Pappa - Kya hai Yeh?

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Pappa, Kya hai Yeh ; Dhaani asked.
Yeh color hai, i said, pointing at the purple crayon
She picked the blue one and encored  
Pappa , Kya hai Yeh ?

This is a usual conversation which i have been having with Dhaani since she has turned 18 months. She points to random things and goes - Kya hai yeh? And we are loving this phase of hers. Only it gets a bit repetitive after 20 "kyahaiyeh"s. What is good is after some 20 questions, she actually remembers " Kya hai Yeh".

It's fun when your child starts asking questions. And starts asking so many of them. It is your chance to show her the world through your eyes. It is your chance to participate at the beginning of her exploration of this world. Its the first sign of her empowerment. That she will ask questions, till she is not satisfied with the answer. That she will be able to guide others someday, to their answers.

At the same time, it is scary when your child starts asking questions. Your answers are not being heard from one ear and rejected from the other. They are setting up the foundation of her knowledge and belief system. And by asking these questions to you,  your child is trusting you with making this foundation. Its the maximum trust someone will ever put on you. Thus, I am scared at times when she asks me a question. Do I know the answer at all?

Himani and I have created a rule for ourselves. We will never ignore Dhaani `s questions. And we will never ridicule them. We will try to answer her questions to the best of our knowledge. And will be honest to her when we don't know the answers.








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