My Daughter’s Summer Vacation – A Mind Opener!

Summer vacation - one of the most desired periods of the year for almost every kid, except for those geniuses who plan to learn all through the year and for those who start preparing for the next school year. I still remember the days of my vacation which was spent lavishly being outdoors. I also remember well the very great homework of writing the annual question & answer (??) 3 times for all the subjects, which is not worth enough except for the handwriting skills. As a student getting promoted to the next class/grade what use would it be to write previous years question & answers not once, not twice, but thrice. Yet, did I write them on time, NEVER. It so happens every year that I would be searching for the question papers just 2 weeks before the school reopens and the following 2 weeks would be a life with paper/pencil/scale/rubbers and lots of accusation from my mother for doing it at the last moment. Poor she, the older generation (hehe) who is always organized and accomplished tasks even before it’s time, would never understand the younger generation (:-?) and the happiness of rushing at the very end and yet finishing it ON time. Whether it be quarterly, half-yearly or annual vacation, homework are to be done only at the last moment, few times in the new classroom on the very first day of school. What have I done during the rest of the period? PLAY PLAY and more PLAY. The streets were not occupied with vehicles as they are these days, but with cycles and few bikes (TVS-50 kinda bikes) may be, so parents were least bothered about kids being hit by a vehicle or anything. To add to this, TVs were not the source of entertainment in those days and so kids not just one or two kids were outside, but all of the kids in the entire street. We had a park just opposite of my home with lots of trees. We played hide and seek (Kannamoochi, my favourite hiding spot is the top of the tree), catch me(odi pidichu vilayaduradhu), capturing country(naadu pidikuradhu), color game(yaaradhu peyadhu), 7 stones, mancala(pallanguli), chottangal, dhaayam, butterfly/dragon fly catching with thumbai chedi leaves, etc, etc. All the kids gather around 10:30 or 11 after breakfast and the only time we get into the house is for lunch, not even loo break. We just play & play & play all day long climbing trees, walls, running around the street, hiding behind walls, etc. One other important part of the play: getting a bicycle for rent, what fun it is to have a own cycle and ride it whenever wished for rather than fighting over with mummy, calling in daddy for support to get Rs.1 or 2 for an hour’s rent, get the cycle, ride/race it around the street and rush to the cycle store to return but be always late by 5mts and beg with the store person not to charge extra.

Now, when I see my daughter in summer vacation, I really feel awful. Last couple of years had been easy on her, since we either had grandparents at home or we travelled to India. This was the first summer vacation when none of this happened and we ended up being on ourselves. Being a house where both parents work, my daughter ended up in a summer camp. All summer long (2.5months), what she knew was to get up at the same time as she did while going to school, do the same chores which she did all year long and leave the house at exactly the same time. In addition to this the summer camp was academic driven; yet another story. I chose a camp which enhances them in their academic strength, so she will be prepared for the aptitude test following school year. She did not have academic work just at the camp, but some homework as well, which I made sure she did. It was such a mechanical routine to wake up, get ready, have breakfast, run to camp, do tests in english, math, patterns, have lunch, continue the same again, come home, relax for may be 10mts, do homeowork, go to bed at the exact same time. As an adult we have the ability to understand and process it ourselves, but as a 6year old kid, my daughter started to feel not just bored, but a big mental stress which she neither was able to explain nor take it as it is. Just after a week or two I felt terrible when she started whining about not going to school, not the camp, but the regular school itself. It was a total shock for us, since all this while (2yrs until now) she has been happy going to school and never wanted to take off even if she was sick. I started realizing what was happening and there came a "Gnanodhayam" for me. That's when I thought of my summer vacation and compared it to hers. It was indeed a mind opener for me and I started changing my attitude towards her homework or for that matter total academics itself.

As a 21st century women, I wish to be working rather than sitting at home, but at the same time, I really feel appalling about the children’s situation. I personally feel they are not given/getting the love and affection which we used to enjoy in our childhood. We were pampered not just by parents, but by all relatives and friends. Also, I guess we had the wonderful childhood one could ever have, not even our parents, at-least mine, when they were all working on the farms in their childhood. All of these thoughts, made me realize how precious and important childhood is and what I should be providing to my children. I changed myself in few ways and still trying to change few other habits/practices at home to come out of the parent role and be a child when I’m with my child; I hope this will help build a good relationship with my kids as well as provide them a memorable childhood.