Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Sitting Ducks

The IT boom saw many a cousin brother and sister from Kerala making a beeline to Bangalore, settling into careers, marrying and then having their babies. After the arrival of the baby and mom from mom’s hometown the proud parents decide that it is time they got back to the carefree days during weekends. Now this leaves poor baby out in the cold. Out of profound guilt, the new parents decide that their own kith and kin* should look after the baby so that he/she does not feel left out and grow up to become a psychopath or HR.

There fore during weekends we would get a gaggle of babies, toddlers and brats into our house for ‘safekeeping’ so that new mom and dads and the not so new mom and dads could have a night out in town. (Little did they realize that it was us that needed to be kept safe from them.)

(*‘Kin’ is defined as my mom and me.)

Here are some lessons I have learnt after years of baby-sitting, which may prove useful to new parents and masochists in search of newer and better methods of receiving punishments.

1. The smaller the baby, the easier they are to take care. The bigger they are the better if you are away on a vacation when they are visiting.

2. The age of the baby/kid in months is directly proportional to the BDA plots that your Doctor will buy from the consultation fees you pay him for treating your ulcers, fast graying hair, nervous breakdowns etc.

3. Babies prefer that the babysitter sit, while they crawl around, chewing slippers, licking shoes and gnawing the dog. ( My dogs will actually put their tails between their legs and slink out of the house when they hear my mom say on the phone "Sure we will take care of Rohan" )

4. The smallest speck on the floor is immediately spotted, minutely scrutinized and eaten. This includes ants, cockroaches and other miscellaneous life forms that are bite sized. Baby food is for woosies. No self-respecting baby will eat it. (The modern art on our walls is dried baby food by the way, in case you think we are art connoisseurs.)

5. When baby takes your finger and chews on it appreciatively it does not mean she is hungry. It means you did not wash your hands after dusting the sofa/bathing the dog/gardening etc.

6. Babies have internal radar that tells them if you are within 5 feet of their crib. So it is advised to leave the TV ‘ON’ when you need to go out of the room. The noise won’t fool them but they know that you will definitely be back after the commercials.

7. Water in the dogs bowl tastes much better than the boiled water served in sterile bottles. Ditto with the dogs food. Ditto with the dog. ( Cerelac/babyfood is for dogs)

8. Kids know immediately when they look at you that they have a sucker in their hands.

My mom said I could shave my legs (a 7 year old)
Daddy said I could use your lipstick (a 5 year old)
My mom said that I could watch Desperate Housewives (an 8 year old)

and my favorite

Brat: If you let me play in water I won’t tell Mummy that I fell down from the swing ok?”
Me: But you didn’t fall down the swing!!!
Brat: I know.

9. Answer all their questions patiently or the consequences can be unpleasant.

Brat: What are you reading?
Me: A book.
My Mom to brat: What is the chechi doing?
Brat: She is reading a book.
Mom: What book?
Brat: Aunty lying on top of uncle.

Mom’s reactions withheld but she was in my room before I could say “Charge of the Moral Brigade”. (the book “ a romantic tragedy” had the cover picture of a young couple, the girl leaning on the man’s shoulder whilst they both looked at the sunset)

10. Be appropriately dressed when kids are around.

Brat to my Dad: Why are your boobs so small?
Dad: Huh ?!?!?!.... I think I hear the phone ringing!

11. Be prepared for embarrassing questions.

Brat: What is adultery?
Me: er...where did you get that word?
Brat: We are learning Ten Commandments in Catechism Class…
Me: um..er...mmmm...ahem...it is some sort of sin.
Brat: Wrong!! You commit adultery if you run away with that uncle next door.
Me: %$@&*# If you know the answer then why did you ask me the question?
Brat: I was just checking.
Me: *censored*
(I pity Primary School Catechism teachers)

12. Be prepared for mental battles.

Me to mom: Arun’s mom says we should not give him E.G.G.
(spelling it out so 4 year old Arun will not catch on)
Mom: So Arun what would you like to eat?
Arun: E.G.G.

Same kid had a cold and was thus forbidden to eat Ice Cream. But he kept bugging me and finally exasperated I said: Read my mouth NO!
Arun: Read my mouth “YES!”

