It's the free space and exposure to the company of many others that's turning her in to more of a social being. First thing in the morning she wants to explore the outside, play ball, say hi to the birdies and run around. Finally i think hunger drives her back in.
My theory is, at home there's only so much she can do and is then constrained by space. Here she's found boundary less space. Hence, more to explore and even more to engage her naughty mind in. She's not threatened by unfamiliar territory. It takes her just a few minutes to warm up to the new place.
And i'm talking out of experience. In the last month she's visited her thammu's place in Delhi, family friends' places also in Delhi, her ammu-dadu's house, the golf course, my dad's colleagues place in Amritsar, my aunt's place, cousins house, friends place and uncles' house in Mumbai. She's never clung on to me for too long. She's definitely a social baby. As long as she gets her food, sleep and diaper change on time.
After the sweet taste of space and the meaning it brought to her existence, i introduced her to the train. Paradoxical situation leading to one of the most horrendous experiences of my life with aanya. Train compartment=no freedom of space=feeling of being chained! Umpteen end to end walks of the compartment were taken (I could hear almost all the passengers empathising with mumma and me), songs and rhymes were repeated, so much so that the co-passengers also learnt them by heart, books were read aloud, extensive doodling on the slate was observed and the the toys animated their story till she was bored. There was nothing we didn't try.
Moral of the story. If you have a child like Aanya, travel by train before she can start walking or after she is old enough to use the loo herself! Preferably travel with spouse; never alone.
My theory is, at home there's only so much she can do and is then constrained by space. Here she's found boundary less space. Hence, more to explore and even more to engage her naughty mind in. She's not threatened by unfamiliar territory. It takes her just a few minutes to warm up to the new place.
And i'm talking out of experience. In the last month she's visited her thammu's place in Delhi, family friends' places also in Delhi, her ammu-dadu's house, the golf course, my dad's colleagues place in Amritsar, my aunt's place, cousins house, friends place and uncles' house in Mumbai. She's never clung on to me for too long. She's definitely a social baby. As long as she gets her food, sleep and diaper change on time.
After the sweet taste of space and the meaning it brought to her existence, i introduced her to the train. Paradoxical situation leading to one of the most horrendous experiences of my life with aanya. Train compartment=no freedom of space=feeling of being chained! Umpteen end to end walks of the compartment were taken (I could hear almost all the passengers empathising with mumma and me), songs and rhymes were repeated, so much so that the co-passengers also learnt them by heart, books were read aloud, extensive doodling on the slate was observed and the the toys animated their story till she was bored. There was nothing we didn't try.
Moral of the story. If you have a child like Aanya, travel by train before she can start walking or after she is old enough to use the loo herself! Preferably travel with spouse; never alone.
I really the contrast you've created. I've never really thought of the train as a confining space and it's interesting to see how a child would try and understand the sudden redefinition of boundaries.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, given her genetic make-up,the day she discovers her first book you'll probably be able to board an 18-hour flight with her and not worry about how she'll behave :D And, going by the little genius she is, that will probably be in another 6 months. I'm giving her Shakespeare for her second birthday ;)