Last week, we did a post on how our experience taught us that children find it difficult to say Thank You and Sorry as they grow older, and how Sorry was somewhat tougher to express as compared to Thank You. This week, we shall try to cover some basic tips which we as guardians (parents, grandparents, educators, caregivers) can incorporate into our daily routine, and as a matter of habit, to help inculcate a sense of ease in children when it comes to gratitude as well as regret. HOW TO NORMALIZE SORRY AND THANK YOU Make thank you and sorry a part of the regular conversation Talk about different circumstances under which you may need to thank or apologize. You can turn this into a game. Give your child a situation, and ask them how they would react. Don't hesitate to say thank you or sorry around your child. Whether this is at home (to your partner, to your child, to your domestic help, to your parents, to guests), at the market, in the park, if the situation warrants it.  Make yo

The best part of being a part of a creche, preschool and daycare in Gurgaon, or even now of online preschool in India, is the beautiful opportunity we have had over the last almost 10 years to interact with children across a diverse age group. We have had kids as young as three months in creche, 2 to 4 years in preschool, and as old as 12 years in our daycare facility in Gurgaon. Quite apart from being the funnest workspace ever, it has also given us some insights into human nature, an opportunity to introspect, to understand how it can sometimes be difficult to practice what we preach... I want to take here, two phrases in particular - THANK YOU, AND SORRY. These are very crucial parts of our dictionary, yet, our experience with them have given us a lot of food for thought. THANK YOU Thank you can have two associated connotations - GRATITUDE, and HAPPINESS. Gratitude for receiving help, happiness of say receiving birthday wishes or even better, gifts. Every year, the so many birthdays

 Happy New Year! Admittedly, around May-June, it seemed like a far away possibility for us to be thinking about a "happy" new year. The prospects appeared bleak - the preschool and daycare industry was possibly the only industry which was completely shut down (even after the unlock guidelines), there did not seem prospects for fresh admissions, it was a time when meeting base expenses seemed like an impossible ask. As an industry, we had truly hit rock bottom. The year has come to a close, and while things continue to be difficult (the physical spaces remain closed) the year has also taught us a lot, as have our kids. We would like to share our learnings and our key takeaways from 2020.  What 2020 Taught Us There is More to Life than Work We learnt to be grateful for all the small things in life we take for granted - our health, our loved ones, enjoying nature, eating home cooked food, reading books and so much more. Focus on all that is good instead of dwelling on the bad. 

  I was concerned when our Morning Glorie, a preschool in South City 1 , Gurgaon, started by my daughter and wife in 2011, had to close operations in March this year due to the pandemic lockdown. We were not alone. There were many others in a similar situation. The parents of toddlers were also concerned. They did not know what the future held for their little gems. To be honest, I was sceptical when the team decided to start online interactive sessions for their toddlers in April. I could not comprehend 2-3-year olds sitting in front of their screens, even if it was only for one hour in a day. They needed someone to sit with them during the session – who would that be? Obviously, one of the parents – a mother or a father. Classroom days seemed to be a thing of the past. How would the educators design activities which would ignite little minds virtually? More importantly, were the educators themselves trained in imparting the required stimuli to the little ones through an online mode

I am an avid F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan. I first watched that series as a teenager in school, and have since watched the entire series like a 100 times. Ok. Maybe I exaggerate a little. But I am sure that my mom (who is also my partner at Morning Glorie , Daycare and Play school in Gurgaon) will whole heartedly say that I obsess a tad too much with the series. So there was this one episode, in season 9 I think, where Ross and Rachel are looking for a nanny for their daughter Emma, and in comes Sandy, who was this amazing nanny, with a bunch of references, and who was really really good with the kids. But, for Ross, what ended up being more important was the fact that he was a man. Now first up, I have to say, I found it amazingly wonderful, that in the west, early childhood education as well as care could be taken care of by the same person - not taking into consideration the gender of the person. Sandy was not just a nanny, who would feed Emma, or change her diapers, he was also part of his pr