13. And lastly they are uncomplicated.

Me to my friend: What will happen if you put a Blue Elephant into a Red sea?
Friend 1: The elephant will become red?!
Friend 2: It will become a bluish red?
Friend 3: hmmm..it will become purple as blue+ red is purple.
Brat: It will drown.

Brat got it right.

( The youngest baby we babysat was a two month old infant whose mommy had to air dash to London for some examination. When she got back we had to conduct an induction programme to reacquaint her with her baby. After the induction I gave her a 60/100. My mom gave her a 10/100. Thank god for the Law of Averages she got to take the baby home!!)

89 comments:

Unknown said...

OMG! Me first!
Damn funny post...
I think I babysit pretty well!
The brats are very much afraid of me...it does help when you look like a WWE wrestler! :P

silverine said...

@rockus:Thanks for the first comment. WWW Wrestler LOL Now why didn't I think of that? :))

Mind Curry said...

hahah..loved this one..i could picture you among the brats..picture purrfect!

looks like you could start a playschool with all your experience.

Brat to my Dad: Why are your boobs so small?
Dad: Huh ?!?!?!.... I think I hear the phone ringing!


soooo funnyyy!! :))

kids are so much fun!! as long as they are not your own or in charge of them, i guess :)

quills said...

Gosh , this is one of the funniest posts I have read in a long time. :))...girl! have you ever tried a shot at stand up comedy. :) You are brilliant!

zimblymallu said...

edi, when you start writing about babies... its about time to have some yourself
i learned the art of ignoring babies from my father, and other male relatives. sorry, it wont work for you.

Vinod/Kakka said...

I try to convince my wife that the best way to have our daughter [all of 5 months] eat food is to leave it on the floor. She disagrees.
She cries when she is fed using a spoon.
She is happy to eat anything else: toys, curtains, sheets, paper.
Ah! Kids!

ജെയിംസ് ബ്രൈറ്റ് said...

Very interesting post. I liked your analysis of the child psychology...!

tcr_79 said...

Actually I did not enjoy the post much - sorry to be frank...

It is definitely well written, though I felt the humour is a bit forced... Usually your humour is very spontaneous, this time it does not have that feel

And yes, it is quite a nightmare to take care of babies!

Dr. Pissed said...

You seem to have one happy life.
Yay for you and all the happiness..

quills said...

Babies are cute and adorable but soooooo smart. Spelling out a word and winking won't help..they catch on pretty quick.

I remember when i was traveling with a friend and her little boys aged 2.5 and 4. The 4 year old was saying something to his mother and when his little brother interrupted him to answer the older brother's question, the older one immediately told the younger fellow to shut up as the question was directed to his mom. After a few mins of silence, the younger one asked a question to which the older one promptly offered his opinion..at which the younger one..all of two and a bit, turned around and told his brother..." And I asked dad.". :))

Leon said...

That was FUNNY.. and

CUTE.. :-)

Lost in trance... said...

the part abt baby food is hillllarious! these guys r kinda with it rnt they?

Wanderlust said...

Ahem... my elder brother was just enquiring if your services are still available ...His 3 yr old kid just has 3 stitches above his left eye and a few hundred bruises here and there....

silverine said...

@Mindcurry: Picture purrfect? LOL One ex brat babysitting current brats he he :p And I thought with my experience in being a brat I could handle the present lot. How wrong I was!!!You are so right, kids are cute if they are not your own or you are not in charge of them :))
@Alexis: This is post I mentioned when you wrote your post on kids :) There are so many more incidents but I had to keep the post of readable length!!! :)
@Quills:Thank you dear girl :) That incident with your friends lil one was so cute. I can never get enough of kid stories :)@zimblymallu: Aiyyo!!! No thanks. I rather look after someone else because everytime I do that I end the day making a solemn promise that I wont have my own. My Dad and bros learnt the art of closing the door and keeping it firmly closed till the brat pack had left lol
@Vinod: You are so right!!!! I have told that to so many Moms. Babies will anything that is fallen on the ground. In fact my mom practised "reverse psychology with brats. "Dont do it" means they will do it. So she would say "dont eat that" and they would actually eat it out of curiosity!!! :)
@dreamslittle: Thank you doc. These are just observations :))
@tcr_79: Thanks for your frank comment. This is one subject that I have to write in a 'as is where is ' basis. So I merely recounted what I saw :)
@dr pissed: Happy life? Wait till you babysit!!! I havent yet written about the cut lips, broken arms etc. part :))
@Leon: Thank you. I am sure you were like this wonly he he :p
@lost in trance:Hope so and I can see that new Dad Vinod agrees :)
@Amitabha: 3 stitches above his left eye and a few hundred bruises here and there?? *yawn* Sounds like a regular kid to me :p

Fleiger said...

