Ruining it

Sis was telling me my nephew had told her he really enjoyed his overnight stays at my place or whenever he was here. So my sis asked him how about at home? His answer was, "You have ruined my life at home." Sis was floored. She didn't know to be angry (that he did not like staying home) or sad (that he has accused her) or shocked (that he knew the meaning of "ruin"). She asked him where he learnt the word from. He said from her! I think this was an innocent protest from the kid, because normally when the kids were home, they were not allowed to watch TV, even if they were, it was only 30 minutes. And at home, they always have tons of assignments or homework or tuition to do. At my place, he could watch as much cartoon as he liked, he could sleep late, he could play any game but provided he behaved himself.

Another time, she told me, he also asked her what was the meaning of "tactful" . So sis explained to him. When she finished, nephew immediately told sis that she was always not tactful to him because she did not say things to him in a nice and polite way. I think mothers being mothers, are always having their patience tested by the kids, that their response are always curt and no nonsense, which instilled fear in the kids.

I found it so utterly amusing. I told her he was so smart. He should be encouraged to read more books, as he was able to relate what he learnt and used it in different circumstances. He learnt from what he read from books, he learnt from what he watched on TV, he learnt and was very observant to everything. This was because he was curious. We should tap on his sponge-like brain and expose him to all sorts of learning experiences.

And learning can be fun, not necessarily only from school books. I gave him a measuring tape and I told him to help me measure some pieces of furniture in a room and to propose to me how I could rearrange them such that each piece could still fit in nicely with the constrained space. With all importance and seriousness, he took the tape and measure each and every furniture, and learnt about "INCH" and "CM" and "FEET" and how to calculate the differences in the measurements of different furniture and gave me many suggestions how to rearrange each piece. That was a fun exercise.

I believe learning should be fun and that kids must be exposed to different ways of learning and different ways of relating what they have learnt in real life. From these experiences and exposure, kids will enjoy and remember what they have learnt and discover something interesting along the way.