As parents, you forever want to protect your kids from all
kinds of disasters and catastrophes. It means we are naturally conditioned
towards wondering if we are feeding them right, whether the texture of the
clothes they wear is not giving them a rash, whether they are warm enough
during winters and not likely to catch the chill, whether they can be left to
walk alone without tripping on the stairs and so on. So what happens when the
tables are turned and you suddenly have a three year old kid voluntarily
deciding that she is as much an authority on all decisions taken daily? It
means there will be power battles, ego clashes and tantrums galore.
So Pihu has honed caretaking skills a bit earlier than we
would have expected her to. I'm supposed to hold still till she has rolled up
my pyjamas to the right length to step in to the bathroom to give her a bath.
If my hair is loose and I am unintentionally running my fingers through them,
it means a hair grooming session is the need of the hour. Out come her
accessories carefully picked out of my dresser- a hair brush, two combs and a
hair band. This is followed by an imaginary massage, shampoo and combing session
until she is sure 'I look like a doll'. Dressing up for an occasion means
getting a good look-through my wardrobe to suggest exactly what will look good
on me. This is accompanied by a complete review of my appearance and a nod of
approval which is gratefully received by yours truly what with the pressure of
constantly matching up to Pihu's exacting standards.
She already has a personal sense of style you see.
Tight-fitting pants that taper off towards the ankles are the rage. Bell
bottoms, flared pants and loose-fitting denims are passe and best relegated to
the back shelves of her wardrobe. She even has her own unique way of wearing
her winter shoes with the flaps jutting out when she boots up, for a more
flamboyant swag. Weddings and parties mean she must wear a dress, just as she
wouldn't be caught dead in the cardigans she wears to school once she is back.
Night wear must include comfortable pyjamas with a soft sweater that doesn't
itch in places. Labels jutting out on the nape of the neck or at the bottom of
a shirt must be nicked off and the bottoms of all her pants must touch her
ankle or get rejected as being too short.
My daughter has also developed quite a taste for fine dining
and does not approve of restaurants that do not have baby chairs available as
she insists on sitting levelled against the table with all the adults. A napkin
must be handy at all times to wipe soiled fingers and the table clean off any
crumbs or curry spill while eating. Trust Pihu to point out any stain or
left-over on the floor or table in order to maintain high levels of hygiene. I
can almost see her turn in to a very hard-to-please mother-in-law already!
Playing games with Pihu translate in to a clear hierarchy of
who is to be obeyed and who is to lead. A game after all must have rules and
that automatically means she has to set them so lesser mortals like us can
follow.
A stickler for discipline occasionally, shoes must be kept
back in their place and one must change in to home wear after coming in from an
outing so as to not 'dirty the good clothes.' Any errors in speech are also not
forgiven, so you will quickly be corrected on saying 'tum' in Hindi as it is
not respectable enough. One must say 'aap' and not indulge in 'gandi baat'.
Since she is picking up Hindi and Bengali simultaneously at home, she will
often cajole her dad in to speaking in Bengali, knowing he doesn't speak the
tongue almost as if she is pulling his leg! Talk about getting bullied by kids.
Her dad of course humours her by replying in Bengali just for fun.
When it comes to parenthood, never did we quite imagine a
toddler to take on the garb of a meticulous and diligent authority on all
things prim and proper. Don't ask me when the coin flipped but it does look
like we are really not the only ones carrying the baton of responsible
parenting when it comes to Pihu.
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