"...so that he/she does not feel left out and grow up to become a psychopath or HR."

Ok, so you are psychopath...

That aside, babysitting can be fun. Being the youngest kid on my father's side, and the almost the biggest brother on my mother's side, I know both sides of the... let's say playpen, shall we? That's why I could use tricks I learned on one side, keeping myself safe.

Sarah said...

gosh.. I really enjoyed reading your post.. wish i hd someone who could take care of my kids.. i

The optimist from utopia said...

How cud u forget the countless piggyback rides that we need to offer so as to bribe em into eating food. Anyways, a very nice post, and to a seasoned campaigner err.. babysitter like me, it was quite nostalgic. :)

Anonymous said...

"grow up to become a psychopath or HR." - ROFL. HR sure has pride of place :-)

Matter of Choice said...

rofl!!!

i am sending this link to all my friends who recently became fathers (also to every friend who is getting/thinking abt married...shuld be a gud warning to them!)

me...me stay away from babies...despite their cute looks n innocent urge to fool around..i manage to keep the frown on my face so they dont get too adventurous and tell my mom what book i am reading! (though they arent as bad as the ones u were reading SF)..offlate i have been melting a bit..and the lil buggers can immediately see that..one lil cousin in thripunithura recently send me his wish list when i came back from London...he wanted an IPod!!!!!...i replied even i want one!!!

cheers
MoC

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

i thought ur probs were only with the SysAd .. now , i realise i'm miserably wrong - it involves the HR too ... Stupid me !!!!

I rem the time when I was baby sitting my cousin (shez 12 yrs younger to me )... in the end , i learnt how to moo like a cow , miao like a cat , and bark like a dog ... but clever me !! i pretended it was agame .. wonder if anyone believed me !!!!

i thot u didnt like kids ?

thanx for the Goa sequel ... i still rem M's driving !!

Anonymous said...

Heheh ..
still laughing.
Rockin good one that !!

Constable; note that point" Silverine can add Babysitting experience to her CV of "matrimoniable qualities"

Wouldve send my future kids 2 ur babysitting service too but maybe a chechi reading "Aunty on top of uncle" books may be a bit injurious to my paavam innocent kid's moral health !!

btw remember this story of my li'l cousin in church on a Good Friday

Her mom whispered the entire crucifixion story during the song gap "They arrested Jesus, beat him and nailed him on to the cross...etc etc"

Now the song had ended and everyone was in a revered silence when the li'l one's question rang out loudly in the church

" Why cant they give SPINACH to Jesuuussss????!!!"

(Well, u cant be blamed if u imagine a Popeye-ish Jesus having a can of Spinach; jumpin out of the cross; beating up all the Roman Soldiers and riding off into the sunset..:-))

cheers
flaash

DD said...

Always thot kids were a pain...always better to delay the coming of a baby into the family :) Babies are one major reason I m scared of marriage!

Jagan said...

i am soon to be a babysitter ..bcos my sis has moved to blore ..and my niece is already a terror :-)

verbaltorture said...

Absolootely hilarious. Loved the part where your dog would run away with its tail in b/w its legs when it heard about Rohan's arrival !

Coolo. Great post !

monu said...

superb as usual...

as u said ...a childs vision is same that of an eagle ..they will see an ant which is 10 meters away and will reach there and eat it within seconds...

Shriedhar said...

//The noise won’t fool them but they know that you will definitely be back after the commercials.

LOL :)

u can happily open a baby care centre :)

Anonymous said...

