Blue Whale

For quite some time, this phrase is common in the social media. Can you guess the famous phrase?. It is "Blue Whale" online game. No matter the age of children, everyone is aware of this term. Thanks to the social media for playing their part so well. Even though I have been reading the news regarding the same, one recent incident shocked me to the core.  It was a boy from a very rural background who attempted suicide and ended his life. I had an impression that the children from the urban city are only aware of this game. That incident destroyed my perception. It is clear that the excessive use of gadgets can bring you down and take your life too. Even though we are all proud that the internet has conquered the world, incidents like these make us realize when to use and not to use the internet. 

So, do we need to be bothered about the Blue whale game? Yes, if your child is using your mobile or laptop without your permission or supervision. One more Yes, if you don't know about your child's routine every day. As a parent, I believe you should have an understanding of the mental health of the child. When I say understanding the child, it doesn't mean that we should do micromanagement for each activity. For example, when the word "blue whale" is discussed so much at school, it is natural for anyone to attempt and see what is it all about by browsing in the google. It happened with my son too. He was browsing through the same, discussed the various steps and so on. Now, at this point, I can't be a rude mother and say, "Please stop talking about blue whale and there is a zillion thing to do for us". If I say this, I am suppressing his free voice and that lead to the desire of finding or digging the game a little further. 

Instead, if I involve in the healthy discussion of all about it, they understand the whole thing and drift away to normalcy.  Children who don't have a good reputation with the family members will indulge in this game. The children who are always subject to complaints from parents and teachers will have a low self-esteem and to have that attention craving, they divert and immerse into this kind of activities without knowing the impact.  As educators, parents and teachers if we can work together towards the holistic being of the child right from morning hugs before they leave to school, listening to them after they are back from school,  nourish them with healthy food, clearing or speaking about any taboo topics which they feel to discuss, a family dinner together and a warm goodnight hug before going to bed are all necessary for a holistic well-being. In addition to all this, please make sure that you activated the parental controls ON in your mobile or laptop. However, If the children are confident and outspoken, not only blue whale or red whale but any whale will not harm them from falling prey to anything in the world. 

Stop

My husband asked me to review one of the documents on his desktop. While editing the same, I accidentally opened my husband's Facebook account. I know what you are thinking. I did it without him noticing me. So I was saved. I was browsing through the page. A video with many shares grabbed my attention. I opened the link and saw the video. At the end of the video, I was disturbed. It showed few people going and thrashing a 12 or 13-year-old boy until he collapses. Even though several videos of this kind is going on in the social media, this particularly disturbed me so much. After the video, I asked myself two questions. Where is the humanity? What are we leading to our younger generation?If a child does something wrong, there are zillion ways to correct it with a human touch. There is no way a child can be changed by beating him or her. 

The aggressive nature of the human mind is caused by building layers of painful memories inflicted from a young age. When a child is growing, it is our responsibility to show them the correct way of preventive measures. If we consider spanking the child as the right method of punishing the child, he or she will grow with a negative attitude towards people. That eventually leads to a spoiled child in the society at the later point of life. If we don't create holistic individuals for the society, there is no credit for our existence in the world. The creator of the universe created all of us to lead a peaceful life. 

I understand, there is so much going on in the world. Even in the middle of a crisis, if we can maintain our credibility and integrity, chances are high that our children will follow our footpath. As a society, if we collectively take a stand to not forward such violent or useless videos in Whatsapp or Facebook, we are at least doing a better role than others. However, if there is an incident to be reported to the government, it can be sent to the concerned person rather than promoting in social media. As children are having the access to smartphones, their minds can be easily corrupted with the spoiled videos. They may end up with the perception that the world outside is dangerous. There may be few who are scared to try anything new even in their friend's circle and there may be few who transform into daredevils. 

There is no percentage of benefit in forwarding such videos or information. It will induce hatred for a particular section of the society without a proper analysis. Before forwarding a video or audio to anyone, please check whether it will be of any benefit to the other person or anyone surrounding them. If not, please stop from your end itself. By doing so, you are evolving as a socially responsible person. We need this kind of messiahs in large number as the number of users using the internet is growing every day. 

