Dad play with me, I will pay you!!

John was working on his laptop on a Sunday afternoon. Sam, his 4 years' old son came to him "Dad!! How much money do you get for working an hour?". "Rs. 500 for an hour, son" said John.
"Can you lend me Rs. 500?" asked Sam. "Sure, but what for?" asked John. Sam replied "I will pay you so that you can play with me for an hour". John felt embarrassed. He put down his laptop and held Sam in his lap, "You don't have to pay me son, I am sorry for being so busy. What would you like to play?"

I am sure most of us have heard this story. The why don't we learn from it? Why do we always wait for a vacation to go and enjoy? Why can't we make the most out of everyday moments?

We are earning to give the "best future" to our kids, but we don't have time for them in "present". This is true for both moms and dads.

I am not condemning anyone. I just want each mom and dad to introspect.

Most moms are busy cooking good food for kids and family, keeping their houses clean, asking the kids to study harder to get good marks, concentrating on whether the homework is perfect or not, finishing the deadlines at work ..............and so on. Where is the time to build connection? No time is left for play...right? And then we give the plea that we're doing everything for our kids. 

Most dads are busy in office right from morning till night. They too are obsessed with kids' good marks, asking them to concentrate more on studies and less on sports. They are so busy even on weekends, that they hardly get time to play.

And then one day suddenly a guilt creeps inside us that we don't have time to play with our kids. What do we do then? Go and get them presents. "Oh!! I did my duty as a mom/dad. I am so happy because I made my kid happy."
This goes on. Whenever this guilt creeps in, we get them a gift.

Now comes the day when our kid asks for something which is beyond our budget, or is inappropriate. We refuse. They keep asking. We scold them for being stubborn, disrespectful and disobedient. 

The question arises:
Whose fault was it at the first place?

Surely ours. We replaced our 'presence' with 'presents', and felt happy. 
When a child is small, he doesn't understand the meaning of presents. He is looking upon us for love and presence. He asks for playtime with his parents, and that gives him ultimate happiness when he sees his parents becoming a small kid just like him. 

Life is so simple for them. Let it remain simple. Take out time to play with your kids for as little as 15 minutes a day. Let your kid be the leader in that time. Become a kid yourself. I bet there is no more happiness in this world than you will feel during that time. Because happiness lies in simple and small everyday moments.

I am sure everyone has 15 minutes for their kids. Leave everything aside and play.
"GIVE YOUR PRESENCE"

More from me on positive parenting:
Make your home a NO YELLING area

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Journey Of Positive Parenting

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