Parent for a day

Parents have all types of problems handling their children. As for me, I recently became a one-day parent, taking care of my toddler nephew. He is hyperactive and very mischievous.

My day as a parent started at 7am, the moment he woke up. Preparing milk and feeding him was not a problem at all, but cleaning him up was a struggle, yet I managed it well.

I needed to collect some necessary things from the supermarket. Before leaving the house I told him that I would get him chocolates if he was a good boy and he said okay. The moment we entered the supermarket, he attracted everyone’s attention including those who worked there. I know toddlers are irresistible, but I think it was because of his brownish curly hair which tends to draw a lot of attention.

As I was selecting some things, I turned my back for a second and when I turned back, he was not beside me anymore! It was a really horrifying minute – my heart probably skipped a beat!

I frantically ran around looking for him. I finally found him staring at the selection of chocolates with a smile on his face. I felt relief to find him. Even before I got him a couple of chocolate bars, he was giving me a cheeky smile. I didn’t know what he had done until we went past the cashier and to the car. At that point I saw there were chocolates in his pockets as well! When I asked him, he said he took them from the supermarket.

I decided to take him back to the supermarket, to the same cashier (the manager was also there) and explained what had happened and told them that I would like to pay for the items. The manager looked at my nephew and said that for this young little handsome boy, the chocolates would be a gift from the supermarket and that I needn't pay anything extra.

While driving back, I explained to my nephew that it was wrong to take things and not pay for them. He promised never to do that again.

From my one day of parenting, I can say that parenting is never never easy but it is full of new experiences.

Satnam Sandhu