The super hero and the maid

Remember the super hero at the mosque that I talked about..? Well, I went there again last nite and although I cannot be absolutely sure it was him, I am willing to bet the cute kid with the ultraman pjs last nite was the same one with the flowing cape.

And was he with his lego blocks and toy cars again? Nope, mom probably decided to leave those at home after last week. But this kid, he was quite unruly - to say the least! I realized the person praying next to me must have been his maid, (ye lah, muka jowo…) and initially I was observing how comfortable the kid is with her. He comes to her, kisses her and totally happy to be in her arms.. I must say with all my 3 boys, none ever had that kind of affection with the maid. Not even when I had my reliable Nikka for over 8 years. Thank goodness - I don’t think I would be comfortable with seeing how affectionate my kids can be with the maid. I mean, ok, so the kids spend a lot of their waking hours with the maids, but it still makes me uneasy lah.

Back to super hero, it wasn’t long before his cute demeanor faded. This kid, he was no less than 4 yo I figured. In which case, as I had said, is old enough to be told, if anyone sembahyang, you are not supposed to disturb, correct? But noo…superhero was all over the bibik..! Literally! He leaped on her back, tugged her telekung, heck – he went under her telekung! You know how a little toddler usually does when they see their moms praying. This was no waddling toddler, he’s a 4 year old kid..! (I later asked the maid his age, see, I was right!) He merrily chatted with her (and also said, nak minum, nak minum) and so all that cuteness was gone. Instead I wanted so much to just tell him off. Where was the mom? Beats me..!

I know kids will be kids, but right from small our kids are always told, you should never disturb when adults tengah sembahyang and my Haqim would even place a cushion or pillow or whatever he can find if he needs to walk past us when we pray. Super hero is either free to roam the kingdom or just completely incorrigible. I pray my kids never become like that. What amazes me, the parents tak tegur ke anak anak depa ni?!

I believe kids can be taught right from wrong. My boys are far from perfect and we certainly have some behavioral issues but generally they are decent kids. And I am not even saying kids should be ruled with an iron fist and should only be seen and not heard. You should hear my 5 year old when he converses with us. He is always encouraged to show his emotions and so you would know when he is upset cos he will tell you, “mom, you’re making me angry” or when he’s naughty, we are stern and explain why his behavior is unacceptable and although he will sulk, he understands throwing a tantrum is not going to achieve very much.

There was a time when he was very upset and told me, “I don’t think I like you very much anymore”. I was initially taken aback but instead of getting all upset, I sat down with him and asked him why he felt the way he did. And I tried to explain that yes, sometimes people closest to us can make us so angry that it may seem we don’t like them very much anymore and that it’s ok to feel that way. I did remind him that we should always love one another no matter what happens.

So, back to super hero, I wish I can just tell the mom, don’t lah bring your kid to the masjid anymore. It’s not like the maid can concentrate anyway.