Nice post... Humorous... Kids can be like two edged swords... I remember teaching my bro's 3 yr old son to wink eyes.. Last week when I called my Mom, she was screaming at me.. Cause : My nephew was winking at everything remotely feminine, when he went with my mother to a temple.. But more than my mom, he had embarassed the other guys who had come to the temple to ogle at the girls!!

LadyParadox said...

was laughing all through... loved the post. all kids are rugrats and are from southpark. conflicting opinions, but yeah.. thats my opinion

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of something that happened a long time ago.

Scenario - My cousins and their son in front of the TV watching a movie. In the movie the husband comes home and the wife tells him something that makes him very happy.
And then this happened.
Son to Mom - what happened?
Mom - The wife is pregnant
Son to me - But it can't be. She hasn't thrown up yet. Mum's lying.

I had a very red faced cousin next to me. :-). Still pull her on that one.

Dhanush | ധനുഷ് said...

Too Good and Humourous. I too remember one incident my friend told me. He was going along with his friends and he waved at a cute kid who was going in a scootter behind its mom.( Kid sitting in such a way that he faces the road behind). The kid showed his middle finger :)
Definitely, Kids are Growing !!! and you need extra armoury to deal it

-Poison- said...

ho..thank god that i am the kid at my place..i dont think i cud tolerate kids younger than i am...would drive me to tibet :-S

Rahman said...

>Mom: What book?
>Brat: Aunty lying on top of uncle.

ROTFL.

However, having kids around makes one forget all other things even though the kid is a brat as in Point 11.

U must be awarded with a PhD in Baby-sitting :))

silverine said...

@Fleiger: That's the best of both worlds! You were really lucky :)
@Supremus: They are priceless. This was a quiz that I read somewhere.p.s. Loved your India post :)
@Immigrantincanada: It's great to have someone to take care of your kids.
@the optimist from utopia: Yes, piggy rides were part of the package :) Great to see another seasoned baby sitter !
@Aashik: "Lying passed out somehwere" that's the occupational hazard of babysitting lol
@Browser: LOL
@MoC: "though they arent as bad as the ones u were reading SF" grrrr How mean... frowning at the tots. How can you resist the cute babies with the dopey look and hearmelting smiles? I just love them :) (as long as they are someone else's)
@Deepa: Me too learnt some valuable lessons like keeping my footwear on top of my cupboard and locking my door with a padlock etc :))
@DD:lol then delay their arrival, but once they arrive you are hooked :)
@Jagan: Now you are moving into my territory :))Lucky you.
@iyereducation: Great to 'see you baack' :)) Kids can make you soooo embarassed!
@Verbal torture; Thank you!!! :)
@Monu: Wish they would show that much interest in their food :)
@shrieder: The horror!!! LOL

Lalit Singh said...

//grow up to become a psychopath or HR
ROTFL
//It means you did not wash your hands
lols

*takes mental note never to babysit

BTW loved the account of travel to Goa

silverine said...

@Flaash; That was sooo funny rofl :)) I have a similar exp. I was keeping an eye on a six year old during a wedding mass as his parents were helping out at the ceremony. After the mass, when a hush fell over the congregation the kid turned to me and informed me loudly "Now they will have babies!" :)) I am yet to recover from that incident :p
@Unnikrishnan G Nair:lol Teaching a kid to wink is something most guys do. Guess it is a sort of 'passing on the mantle thingie'. ha ha just thinking of the kid winking away makes me crack up :))
@Ladyparadox: Thank you gal and and I love Rugrats :)
@Browser: That was so funny!!! In fact I when I was small I would pester my Mom asking her how people got babies ONLY after the wedding and not before. She would tell me that God would see the ceremony in church and then send the baby :)
@Dhanush: Thank you :) Now that was cheeky. Bet he didnt know what he was doing. But kids nowadays are quite bold.
@Binoy: Making a kid tremble in fright? How mean!!! grrrr :))
@Poison: They would drive you crazy before you can say "TIBET" lol
@1.168: Having kids around is great but I prefer babies. They are absolutely adorable :)
@Lalit: takes mental note never to babysit You just saved yourself from getting old and haggard prematurely lol Hope you have visited Goa :)

meenakshi said...

those little devils have always looked at me frightfully......so haven't had much prob with any such situation:D

ARK said...

beautiful post. it's the innocence of kids tht make them special.

