Do not rush Childhood
Posted: July 7, 2008It was my daughter’s classmate birthday party. The whole class of 6 years old and their parents and teachers were invited. I had a chance to speak to her form teacher who as there with her 2 little 4 years and 2 years old boys. I was asking how is my daughter processing in her social manners and get along with her classmates. It was just 6 months that she had changed to this new preschool. She said she is doing very well and very sociable. In fact, she can mix well with the boys and girls. She loves to talk and even hug her best friends when they played together. I laughed and told her that since small, my daughter loves to hug and mix with her classmates. When we were living in Shanghai and she attended international playschool, her classmates were mixture of Germans, French, Japanese, Koreans, Singaporean, Indians and Swiss. The language was not a barrier to them, it is the touches and the unspoken gestures that bond most of these kids together.
I commented that some of her classmates (in the current class) is very matured looking and behaving so. Her teacher acknowledged such. In fact, there are a few who speak and behave like adults. At the back of my mind, I was thinking, I do not wish my 6 years old to be like that. In fact, I will be scared if my 6 years old is behaving like such. It means that I have to do an immediate self-check on mine and my husband behaviour to see if she has learnt it from us. I hope she behave according to her age. When she is a child, act like a child. It is alright to be childish. It is innocent to be childish. Adults who act foolishly cannot claim to be childish as they are adults. I rather she learnt naturally and progressively as a child and behave progressively so than to rush her to it.
Just the other day, she pretended she is a pregnant lady.(this is because she saw a pregnant lady in the clinic and she longed for me to be pregnant with a sister or brother foe her) I told her that I prefer her to be a child. A child can have lots of playtime. A child can still holds and sleep with her “Smelly blanket”. Adults have fewer personal time and have more responsibility and it is not fun to be adults so fast. She smiled and said, “No worries mummy. I am pretending. I want to be your sweetie pie.Carry me please.” I pet her on her head and said, ” At least I still can carry you as a child. I cannot carry you when you are an adult.”
