It was a lazy summer afternoon. My younger daughter returned from school and started sharing the day with me. Although I have been working from home for the last two years, I need to make myself free during this time of the day. So that I have enough time to listen to her. This has always been my way of bonding with them, and I learnt it from my mother who did the same with me.

As she shared, suddenly I found her getting emotional. The tears made me grow nervous, but when I learned the reason, I brimmed with pride. On her way back from school she met an old lady sitting with a weighing machine. What pained my daughter was the fact that she had no way of helping the lady sitting out in the sun at her ripe age.

I was touched by the empathy she demonstrated at such a tender age I personally believe this is an outcome of the environment of love and care that she has grown up with since her childhood.

This instance reinforces my belief that we, parents, are nothing but potters. Through parenting, we are shaping the lives of the young ones. So, apply loads of love, care, and affection as you shape up the pots with the gentle touch of your hands.

But these pots need to be hard so that they do not break when you paint them. So, make them go through the high heat. Be strict when the need arises. Let not life be served on a platter so that they learn life’s travails. This builds them the strength to endure any external impact.

Else they may crack under duress. This is echoed in the words of Tim Elmore,” We have to prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child.”

Finally, when the clay firms up. it’s time to paint your pots.

Step back and watch the little ones grow up into adorable human beings as the colours create magic all around….