In a particularly turbulent flight, Gautam asks questions like what if the wing falls off or if the plane’s tires do not come out when we land? While others are holding on tight, this boy just loves the rollicking of a plane as if it were a roller coaster ride for him :). His questions are sometimes morbid asking stuff about death and a lot of what if the train got off the tracks or if he dies and I will be left with only one child? Initially, I used to wonder why he would ask such stuff and sometimes got hyper myself. But, now I have realized that he does not understand the underlying connotations of dying. For him, that’s a mechanical experience of seeing stuff in movies or TV that he can hardly relate to and just asks out of curiosity.
Siddharth’s questions are a wee bit more predictable, and he is more often than not in the quizzing mode these days. Whether it is questions related to IPL, animals, birds, snakes, continents, countries to human beings. He is reading many encyclopedias and constantly wants to show off his knowledge. He knows better than to ask me because most of the time my answer is I don’t know :). I like his childish jokes though that he picks up from Tinkle or his kiddie books.
Sometimes, their questions or comments can be quite embarrassing, and I am sure that each parent has been in that situation one time or another. Digressing a bit, on my flight back from Ahmedabad, I started chatting with a lady who had two sons just like me. Her younger son was the age of Siddharth who is 9 years old. Incidentally, her elder son was also named Siddharth :). I observed that both boys kept on quarreling or bugging each other throughout the flight just like my boys do, and her reactions were the exact same as mine, sometimes irritation, sometimes warning, at other times anger! And we commisserated how difficult it was to live with 2 boys :). Looks like, this situation of the boys fighting will not get better any time soon looking at her experience.
Questions…I am fed up of answering questions and somtimes just to bug him, before he starts asking, I start on questioning him 😉
Fighting, I can’t say, bcoz I have only 1 and as there is no one else, I substitute for a sibling and hubby dear has to resolve our issues 😀 and very soon he says he will be running away 😛
i think its the curiosity of the young ones which leads to ask them such questions…. and its good in a way.
When my kids were small it was constant questions – I was always glad they asked it meant an enquiring mind – but the other day I was in the company of two small girls and after 20 minutes I was going mad!
As to fighting you have a long long way to go … I think my siblings and I stopped in our 30s!
@bbsearching Since both my sons have the worst form of verbal diarrhea, it won’t help my case if I started asking questions. They would enthusiastically answer and ask me some more related ones :). My husband and I go through phases of wanting to run away 🙂 or returning them back to the hospital if there was a return policy.
@Irfannudin It is good when someone else’s kids do it :).
@Jane Oh, so you killed all my hopes altogether of ever having a peaceful family. And, you are right, I feel I am losing my mind when they begin talking, or playing or teasing each other. I know it is bad to crib, and I love them a lot, but I am human too ;-).
hahaha what a hilarious post!! I loved it! I used to do the same.. “mommy why is the dog there?… but why?/// mommy why??.. why? lol I used to send her mad asking why to everything she said. I guess I was just curious and so are your sons 😛
enquisitive mind 🙂 its good they ask questions.. it means they are watching what is going around , I will be worried if kids dont ask them… now is the best time cause they have parents to answer..
once they grow up they will have to find there own answers 🙂
Bikram’s
Rachna, your post is lovely 🙂
Kids could get a bit annoying at times with their questions (just like I´ve been many times…ask my Dad!) but ocasionally that´s exactly what we need to be yanked out of the routine and to look at the world with new eyes 🙂
@Emmy I am sure all of us did that when we were kids :). But, now being parents we crib.
@Bikram Sure, they will find their own answers when they grow u :). But, where has the peace gone!
@Iliana Of course, some of the things they say and ask can be really funny and pretty innovative :). But for Gurdev and I it is regular business especially their arguments and quarrels and sometimes when we want some peace and quiet and we want to have a peaceful talk, they are barging in noisily. That bugs us. For us, this is routine, so we require breaks of some peace :).
It is enjoying to read about ur kids. 🙂
@Chandrika thanks :).
It was always my son who used to ask questions forever, my daughter never asked any. I think he has taken after me, and my daughter has taken after her father. And she is married to a person who is very friendly with everyone, and is talkative like me and my son. I suppose opposites attract.
I think asking questions is always good, and your sons are really very cute and smart each in their own way.
@rama Asking questions is good, talking non stop is a pain and quarreling all the time an even bigger pain :).
Didn’t you also a do a post on fear of flying? How do the wing-falling-off questions make you feel? Me, I’d have been a basket case. Every small bump sends me off into a chanting of hanuman chalisa!!
@Deepa Did I? I don’t remember that. Actually, I am not afraid of flying, and I am pretty amused when I see stricken faces or people praying around me while flying. I haven’t faced any serious turbulences either, so I guess it has all worked well. Besides, I am a Nat Geo crashes freak and that gives me a lot of confidence in airplanes :).
i go with deepa on this..:)
All mothers have the same way of dealing with their children’s matters and quarrel..happy mother’s day
@Ramesh So, you are afraid of flying too 🙂
@Tomz Yes, maybe, all mothers crib and bear it just like me :).
Kids will always be inquisitive! And yes, sometimes it’s too much to handle.
I guess, we start with a smile, then stares, then move onto irritation and finally to anger with our kids!! They truly test our patience!! But whatever said and done, life’s more beautiful with around us!! 🙂
@Shilpa Very true! Since we love them the most, we are within our right to crib a little too :).