Sit on the floor with your child and play

It was match day yesterday (Sunday) United vs Arsenal. There was one other match going on in Dubai. But I’m not here to talk about matches. United could have won, but didn’t. I am more than happy with a point.

The thing that Savya loves to do, is take a remote, go to the TV and smack the living shit out of the pixels.

He was more or less at it today.

We were tired. We had tried everything: begged, scolded, reasoned, nothing worked. We had put the two coffee tables around the TV, hoping it would stop him somehow. It didn’t. He would move the table a little, slip inside, look back at us, smile and then start banging at the TV again.

I went and put his toys on the carpet, hoping he would stay, play with the toys. Of course it did not work.

Then, I went down on the floor, and just sat with him, winding his toy so that it made the chime sound. Savya laughed. I laughed. The match went on.

It felt as if a light bulb had went on somewhere in my head.

I don’t usually get to play with Savya. I mean I will carry him around, go with him for our walks, soothe him, feed him, bathe him, change him. But I would not, often, sit with him and play with him.

I know he loves it. Because I’ve done it a few times. But never in this context.

Savya did not go to the TV for a while. He sat and laughed and played with me.

So much our struggles are because there are other things we have to do: cook food, go work, clean dishes, etc. I wish we had time to just sit and play with him.

There is an AP for me in this, of course, I need to make time to play with him. Just him. Nothing else.

There is a realisation too: to sit with Savya on the ground. He wants that. He loves that. I love it too. And maybe as a bonus, the TV would get to live on too.