Yesterday I happened to see an ad in between a programme. No…No… Let me put it this way. If I say “I watched a programme inbetween advertisements”, then, that will be more apt.
The ad was about a health drink . Therein a mother was taking her son to school. As she walks, she asks her son to put on his woolen scarf, then the woolen cap and then after a few seconds, she says ” oh! It is very cold. Wear on your sweaters ” and so on…. The scene also shows another boy walking freely without any extra fittings, indicating not a very cold day. The ad advises mothers ” May your child face rough weather. Only then, he will get immune to it.” And ofcourse the campaign is for their health drink
Though it is an ad, it high lights a point that children should be exposed to rough weather to know to handle it. Let us ignore the literal meaning of the sentence and rather go deep into it.
As mothers we care for our children and protect them.Good. We should do.Because we love them to the moon and back.
There are also mothers, who are over protective. They never leave the child alone. This is also out of sheer love and affection . But in their anxiety , they fail to realise, that they had slipped into the category of Chopper moms.
Chopper moms ……who are they? I can hear you asking.
They are like choppers , always flying above their son or daughter, hovering over them , seeing what they do, be it school or home. Ofcourse…. only to take care of them and give them all the timely help . And also to help their sons in taking decisions.
. Till their teens these mothers can hover over them and take care .
After that … what? The child entering into adulthood, will be left all alone suddenly, to fend for themselves. Will it work for them then.? They might feel absolutely insecure.
We in our teens did not face this ” lost in the forest ” syndrome. Because many of us were brought up in a joint family and also our parents had more than one child to take care of.. They neither had the time nor a fat purse to pamper the children.That does not mean they cared less for their children. I would say that their bringing up had very little flaws or even no flaws at all. You would agree with me if I say that we are living examples of their flawless grooming..
But now…. thanks to the nuclear family system, which had made every child as descendants from moon.Their wishes turn into reality in the wink of an eyelid. Thanks to the economy which had made it possible. The result is , most children are not exposed to stark realities, failures and disappointments even in play .
“So you ask me to just throw away my son without protecting him? ” I can visualise some mothers going red with anger.
I can only say,” Mom!You have misunderstood me . As mothers we need to take care of our child. At the same time, we should also take care that we don’t transform ourselves into chopper moms.”
But, all the same , If you prefer to be a chopper, be so.
But as a chopper you might come across eagles and their homes in tall trees. Don’t forget to step into their homes. Step in and meet the mom of the home.
There is a lot to learn from them. Eagles build nests on tall trees and lay eggs there. The nests, eagle builds is very soft .After hatching, like every other mother, eagle mom also takes care of her babies. She feeds them and cares for them, be it rain or shine.
But all this care…. for how long do you think?
When the eaglets are ready to fly eagle mom starts her teaching process. First she removes all the soft twigs from the nest and makes the nest pricky. This is the first step where in mom exposes her baby to the rough side of life.
“Mommy ! Thorns are pricking me. Please make the bed soft. “the eaglet cries.
“Baby.. If it is pricky , why don’t you go out and fly?”Mom says.
Will the eaglet listen ? Will he ever leave the security of the cosy home?
No…absolutely not.
But the mom does not stop there.
Slowly, she pushes her baby to the edge of the nest with her wings.
The eaglet looks out at the vast outside world .
And screams,” Ohooo………Mom…Mom…. Don’t push me outside. The world outside scares me a lot mommy. It is windy too. Please….Please… mommy …. I shall not be naughty anymore. ” and begs to get back into the nest. The mom without any sympathy pushes the baby again to the edge.
Does she hate her young one? No, She teaches her young one, what he should learn.
Now, the eaglet slips out of the nest , falling from a great height screaming ,” HO…Ho….Iam falling Mom…….my.” The Survival Instinct makes the baby to flatter his wings.
Eaglet tries , but could not.
True. Nothing could be achieved at the first attempt. When the baby is about to fall down, eagle mom flies from somewhere and catches her child . She then takes him back to the nest for rest.
The eaglet thinks,” Wow! I have got the worlds best mom. She is not going to drive me out of the nest. I can be safe here. My mom will take care of me. She loves me.” And shouts at his mom ,” I love you too mommy.”
And heaves a sigh of relief.
This relief will not last long. Again eagle mom pushes the eaglet outside the nest. Now again the eaglet, out of fear of dying , opens its wings to flatter and fly. But lo! After a few flatters, he loses the strength of the wings and begins to fall down. Immediately mom rushes from nowhere and carries the child to safety.
This kind of exercise is given by the mom to the eaglet many times till the baby’s wings gains strength and masters the art of flying.
Soon, eaglet could be seen screaming in excitement, on scaling great heights .
He screams,” Thankyou mom! You made me fly! ”
Wow! What an achievement both for the eagle and the eaglet!
Just imagine, if only, the eagle mom thinks that what she had undergone as a child, should not be experienced by her baby too, what could have happened?
The eaglet will have to lie inside the nest and get rotten.
Eagles pose a majestic appearance. True.
But, how do they gain this majesty?
The majesty of Eagles, lies in their confidence and courage. The eagle mom knows this when bringing up her child. She knows that there are “No gains without pains.”
What a fore sight!
Now coming back to chopper moms…..
On returning form eagles home, Chopper moms also, would have got an insight. I hear one of them murmuring,”Let me abondon my chopper. My child should sail smoothly through the rough and tough tides , ( if any ) in later life. Let me prepare him for that.”
That’s it.
Happy Mothers day!
image courtesy-google.
my jottings 