It's been just over two weeks we got Arnav his second tricycle!
The first one was a gift to him on his first b'day, which is called a Push-On trike - tricycle (or something like that). It doesn't have pedals
Arnav has been happily riding that one for a year! And we thought he needed an upgrade, he needed a bike with pedals. So he got the new bike around this Deepavali.
What an upgrade it was!
No he wasn't, we confirmed.
And so as soon as Arnav got ready after his first chocolate drink of the day, we both were set for the ride. Little had I known, it would turn a mini-adventure for me!
It started with me running with him and pushing the trike for him. His feet nicely rested on pedals when I was pushing the trike. But as soon as it stopped, he went back to pushing it regular way.
"Okay", I said, "I should teach him to pedal one at a time". And then, I was showing him how to pedal, with hands, with my feet and even making him stand on the trike!
He enjoyed every bit of it. And everytime I put him back on road he would just not use the pedals.
It's as if he was in complete denial to learn to use pedals.
For a moment, I felt like "We should have trained him on trike with pedals in the first place."
And on second thought, I just need to teach him to forget the old way of pushing the trike, only then he will learn the other ways.
Hmmmm.. that's quite a realization! Don't we all people have same problem? Don't I have the same problem? Unlearning something that's been practices for years, is not an easy task. In-fact we all get trapped into our practices.
Back to Arnav.
He and I both did not make to ride the trike with pedals. The agenda for the days remains incomplete. May be someday we together will succeed in unlearning things for good.
But for now, the life moves on, and so did Arnav. He gathered his friends and engaged into something interesting and leaving for me some thoughts behind.
The first one was a gift to him on his first b'day, which is called a Push-On trike - tricycle (or something like that). It doesn't have pedals
Arnav has been happily riding that one for a year! And we thought he needed an upgrade, he needed a bike with pedals. So he got the new bike around this Deepavali.
What an upgrade it was!
But then it did not take us long to realize that he was not using the pedals!
No he wasn't, we confirmed.
These days were not without motivation for Arnav to use the pedals. But nothing has turned into success.
So my agenda for today was to make Arnav use the pedals on the new trike.
And so as soon as Arnav got ready after his first chocolate drink of the day, we both were set for the ride. Little had I known, it would turn a mini-adventure for me!
It started with me running with him and pushing the trike for him. His feet nicely rested on pedals when I was pushing the trike. But as soon as it stopped, he went back to pushing it regular way.
"Okay", I said, "I should teach him to pedal one at a time". And then, I was showing him how to pedal, with hands, with my feet and even making him stand on the trike!
He enjoyed every bit of it. And everytime I put him back on road he would just not use the pedals.
It's as if he was in complete denial to learn to use pedals.
For a moment, I felt like "We should have trained him on trike with pedals in the first place."
And on second thought, I just need to teach him to forget the old way of pushing the trike, only then he will learn the other ways.
Hmmmm.. that's quite a realization! Don't we all people have same problem? Don't I have the same problem? Unlearning something that's been practices for years, is not an easy task. In-fact we all get trapped into our practices.
The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn. - Gloria Steinem, Journalist.
But then seems like there is another challenge too.
Not to unlearn what you have learned is the most necessary kind of learning. - Antisthenes, Philosopher.
He and I both did not make to ride the trike with pedals. The agenda for the days remains incomplete. May be someday we together will succeed in unlearning things for good.
But for now, the life moves on, and so did Arnav. He gathered his friends and engaged into something interesting and leaving for me some thoughts behind.
