If you will hit me with a stick, I ’ ll also hit you with this bat ” this was my older one of 6 while playing with his friend. It took me a while to accept that it was really my son ’ s voice, I was in a shock as we had never ever raised a hand on him or his younger brother of 4 & we had always taught him that in our house hitting was absolutely not acceptable and he had also imbibed the learning quite well, then what was so provocative today that he was responding in this violent manner; it was very very essential for me to understand his point of view ,I was required to sit with him and talk about the matter….


But mamma it was he who first hit me, should

be just sitting and letting him hit me, without any action? ” Now there was a need for me to do some thinking; this was learning for me as well, as I had fed him only half the lesson, I had taught him that hitting was not good. It was OK till the time he was following this in the secure environment of our home as everybody was following the same rule; but was he being prepared to face the big bad world of outside where ultimately he had to venture, he had to share the space with people of different upbringings & values….people for whom hitting each other may not be such a bad thing!So... should I tell him yes, you were right you did the right thing, or should I just remain silent and pass on the massage to him that he could carry on with the same behavior, should I just sulk that because of others ’ I was not able to give good values to my own children… No! within a flash of a second ,I got the answer as if God himself was helping me to overcome this big dilemma, yes this was Big for me and my child because whatever I was going to tell my son at that moment was going to affect the shape of his entire personality, and the course of his entire life. It was my duty as a mother (appointed as a moral teacher by god himself) to tell him what was right and what was wrong. “ So, this shows that his mind is more powerful than yours? ” I started. “ Why? ” He showed interest… “ Because he controlled your mind very quickly and taught you his actions so easily, he asked your mind to hit and your mind started following him ” . “ Yes you ’ re right mamma ” he said thoughtfully, “ but what could I have done? ”“ Very simple ” , I said calmly, noticing that my talks were having an impact “ next time when this thing happens stop the hockey stick in the air look in his eyes and in a loud, confident& firm voice tell him don ’ t hitme, its bad ” . “ YES Mamma, It Will Work! ” there was joy in his voice, and a victorious smile on his face. I had a satisfaction that my son has absorbed the message that being right is the biggest strength in itself. I also had a satisfaction that god has provided me with a great insight, at this stage when my child is graduating towards the next level of maturity, when he had to be more on his own in this world. I wondered that that this one insight can always be of help at various stages of parenting, issues arising due to peer pressure (smoking, drugs etc.) can be dealt with easily if we tell our children to differentiate between the right and the wrong from the childhood; I was feeling light as if I had discovered the fundamental secret of right parenting…..who said parenting was a tough job?