Monster High
My eight year old daughter and I went shopping yesterday to buy her a long promised gift. She wanted to buy a newly introduced toy which she had seen on the internet. I had no clue what it was and was hoping never to find it in the small, unorganized toy shops of Hyderabad. I was, of course, dead wrong.
As we entered the shop, the toy collection was right in front of the door. Obviously, it was the highest in demand, to get the center stage position in the shop. The minute I saw the collection, I regretted not doing my research online and promising my darling that I will buy it for her (if it was within a certain budget). After all, what could possibly go wrong with a toy.
The toy she wanted is part of a collection called Monster High. It is a collection of dolls featuring ghost characters with scary teeth, wings and skeletons. To imagine how they look, try and visualize Dracula in lady form. I was shocked, first to think why the hell would Toy makers create something so monstrous and then to think, why the hell, my daughter, who was till date living in the world of Princesses and Barbies, suddenly switch to the world of skeletons, ghosts and blood! All these years, she fantasized about being a princess and it scared me out of my wits to imagine her now starting to fantasize about being a monster!
I tried to reason with her explaining she had so many dolls and she could try something else. She remained adamant on buying this latest toy. In the end, I admitted to her that I did not life this toy because I didn’t like monsters. Monsters were scary and could cause her bad dreams in the night. She looked at me incredulously and asked “But why do you think monsters are scary? After all, they look so much like us humans!”
I was caught completely off guard. Her openness of thought and acceptance of all creatures (even monsters included) was at a level which I can never hope to match. I, as an adult, could differentiate between good and bad, beautiful and ugly but she, at her age, couldn’t care less about it. For her, it was just a new toy.
The next time, I meet a monster, I hope I remember not to be scared of him. After all 90 percent of him would still look like me only! 🙂
Shilpa Roy Kota
I am an ex-Management Consultant and a successful entrepreneur having close to twenty years of corporate experience. I am currently focusing full time on being a homeschooling parent while researching on the future of education and alternate methods of education. I am also a Vedic Math Trainer, an Operations Manager at a business run by her children and a philanthropist working with tens of other under privileged children. I bring all my past and current experiences together in the form of writing blogs. Using these blogs I wish to create awareness in parents, caregivers and educators about parenting, education and holistic living.