Heartfelt. Happy. Healthy.

9th April 2023

Dhruv's birthday is around the corner. In a month he will be 9 years old. Reena has been mindful enough to make Dhruv independent each year by making him accountable for the tasks that suit his age. This year, she is trying to break the habit of making him sleep. Every night, she reads one bedtime story to Dhruv followed by a Bollywood song of his choice, which was his sleeping schedule! Dhruv noticed a change in Reena's behavior but fails to understand the reason.
Dhruv is determined to finally ask her today why she is not putting him to sleep for the last 4-5 days. It is 9.45 pm, past Dhruv's sleeping time. Reena screams for the third time, "Dhruv, why aren't you in bed? You have early morning school tomorrow. You should have slept by now." "Mumma, today I will sleep only if you put me to sleep," Dhruv responds firmly. "Don't be stubborn Dhruv. From now onwards you will have to sleep on your own. You are not a kid anymore." Reena says in an irritated tone. "Okay. I agree to sleep on my own, but I want to know the reason, why?" asks Dhruv.
"You are now a grown-up boy, you will soon turn 9. You should start being independent now gradually," replied Reena. "Hmmmmm... Is that the reason? Okay, I have a solution. We start a new ritual. A hug is what we will exchange every night before I sleep. No matter my age, you are still going to be my mother and I will be your son. These little habits are tricks to finding ways to spend more time with you. And I don't want to miss those opportunities in any way. So, cool? Does that work?" says Dhruv.
Reena realizes Dhurv has actually grown up and hugs him with teary eyes!



Heartfelt.
Parenting is a ride filled with mixed emotions. Some moments will make your heart melt, rest will make you feel fortunate, and there would be many other emotions too. Make sure you feel all the feelings at those respective times and express them if needed!

Happy.
Not all the stories have a happy ending, some have big life lessons to learn. But, if we consider these as opportunities instead of adversities, it finally becomes a happy incident.

Healthy.
Whenever trying to bring a change in traits with kids, make them prepared for it. Talk to them and make them understand. Involve them, and explain to them, there is a better chance of implementing that change in a better way, a healthy way. Instead making them notice and think more about it which could probably result in a negative way too. It is better to keep them informed and prepared!
Note: This post is a part of #Blogchattera2z 2023.