Ask Amma

Archive for the ‘Why’ Category


7 year-old … ennui and rage

In Why on 10 April 2011 at 6:42 am

Sometimes we just can’t recognize our 7 year old anymore. She has always been eager, helpful, considerate and co-operative. Now she often doesn’t like anything and at times her temper is through the roof! Help!!!
– Mom in Mumbai

From what I have gathered through experience, observation and conversation, 7 years can be a difficult time of transition from early childhood to early kid-hood. While I can’t fully explain what is happening, I can share something that seems to have helped in our family. During one of my late night sessions on mothering.com/discussions, I read about a family who had regular family meetings to solve any problems big or small that any member wanted to bring to the table. A marvellous idea. So we tried it one day. My husband, daughter and I sat together and I explained what we were doing and we went around the circle to say how we were (as we did in our co-op meetings in Madison). After this round, our daughter walked out of the meeting.

Two days later, however, she called a family meeting. We’ve been having them ever since 343

, ,

Make believe

In Why on 18 February 2011 at 4:02 am

My daughter wants me to call up the magician who performed at her birthday and ask if he can transform her into a fairy. She can’t see why I won’t even ask

– mom of a 6 year old in Chennai.

So why won’t you? As a magician he must have fielded such a question before? Else you could take the question and also transform her into a fairy (or let her transform you.)

Chennai mom responds:
I had of course to deal with the question. We talked a little about fantasy and fiction. She didn’t seem too convinced!

Amma asks:
Convinced of what?

Amma asks Readers – have you had to "break the news" about fantasy and fiction? Tell us how you did it and why.

, ,

Autonomous worlds of imagination

In Why on 17 October 2010 at 4:04 am

Thanks to Sonika for sharing this excellent article, Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills by Alix Spiegel, National Public Radio, February 21, 2008. I am so glad that I discovered, somewhat ironically, that “less is more” and even “nothing is better than something” from a toy-vendor website.  That toy vendor was up with the progressive, holistic approach to play and had low-feature, high-imagination-stimulating “waldorf dolls” etc and actually wrote ” your child does not need toys.” It was just what I needed to hear.  Relieved from my search for “brain-stimulating” and “creativity-inducing” toys I was free to accept invitations to the imaginative worlds my daughter was engaged in making up already.


Spiegel comments: “But during the second half of the 20th century, Chudacoff argues, play changed radically. Instead of spending their time in autonomous shifting make-believe, children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts.” Read the rest of this entry »