It was my 18th birthday – I had invited a whole bunch of friends and decided to make pineapple pastries. It was the first time I was making these. Before I could manage a batch, that could actually be called pastries, we had sacrificed 6 sponge cakes because I had over soaked them with pineapple syrup.
” Never mind”, is all mom said, with each consecutive sponge that could not be cut into a pastry. It was so embarrassing!
With the seventh, came a ray of hope. I managed to soak it with the right amount of syrup, fill it with cream and little pieces of pineapple, and yes, cut it into pastries!
But her real pleasure was, when none of the guests was ready to believe that the beauties which now sat on the tray, each looking tempting with a cherry on top,were made by her daughter.” Nidhi’s made them”, she’d said, glowing with pleasure.
Making mistakes, and not being ridiculed or belittled, is the first step towards learning. As parents we often forget this fact and then lament the lack of initiative our children exhibit. Children need the right kind of environment and motivation to grow up to be confident adults.
The confident ones you see around are most often the ones who were reared by parents with little expectations and lots of love.
I now wonder if I’d let my daughter do the same; waste 36 eggs, 3 kgs of flour, sugar and pineapple syrup?
Maybe I will! I don’t have my mother’s patience, but I do have that upbringing which allowed me to make mistakes.
Let your children get their hands dirty once in a while, their clothes torn as they climb trees and fall. It’s not easy to see their cuts and bruises or wounds, but it’s in this falling and rising that they grow.
Give your kids a chance. I’m sure it’ll be worth the effort!
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