Yes, you read that correctly. While most of us would love to halt the clock, I am currently spending a good deal of quality time with a little person that can hardly wait to get older! Little Ms Sara doesn’t much care to be labeled as little and, at just short of six years, I imagine it is irksome to always be smaller than 11-year old brother Dhruv…
Curious to understand this urgency to enter the ‘big girl’ world, I confronted Sara directly and unearthed some surprising revelations and an interesting mix of motivators. Right up front, Sara confessed that she wanted to be a big girl so that she would be able (and allowed) to read big girl books and magazines, including details of makeovers and other appearance-enhancing secrets. Redeeming herself somewhat, she added that she also wanted to grow older so she would be able to do Math and (somewhat mystifyingly) ‘so that I can fold clothes better’!
Sara confided that an important consideration was to have her own room and she went on to describe the various elements needed to render this a perfect environment. ‘I want a pretty room, with a pretty bed and a pretty closet with pretty clothes inside it.’ Warming to the theme, she elaborated, ‘I also want a baby crib and a dolly I will love’ and suggested that this beloved doll would need lots of her own clothes. Hooks were mentioned for hanging ‘princess dresses’ but I’m not quite sure if these dresses were to be for Sara or the precious doll…
By this time, Sara’s imagination had been unleashed from all inhibiting bounds and she declared, ‘I want my own window, where I will get to place my Legos on the window sill’ and ‘I also want my own bookshelf and desk with a laptop and piggy bank!’ Somewhat diverted, I asked how this piggy bank was to be filled and received this thoughtful and comprehensive reply, ‘the piggy bank will be full of money from mummy, for doing good things like helping to make beds, clear up toys and help fix the couch and pillows’.
To round off her ‘big girl’ vison, Ms. Sara told me that she wanted her own bathroom with ‘no boy’s toothbrush’ and I heard myself say, ‘well, that makes two of us’!
