Kimmy Schemy

Jaja* is 4 years old. Maybe she’s not the prettiest girl but she sure is smart. She is a typical talkative girl that other people may find endearing.

What I like less (not dislike) about Jaja is her fan’s club. Well, what do you call a group of 8 people (mother, father, 2 sets of grandparents, an aunt and a nanny) doting on and verbally expressing their admiration to the little girl? I call it fans.

Contradictory to my recommendation, they enrolled Jaja in our reading program. So, three times a week, Jaja comes to our center.  With her is her entourage who spend their time talking about how smart she is and how bright her future is going to be, and so on and so forth. Well, the girl is smart all right. But she is impatient, typical of a child her age.

I can make her work for 15 minutes, but after that, she would devise excuses like going to the loo (she goes there twice in an hour), dropping her pencils and crayons on the floor and pretending to erase non-existing writings on her paper. Why am I not surprised? It’s typical.

What’s not typical, though, was Jaja’s request to me one time, or was it a command? She said, ‘Teacher, tell me I’m very good.’

Huh?? I was surprised. Coming from a 4 year old, it was.. unnatural. I didn’t know what to make of it, only, that this child is being raised a pampered and conceited girl who would grow up to be.. well, I don’t know.

Don’t get me wrong. I give her what is due her. I say ‘Good job!’ for a good job and ‘Well done!’ for a job well done. Only, I say it when I really mean it..

It’s okay to encourage kids. Letting them know they are good at something boosts their confidence. We should, however, be careful not to OVERDO it..

*not real name

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