Apples do not fall from a tree is what I am told. And that is quite true. My son a 5 year old, got a nice poke into his eye by a 10 year old, with a car key and dangerously got red-eyed. The parents, one who did not bother returning calls to hear about her son and the other who vehemently decided not to even question his son about the happenings defending him thoroughly till I decided to ask with finality, made me really question the kind of parents we have in the mix today. An irresponsible child is one, but irresponsible parents with zero empathy for their child’s behavior or even the alacrity to get into what happened is literally the scary world out there. And then Thank God for luck. While I hope my son heals his eye and gets on with life, I really wish life can steer him clear of such kids who’s idea of play is jabbing an eye with a car key. Again ask the father who gives a 10-year-old a car key, or ask me why I allowed kids to sit in a car while standing outside the door.
Apart from frauding people and then winning social elections after spreading tons of rumors, there is little some people will do to stay in the limelight. And then bask in the glory of being infamously famous is also a type of fame.
That this should also happen on the same day makes me marvel at what a child observes. At his annual school art show, my son drew supposedly the floor plan of his new house, and as he drew bedrooms, a garden, sky with clouds, it was charming to see him draw stick figures sleeping on the bed and standing on the side. But the best of it all, Nived marking the drawing with measurements! Just like an architectural plan. Now that sealed his deal and the drawing was utterly so cute. The little artists were asked to talk about their drawings and our man gave a complete viva! I was literally transported to my final jury day presenting tomes of drawings to the panel to complete a degree in architecture. The delightful scene had most of us in splits and it was an absolutely wondrous moment. Well we don’t judge books by their covers, but a parent could well be what the child is, for the apple does not fall far from the tree. While Nived hangs around drawing discussions and regularly dabbles with brushes and colors himself, drawing an architectural top view plan in 2d is not what we would expect to see in a milieu of drawings that are filled with the most popular rainbows, butterflies and mountains. The sense of observation even without teaching is palpable. All I need to do now is kick in his ninja reflexes so he can remain quite unharmed!
While we shape our children, and they shape us, all I hope is that we do not lose the sense of right from wrong owning up when necessary and letting go when necessary.
Vedasri Siddamsetty 