keep it simple....

I have often been in situations where I have had to take decisions concerning the kids...some are for silly issues and some may be serious (unless corrected now could get tough to correct later). As the kids are growing (and super fast at that), I feel I am being tested a lot.

I often think of my childhood and my mum at such times. And mostly I don't find the answer. We probably never faced that situation in our childhood! I think our's was simpler, more innocent and hence even the decisions around our upbringing (i think) were limited!

park near our holiday home

We recently went on an extended family holiday! There were 3 kids (very attached to each other but very varied in age)..It took me back to my childhood holidays! Every summer we would travel from Delhi to Kerala and spend the 2 months down south. It was time for all cousins to meet-up and bond! Of course our games were simpler, and so were our demands!

So to come back to our holiday this December, one of the places we stayed at, reminded me of my paternal grandmother's home. Her home was in a similar surrounding in a town called Calicut in Kerala with a huge compound, a big park in the front. My memories of that house was always about playing hide 'n' seek, catch and catch (now termed 'tag' by this generation), lock & key (don't see anyone playing that now), and of course the neighborhood kids and cousins who became my soul mates for that 1 month! Now when I look back, those holidays actually played a big role in shaping me as a person! I formed some strong bonds with people (I actually tracked one of the neighborhood 'soul mates' a few years back thanks to facebook).

one of the many walks

Over the 3 days we spent together up in the hills (even our nearest store was 20 minutes away), I could see the 3 kids re-living my childhood. Also the setting got them to do some simple things and bond over that! The iPad's were kept away- the wifi worked only in some 'sections' of the home. So you could see my 12-year old nephew standing by a window side struggling to get his cricket score, TV was hardly 'watchable'- barely 4-5 channels. And so the kids were forced to go play 'together' outdoors. The 2-year old mastered how to throw her frisbee (just observing the other two), play card games (the older ones even got the two-year old to sit and play UNO), hide 'n' seek, go for walks together. I could see the kids enjoyed it! They spent hours chatting and some moments fighting!

Now after we are back from our break, the kids don't talk much about the 'big city' holiday we did, they more fondly remember the 3-days we spent away from the city! So may be in hindsight, though a lot of things have changed for these kids, some simple things can keep them happy! Of course the 2-year old has become more chatty and has set her own rules to play UNO! I could finally (and happily) see some glimpses of my childhood in these kids!