At her age, I barely knew the existence other than my parents, relatives and a tiny village. Except for a few auspicious hospital visits, I was never exposed to the outside world. At 5, the farthest I knew was the boundary of my home and village.
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The Frog in the Well knows nothing of the mighty Ocean
A little innocent boy draped in torn clothes and bare feet, I never imagined I would one day sit in front of a power laptop, phone, sofa, have a cosy bed and walk around a high rise building and drive a car.
Fast forward, the world including my village has changed so fast and so much. The road and electricity were never thought to be the basic necessities of livelihood. And more over, people moving outside of their community for education, work and livelihood was never envisioned since farming work used to be the supreme end.
We never imagined the power of technology would grow this powerful and sophisticated and dictate us like today. Whatever are the happenings; there is no looking back, and gone are the days.
Sitting back and seeing my girl who is yet to be 6-year old this March is already way advanced than her parents; she is already so exposed to things such as YouTube, tv, phones, tabs, laptop, computers, books, comic, pen, pencil, colors, geometry box, make-up set, dolls, toys, cars, dresses, shoes, foods, pizza, cake, ice cream, coffee, chocolate, sweets, etc.
I don’t feel so excited, proud, and moved when some of my friends and relatives say –she speaks fluent English. Although she can communicate well with correct grammar and tenses, yet I don’t feel proud, nor do I take any credit. It happened by virtue of being a new era child. Thanks to the power and versatility of the internet and technology.
Of course, they are more fortunate than most of us. There is nothing special to feel at an age when things are just away at the click of a button. This trend and fashion will remain forever hereafter is a normal thing.
More than her English, I worry about her flare and tie in our National Language and my mother tongue. These are the two worrying trends I am experiencing in my family and with my kids. Ever since she was born to us, we always focused and wanted her to be exposed to Dzongkha (national language) and mother tongue, but it never happened the way it is thought initially for the fact that English content is everywhere in most lovable manners making escape so hard and omnipotent.
My mother tongue at home is already near to extinction and this is becoming a test of time with my aging parents. However, I keep little hope in my parents to inherit a few important words, culture and tradition to my kids.
At 7, I was hardly exposed to, or knew how to say my name. But, my daughter at 5 can easily write her name, draw her favorite food, cloth, doll, place, and more.
More interestingly, she can also easily identify different colors and even complete the alphabet without looking. It is something to feel proud of as a parent, but how to make lifelong learning is a big test of time and age because outside is more beautiful, attractive and interesting than the hardship of learning.
***My Daughter -YESHA making her productive time***
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