Great Expectations…
Let’s be honest, we all have great expectations from life. A little bit of this or that, which can give you immense happiness. And, what’s of more interest to a parent than their child ticking all the milestones without a hitch.
I love it when my baby meets the milestones earlier than expected and get disheartened when a milestone seems to be taking time. A little part of me gets sad and wants to do a magic sweep to change things. Does reality ever work that way?
Baby M is about to turn three and there are things I am super proud of, whereas few that I worry about. The peer interaction has been reduced to zero as he has not yet started any form of schooling. And the evenings walk and visits to parks to play with other kids is also not possible. Is he learning enough as his peers? Will he be socially awkward when things are back to normal?
He can count and identify familiar objects. But, with color learning, we are not doing so well. The mother’s heart was so worried that I took him to an ophthalmologist. All, the clinical tests done proved perfect vision and the doctor’s word had me thinking. Do I have too great expectations from the little one to know everything under the sun?
I see 18 months old kid recognizing English alphabets or three-year-old writing numbers and alphabets. The kids coloring perfectly with no colors outside the line. There are unlimited videos which have inspired me to do activity with my son – the finger-painting sessions or DIY projects. These little activities are my way to make him learn while playing. Soon, I also realized that I have too many great expectations from myself too.
With the work from home culture, I was feeling guilty of neglecting my child during the daytime. He has no one else to play around and I cannot play all the time with him. Baby M has adapted with time and indulges in self-play. But again, great expectations!
I do not want to be a Tiger Mom and at times it’s tough to control the urge of wanting more. Overtime, you realize to let things be as it is, and child led learning is best. I have my own flaws and I am learning to be a mother!
Do you ever feel you have one too many expectations from your kid? How do you know when to draw a line? Share your views in the comments. 🙂
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130 Comments
chinmayeecreations
Completely agree with you. I remember the movie Tare Zameen par and the message it conveyed. Every child is unique and prospers as per their own timing. Some brilliant students don’t end up having great careers where as average students make it big. So the message is clear here, I guess.
AnecdoteMomlife
Glad you mentioned that movie. It is one of the finest movie which depicts the burden of high expectation. There is a great message conveyed to let kids be kids.
chinmayeecreations
Yes, its one of my all time favorites.
Jenifer
Very nice write up. I wonder when parents expectations will end? Some are fine but not extreme.
AnecdoteMomlife
True Jenifer, we will always have expectations in life and learning to draw line is the first step.
Ritu
It is okay to have expectations. But it is definitely not okay to live vicariously through kids. At the end of the day, kids will be happy if they get to follow what they are interested in.
AnecdoteMomlife
Thanks Ritu, even I agree parents should not live their dreams through kids.
upasna1987
I too agree that we should slow down a bit. It’s fine in terms of learning. They will catch up one day an dit does not matter in the long run.
AnecdoteMomlife
Correct Upasna, things fall in line on their own pace.
anurbannomadic
Co-incidentally, I was thinking about this today. Beautiful post
AnecdoteMomlife
Thanks for dropping by!
Lavanya
India is filled with tiger moms these days. So are the Chinese moms. Good post.