Two years ago when she came into our lives, our happiness had no bound, my sister-in-law's firstborn daughter. Her face was apple red and lips were moving like she was chewing something. Frooti, the name was given to her by our aunt. She was being raised by the whole family of six members. Every time either she was in a babysitter or in someone's lap. Six months later she started to sit and identify the faces of the family. I was her uncle and each time she sees me, she expressed the joy by her toothless smile. She was fond of me because of two reasons.
First, she got the chance to see more of the world as I used to take her farthest from others. The second was my habit of listening to songs. My cellphone always had some playlist being played in it. Her body started to dance whenever I played some Punjabi songs. She automatically threw her hands in the air and sometimes moves her belly. That was very cute. One day my mother, her grandmother told me that I was ruining her childhood. I asked why.
'Soon she will start to ask for the phone.' She said.
'What's wrong in it?' I asked.
'She would be an introvert and expel herself from others because of this phone.' She said.
I took that thing casually.
But after her first birthday, she proved her grandmother true. If she had a phone then everything is okay otherwise she was always crying and screaming.
I wondered about what she does on the phone. So I provided her with mine. She tried to unlock my phone with a few random patterns and when things didn't work out she started crying. I was monitoring her very keenly. I unlocked the phone. She swiped the screen to observe the apps and she found YouTube. She clicked on that icon started scrolling with her cute little fingers. That was her luck that I see cartoons too. So she found Tom and Jerry while scrolling and tapped on it.
I could never imagine that a fifteen months old child was searching for Tom and Jerry videos on YouTube. I had to go to the office after half-an-hour so I didn't ask my phone until the exact time.
Before leaving for the office when I asked her for my phone, she clearly refused by nodding her head. I try to pull but she started screaming very badly and my mother heard her.
'Leave this to her until she sleeps otherwise she wouldn't stop crying.' Mother said.
I had to do some important phone calls but I couldn't. I went to work without my phone. I was thinking that these gadgets are creating a generation gap among children and parents. How would a baby get care if he's affixed to the phone rather than his mother's lap? That was terrible. I felt responsible for this as she used to see the phone in my hand very first.
I took half-day off and brought a few cardio and puzzling games for her. I told my sister-in-law that engage Frooti with these games. The reason was simple, her mother would instruct her about how to play and she would be closer to her mother rather than phone.
I played some tricks too as children are innocents. Each time she asks for a phone I used to say to her that the phone is suffering from fever and the doctor will provide injection to phone. She was afraid of injection so each time I say the word injection, she got a little scared and stops asking for the phone.
I brought her a few more games and asked my mother to sing traditional songs while she is about to sleep. And that thing worked. She diverted herself from the gadgets. Now she started playing with other children.
'You took action at the right time otherwise she would have lost her eyesight first because of the phone.' Sister-in-law said.
'Yeah, that should be the childhood of a child.' I said while seeing Frooti playing with others.
Having grandparents, parents and uncles in child life is a true blessing. That should be the atmosphere for a child while he grows rather than these gadgets.
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