Children need space to explore their world

The first quarter of the year has just ended and I have to say a lot is going on.

We all have so much to do and the children saw the adjustment required for their new classes. But they have been taking it in their stride.

I did not know that a new year could bring such great milestones. I am just beginning to realise that the two have gone through a growth spurt.

They are expressing themselves a little bit more than before and they have become more interested in exploring the world. Likewise they have taken a deep interest in chipping into adult conversations.

But their favourite way to spend leisure time after school is to hang out with toddlers. I guess they are in that stage of nurturing. Unfortunately since we do not have a pet, the best they can do is baby sit or play around with a toddler.

Thankfully we have quite a number of toddlers in our neighborhood, thus their parents are happy because they always keep them company. It is amazing to watch how gently a child takes care of another child.

They tend to feel so grown up which amazes any parent to see them take up responsibility without much hassle.

The other day my children came from school and when I returned I did not find them in the house. Since our nanny does not sleep in, my heart skipped a beat.

I did not want to imagine that anything had happened to them, so I went checking in their favourite hangout places and when I could not find them my pulse started to rise.

I asked our night guard if he had seen them and he answered in the negative because he had just reported to work. I began to scratch my head as to where they could be and decided to go back and retrace their steps.

I was comforted to see their school bags and utensils they used for their after school snack. I also knew that my nanny never leaves until they return from school and I am always home before they leave.

But that day there was a bit of delay since I was in a long meeting. Before I could call anyone I decided to wait and see if they will return on their own because they always do so. They always keep to their routine and when they decide to do something different, they always inform me or the nanny.

After waiting for a few minutes, I had footsteps followed with carefree chatters and headed to the door. They they were still in their uniforms and they were looking very happy.

I inquired where they were as they had me worried, and they said that they were playing with the baby in the house behind ours. That explained why I could not find them: They do not usually go to the back house as that baby is usually playing on the front yard.

I informed them to always let someone know, for accountability and safety, when they go somewhere.

They got down to doing their homework and my daughter was done in an hour. My son on the other hand had me thinking his homework was not as hard. But as time went by I realised he had so much work.

And one of the subjects he rarely tackles on his own is Kiswahili which is not easy for me either.

As we said our prayers to retire for the day, my son said he had learnt the importance of doing his homework first before playing.

I had learnt that though I may not see  that the children have grown and though routine is essential, they now need a bit of leeway to explore their vast world!