Anand K said...

Kids not behaving properly? Tch tch tch.
Fear is the key, Ms. Argenta..... Fear is the key!

The stoutest child not tattles nor titters,
if thou give it the darkest jitters.
Whips and canes painting them many a blister,
Lord I wish I could flog another critter!


Ending excerpt from Experiments in Child Psychology, by Anand Fish.
:P

Anonymous said...

its p easy to babysit da. if u want some kid to shut up, take one of its pocessions, sit on it and ask the baby to shut up. it will work like a charm.

Fleiger said...

Yes, I am the best of both worlds ;)

Just read your reply to the comment on last post. I don't think my sister will have anything interesting about me to say (we were famous for having least quarrels) I was talking about those of my sisters, who industriously tell their mothers (from whom it reaches my mother) that they saw me on XYZ road may times with a girl. As in the living memory of that road, since it was a poor dirt track, I have been there twice with a girl, one my sister, the other a friend Now you know why I said "sufferer".

silverine said...

@fundoome: You must have been a terror!! :)
@Arjun: Thank you. Their innocense is soo refreshing :)
@Anand: I hope Experiments in Child Psychology, by Anand Fish, will never see the light of day or we will lose an exceptional writer to lynching by parents. :))
@the dalda: I think he will scream his face blue if you do that.
@Fleiger: Now I understand. You are a 'sisterhood' sufferer. My sympathies :p

Naresh Krishnan said...

Marvellous post. As for the surprises that come from these small packages, what else but "The Eternal Sunshine...."

vinay said...

add me as a fan!!!!

matt_aniston@yahoo.com ..plz do get in touch!!!!!!!

Anand K said...

@ Silverine: I am grateful for the concern, Senorita. But death.... is only the beginning. For an Avatar like Moi it is but an ascension into a higher plane. :P
----------------
BTW, Albert Fish was a notorious serial killer who slaughtered (and ate) nearly eighty kids throughout the eastern US in the early 20th century.

Oh, and Argentum = Silver ;)

hope and love said...

loved the post..
:))
my boys were born just 19 months appart and it was a horror bringing them up.. still is now that they r both teenagers..
but i cant imagine a life without them...

Sreejith Panickar said...

Hmmmm... So nice! Thanks for these accounts :-))
==
Brat: If you let me play in water I won’t tell Mummy that I fell down from the swing ok?”
Me: But you didn’t fall down the swing!!!
Brat: I know.

Me to mom: Arun’s mom says we should not give him E.G.G.
(spelling it out so 4 year old Arun will not catch on)
Mom: So Arun what would you like to eat?
Arun: E.G.G.

Lalit Singh said...

As ma matter of fact i ahvent. Funny how I spent two years in Bombay but never got to visit.
First time one of the guy had a bike accident, second time someone suddenly contracted jaundice and the third n last time, we had Tsumnami. After which I dropped making plans for the fear of something more devastating.

silverine said...

@Naresh: That's so beautifully put!
@Vinay: Thank you!! And thanks for the kind words on 'Man Hunt'.
@Anand K:Ah.. I knew about the Ag for Silver part :) And ascend to a higher nether plane you mean? Googled and read about Fisher *ugh*.
@HnL: Just 19 months apart??? You should be given an award for surviving thus far!!! :)
@sreejith: The pleasure is mine, though the memories are quite painful :p
@Lalit: tsk tsk Not been to Goa?? Well I think you should try it with another set of friends this time. A luckier set maybe ? :))

Fleiger said...

You got it! Sometimes.. forget it.

Back to the post, I love children. And being favourite uncle who does not have to baby-sit (having a lot of people who can do that at my home) and who can spoil the children does not harm either ;)

starry said...

I have had to babysit many kids including my own and you are so right ,one needs a gold medal after a day of babysitting. Love your posts.

Ammey Kesarkar said...

You have an excellent sense of humour.
I loved your post! Simply great

SEEYES said...

I noticed recently that you left a comment in one of my test blogs long ago. Welcome to visit the real pranilokam. Of all expressions, humor requires the most control on the medium. You handle it very well.

