the day.

Any suggestions regarding the activities that I can plan for her at home?

Management Keys

Each one of us operates within two virtual concentric circles - the inner most being our circle of influence and the outer one being our circle of concern.
There are several things that we are concerned about in life, from personal problems to global warming to the US elections. However, we can directly influence only few among those.
All those things that we are concerned about lie within our circle of concern and those that we can directly make a difference to lie within our circle of influence. The key to success lies in focussing and prioritizing factors that lie within our circle of influence.
Why dont you try it out?

1. Draw two concentric circles on an A4 size sheet.
2. Label the outer one as Circle of Concern.
3. Label the inner one as Circle of Influence.
4. Stick the sheet above your table.
5. Start listing all your concerns within the appropriate circles.
6. Begin by focussing on the ones within the inner circle.
7. Track your progress.

Let me know if it works.

Learnings

Here are some of my learnings from a project that I am currently working on. Are you aware of them?

1. If you know what is going on behind you at all times and avoid fringe areas, your chances of being attacked go down by 90%.
2. Crime is seldom random, it is in most cases a planned process.

Cooking

My earliest cooking venture dates back to the year 1999 when I started living independently - away from home :( and definitely away from the comforts of being asked for food, being served and being coaxed for more. But determined as I was to do things on my own, I started off by buying a pressure cooker - a cute little 1.5 litre baby cooker. Oh how much I loved it!
My first preparation - what could have been simpler than moong dal khichdi. So went for it, all excited. My landlady being the only one around to consult, discussed with her kitna namak and kitna haldi, close the lid and waited eagerly for the sssssssssssshhhhh. I waited and waited but there was no sssssssssssshhhh. However, what followed was a strong burning smell - so strong that aunty came out running from her room and just switched off the gas knob.
"Beta lagta hai aapki khichdi jal gayi...pani kitna diya tha?" she said.
I replied with a sorry tone "Pani bhi dena tha kya????????????"

Hahaha...

I have come a long way from that now. Cant call myself any expert though because I have mummy and mama (my mother-in-law) who are both excellent cooks and my alltime experts. Today, it feels great when my hubby dear says "Wow! excellent" and his body language adds "finger licking good". Thats enough to keep me smiling for the rest of the day and thinking how can I better it next time.