Stimulating or Captivating ?

There seems to be less information on toys than on games. This may be because Indian children had few toys. There are some universal values, attitudes, or customs that may be expressed differently in different communities.

This Indian child reflects that traditional side of play with a simple but powerful universal smile. The implied smile says - It is not mosty that as our culture changes we give different toys to our children; but perhaps it is because we give different toys to our children that our culture changes.

The great challenge of our age is to enjoy the benefits of technological advance without getting caught up in all of its tangles.

Stimulating or Captivating? ... It's shaped by our Toys; Our Roots.
Don't see dark here.
"And yup, I am not a statue doll... Please keep my smile alive!"
 

- Manish Desai
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyes_manish/228934798/

Believe in your Child

A couple of weeks ago, much to my astonishment, I found myself screaming at my little child who is at a tender age of 6 years to study for his Standard 1 half-yearly examinations. Of course, he is still innocently unaware of the gravity of this word - EXAM! And I pretend to be very surprised or rather shocked all the time at how could he not understand the he has EXAMS!!!

After a seemingly never ending headache and after musing over the scary possibilities of blood pressure and hypertension (for a standard 1 half-yearly exam!), the wiser bit of my mind (after these outbursts of stupid madness) pulled myself back to understand my weird behavior.

Why are we so worried about marks? Don't we have enough confidence in our children that they will do well in their lives? Do we constantly need to ensure a very high percentage of marks at every stage at any cost? Are we transforming young, curious intelligent minds into restricted knowledge godowns for use during examinations? Are we propagating high intensity memorizing at the expense of curiosity and inquisitiveness?

For little children, let us let them enjoy the process of learning in their age of wonderment… every child learns at his or her own pace. Just hang on and make sure that we are giving them enough opportunity to observe and question everything around them. If the learning behavior is correct, understand that all fundamentals are in place. There is no stopping a child who can think on his own and has his own observations and stories. Children are smart enough to understand the importance of school and school books and what is taught in school. I really wish we, as parents and teachers treat examinations as an extension of just another school day….(specially till they are 8 years of age..let them grow and learn naturally!)

For older children, it is my observation that children who have performed average in their school days have turned out to be conquerors in their field of choice later in their lives. This in itself calls for a great deal of introspection at conventional viewpoints. In times like today, where competition is synonymous with stress and the race to lead and stay there is a difficult task, it becomes imperative that we let our children explore their true potential through exposure to the enormous opportunities available instead of forcing them to champion what is fashionable or monetarily more rewarding. It would be utterly foolish to force a painting prodigy to learn calculus against his/ her wish!

- Sonali Kothari
Founder, Innishari

Yes to Television ...

You cannot force a child to stay away from television without driving him mad. So cling on ferociously to that little interest generated in music or drawing or reading… Make it the most important activity of the day.. even if it is just for 15 minutes.

- Sonali Kothari
Founder, Innishari