Teaching little kids
It’s always interesting to see how some people teach little kids.
This morning Anya and I sat at the back of a taxi, and when the taxi stopped a traffic light, Anya stood up to take a look at the huge bus next to us. Then the middle-aged taxi driver turned, looked at Anya and said:
“Careful ah, little girl … this thing is hard, you know (pointing to his chair and the rest of his taxi). If you stand, you’ll fall. Then you get blood. Don’t want blood, right? If you have blood then you’re not pretty anymore. Must sit down. Be a good girl. Then, no blood. You stand up, you get blood, ok? Blood. Blood everywhere.’
Basically that’s how he talked throughout his one-minute lecture, while Anya looked at the man as he spoke to her.
Luckily he spoke in English, so I could translate what he said differently in Indonesian.
Basically I told her, ‘He said, you must be careful, because if you stand while you’re in a taxi, you can fall and it’ll hurt. When we’re in a taxi, we all need to sit down. Don’t stand because it’s dangerous.’
I think he said the word ‘blood’ more than 10 times. And it’s just interesting to see how some people feel the need to teach little kids by explaining stuff and associating it with blood and other scary consequences.
I guess with the kinds of TV programmes and violent contents we have nowadays, and the fact that some parents allow their little kids to watch them all, kids naturally become more used to the idea of blood and violence. And if that really is what’s happening in the majority of households these day, then that’s a scary fact.
Wilson and I always try to be careful with the kinds of TV programmes Anya gets to see, the kinds of music she listens to, the kinds of words we use when we talk to her and when she’s around, because we know every little thing that little kids see, hear and watch, they all get absorbed in their minds. Unfiltered.
At such a young age, they’re not yet able to screen what’s good and bad, what should be followed and what shouldn’t, so it really is our responsibility as parents to screen for them and teach them what’s right.
And to be able to carry such a big responsibility, I know I always need to pray and ask for wisdom from above.
May God help us parents.