Handwritten letter

During the last academic year, my son came back from school and was very excited. I didn't know the reason for the excitement. I was thinking the next day may be a holiday. But when I enquired him, that was not the reason. Once he settled down, I asked him the reason. He said he is attempting ASSET exam for the first time and he is very excited to take the online exam. My goodness! that was the first time I saw a kid jumping in joy for an exam. We were discussing several ways to excel in the exam. I thought to give him a mock test at home which he agreed. We worked very hard before the exam. As the exam date was coming near, the preparation became much severe.  However, within few days the school has sent a mail asking us to be present for a program in the morning the same day of ASSET exam.

We were not in a mood to quit the program. So we agreed to attend the same and I also checked with his teacher on the possibility of conducting the exam a little prior to the timeline mentioned as there was a huge interval between the morning program and the online exam timing.  She agreed and asked us to come in the morning. The D-Day arrived. We reached the venue on time, attended the parent's program and I went with my son to the Maths Teacher's room. She was conversing busy with all the children. I intruded her asking an excuse and informed the exam. She immediately went and checked the seats left for doing the online exam. Unfortunately, there was no space left and she asked me to stay for few minutes.

After few minutes, she went and checked. The status was the same. Almost, I waited for an hour. The place wasn't vacant yet. So I informed the teacher that I am leaving for the day. I will not be coming to attend the exam as my home was very far away from school. She did not let me go. She was persuading me so much to stay and complete the exam. After a long discussion, I left the place without attending the exam. Later when I met her in one of the PTM sessions, she was worried about the incident. 

The way she took the time to explain the benefits of attending the exam and the way she was worried by looking at me leaving the place without attending the exam surprised me. I was totally taken aback. I came back home and I wrote an appreciation letter to the teacher.  I send the same addressed to her the next day. She felt really happy. We tend to go to school often either to complain something or to listen a teacher or principal as part of the schedule. Most often we give feedback for improvement. What if we appreciate teachers when they least expect the same from us? Do you think they tend to take care a little more than normal?  Our children spent most of the day with them. It is very necessary to say our token of appreciation once in a while to acknowledge their hard work and support. They are the ones who sow the seeds of wisdom from a young age. So take some time to write a letter to the teachers and see the response.  More than the teachers, you will feel good for writing a letter. Happy Letter writing.

Paradigm Shift

It was a pleasant sunny morning. I was on my way back from a client visit. It has been long since I traveled by Bus. So I took a bus ride to enjoy the beauty and serenity of the morning. The trip was good until I heard the loud voice from the back seat. The mother was yelling at the top of her voice. I turned my head to see what was going on?

I saw a boy of 7 years vomiting near the window seat. She scolded him asking why he did not inform her earlier? I was shocked to hear the words from the mother. I wondered, how would a child know when vomiting can come. 

As parents, we usually get paranoid on the situation sometimes and doesn't know how to handle. For a second, I put myself in the shoes of the mother and checked. I too have yelled at my child for various reasons on different occasions.  

That day was a learning experience for me.  I understand sometimes we end up in a dreadful situation. It can be related to our children.  As parents, if we take a minute and analyze, we would keep calm and deal the situation in a better way.  For our inability to handle certain things in life, we should not be blaming our children. That day was an eye-opener for me, hope it will bring a paradigm shift with all of us too. 

Leader

 How do you feel when you enter your parent company after a span of 13 long years? Must be wonderful, isn't it? I felt the same when I saw the signboard of the company. Yes! it read Accenture. This was the first MNC I get to work with after my Engineering course.  After a long gap of 13 years, I entered the same company to conduct a program for Children.

I was excited and enthralled seeing the children in uniform. I felt refreshed. The principal and the teachers of the school were there with the children. They were very keen and all ears towards the session. The session went well.I was about to head back to my home. 

But the voice from the principal held me back to stay there for a while. She had a notebook in her hand and she was narrating the positivity of the whole session. Not only from my session but from each and every section of the program. I was amazed to hear her evaluation of the whole program. 

