Passion leads to Action

Just experienced the simple ( yet often ignored ) secrete of keeping my kids away from TV and Computer!!

GIVE THEM SOMETHING BETTER TO DO !! 

And what is something better...is something that is meaningful...and what is meaningful has to be something that they are interested in...and what they are interested in ...is something that they are passionate about.

Recently my pre- teen son has started showing a lot of interest in cooking. He gets his recipes  from various websites, downloads them and then tries out the ones that appeals to him most. Initially, I was a bit amused by his overwhelming interest in cooking. What was really amazing was the passion with which he talks about the recipes, discusses them with me, tries to analyse what might work, what won't etc.

Obviously he was not satisfied with just that. He wanted to make them. So I suggested that every weekend, we would try out one recipe...as long as he was able to fit it in his schedule without disturbing his study time. He was left with little choice...cut playing time or media time. He wisely chose to give up an hour of TV on the weekend to accommodate this..

Now, I was inspired to use this passion to get some more of my wishes fulfilled!!. So I told him that it was his responsibility to arrange for the ingredients a day before, make sure that we have all the stuff required, and also that the kitchen is in order before he is done. While cooking, we related book knowledge with practical stuff. Various chemical reactions were now better understood. The simple joy of sharing your finished product with the rest of the family took a different meaning altogether as was accepting criticisms and suggestions for improvisation.

The best part of this is that ..at this stage in their life , their interests are changing pretty fast. Just a few months ago he was greatly interested in constructing 3D puzzles, before that it was origami. So I realized all I have to do is keep pace with his changing interests, accept them and then use them only to get my wishes answered.

Now, How simple is that!!