That moment I realized, if the leader is vibrant and positive those who surrounded by the leader will always be positive and inspiring. I could see the teachers and the children carry a mesmerizing smile throughout the session. I learned that when I keep myself in good spirit, the people surrounded by me will also be on the same lines.I believe we all can do our fractional part in making a revolution as the consumers of this planet.

Positive Ripples

   It was a wonderful Sunday morning. I was gearing up for my storytelling session in Anna Centenary Library near Kotturpuram. There were many children along with their parents eagerly waiting to listen to the stories.

We started our session on time. The stories were narrated in a timely manner and ended on time. The stories carried a message to keep trying until success.

After the session was over, there were two children who stood up and wanted to speak. First, it was amazing to see children willing to speak. I listened to the first child. She said, "Aunty, I was trying to make an Origami craft. Initially, it was very hard. I kept trying and finished it good".

The second boy stood up and spoke, "I did some project in chemistry, it was very tough in the beginning. I thought I will not be able to complete. But I tried hard, then I succeeded".

Another tiny little boy said, "It's hard for me to wake up in the morning. I think I will try next time". 

It was an extraordinary morning to hear those tiny voices speak above their level of maturity. Stories are a great way to help them visualize the positivity and I am happy that I was the instrument that day. It's great to see that the idea of spreading positive ripples through stories have started to begin. Let it rise and create more ripples and make the world a little more beautiful every day. 

Ramadan Realizations

Sometimes being away from social media gives a lot of time for other priorities in life. I completely enjoyed the month of fasting and Ramadan.  Fasting, if we adhere properly brings out the best for all of us. Patience and Perseverance has been restored during the final days of fasting. The best thing is that my elder son got the hang of it and his fasting rate has improved drastically from the last year. 

When we follow the rituals as like the way it has to be followed, there will be a sense of completeness after the finish. When we value and nurture the same aroma of childhood like ours, we can expect the same from our children. As a whole I am completely satisfied with the way fasting started and ended. I feel a complete finish. I wish and pray the Almighty to give us all the same feelings and goodness to follow year after year for us as well as the future generation. 

Rebus Stories

A Rebus story is a short story comprised of words and images. It helps little children to learn words and understand the language better. It stands out from the traditional stories and will help children to motivate their learning curve. I am privileged to be part of the Rebus story team. Please check the attached links and circulate among your friends and families. 

The first link has an introduction of Rebus story and the second link has a story. Please watch and comment your thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsiX8ERPeJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVBQiqNw_oU

Love

Love expressed at the right time will bring memories of ecstasy. After watching this video, I felt more loving and caring. 

Also I remembered these lines from Kahlil Gibran 

"Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you"

This video speaks all about love. No wonder you will be in tears after watching this. Let the love overflow from within and make a difference to your loved ones. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SMpx-1dV24

Linking to 15th day of UBC

Curdled milk

It was a super Monday morning. Milk arrived on time. I was happy looking at the pure white organic milk straight from the vendor. I came and checked the milk storage in the fridge. There was some old milk. Hence i kept this new milk in the refrigerator.  Evening I took and try to boil it. Unfortunately it turned very curdle and finally I had to make Paneer out of it. 

I observed this strange phenomenon for few days. If I boil the milk instantly as soon as I receive , they stay good and last long. When I tried to boil later, they soon curdle and go bad.

This reminded me of my little son who comes and nags me to read a book at a time while I was busy in the kitchen. At that moment, finishing that chore and moving out from there was the priority. Hence I would say to him "I  will read to you after some time honey" and he move from there. Later when I was ready for reading, his attention span would have gone or he was engaged in some other activity and sometimes the reading we planned would never happen. 

If you ask me, whenever a child comes for working with us we need to leave everything and go behind him/her because that is the right time to squeeze some knowledge inside their mind. Later if we go they won't be in a mood and our purpose of reading the book or doing an activity will never bring the desired results. It is very difficult to make children to sit in one place and make them work. When they come to us, we should not leave that opportunity to sprinkle some knowledge in their tiny brains. Agree?