Geo said...

That was a nice one Ms Baby Sitter :_))

@Flash : ROFL =))
i really don’t understand why she shld try at all =))

silverine said...

@Fleiger: I love the babies but the 3 years and older crowd are a different species all together.
@starry nights: Thank you and you said it gal we should all get a Gold Medal and paid vacations :))
@Ammey: Thanks buddy :)
@seeyes: Thank you :)I am amazed at your photography. It looks so real. You should be with National Geographic!!!!
@Geo: Thank you Sir Geo :)

If I tell ya, I'll have to kill ya said...

This one was so hilarious. I have 2 nieces and both are a handful. Infact I remember more from when I was a kid and the mean things my babysitters (read older cousins) did to me.

I remember when I was 5 they fed me day-old dal. It was brown and lumpy and my older sister was feeding it to me. My older brother came and whispered in my ear that I was being fed potty! Till date, I feel queesy eating dal.

Then there was the time we had company at home. Some very sophisticated people over for dinner. All the kids had been told to sit quietly in the bedroom. Possibly our elders didnt know reverse psychology. My cousin brother ran out of the bedroom, all of 7, wearing torn shorts, with a new Whisper wrapped around his neck and went..."Mommy Mommy, I found a neck warmer".

See how I sneaked in a post into your comments section :-)))

Jim said...

I think I like Arun the best :) "E.G.G.", I believe!

Was never really that good with kids. Now I know why!

Flyaway Mind said...

since you are an ex-brat, i guess,u also had ur fare share of ants, cockroaches, dog's water & tantrums ..right?? hee hee..enjoyed the post ...

Sreejith Panickar said...

Late; but added you to my blog roll ;-) A girl with this sort of humour sense is rare. =D>

Kusum Rohra said...

Oh mi God silverine that was HILARIOUS. Just what i needed specially the law of averages one.

*Bows down to the queen of comedy*

Anonymous said...

no matter how troublesome these critters are... don't they just melt your heart... I just adore babies,

Sreehari S said...

hav u read osho :) ?
just curious

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

:)))

tllliiiiiiiiing !! this is a missed call :))

Devilish Angel said...

Hahaha...

Achinthya said...

Fantasric, Silverine.
First time here, but loved it thoroughly.
While in school my fav comic strip was Denise the Menace.seeing the wistful look in my face , my amma used to say, "wait till u get one of ur own; its one thing reading a comic, but bringing up a comic strip hero is more than a handful!"
Guess she was right.
Love

Anonymous said...

And to think that my son is named Calvin......
Oh well, he always has a tough time with his dad in the comics and really drives his mother crazy. Come to think of it, it's the same in my house :-)

silverine said...

@If I tell ya, I'll have to kill ya: Girl, you are welcome to put a post here anytime :) I found a neck warmer LOL Oh my God!!! The expression on the faces of the adults must have been something ha ha :)))
And day old dal is the very reason these parents leave their kids with us. Some babysitters are very unreliable:))Potty? UGH
@Jim: You know I have left out so many embarassing bits out. They say the most embarassing things in front of others :))
@flyawaymind: I have had my share of all that you described, once even crawled out of the house and gate :))
@sreejith kumar: Thank you for the honor :)
@Kusum: Dear girl, thank you so much. I can almost hear the chuckle in your comments :)
@Jinu: Me too, love em creepy crawly rugrats. I can never put them down, keep carrying them around much to the consternation of the mommies :)
@Sreehari: No
@Deepa: :)))
@Vanathi: Thank you :)
@Achinthya: You know even I thought Dennis the Menace was cute. Now I know why he was called 'menace' :)) Thank you for your kind comments.
@Browser:Give a hug to him from my side. He sounds really cute and naughty :)

Sujith said...

so i got an experienced baby-sitter for my gonna be kids here. :p

Jiby said...

i keep telling everyone i know to keep reading ur blogs to just forget all their tensions and boring rotines and laugh their hearts out...unfortunately i havent been able to be true to my words nowadays...glad i didnt miss this one...especially when its abt the only specimen of mankind that never tires me out...i just love them despite all the trouble they make.

i had these 3 babies of my friends i regularly used to babysit and once while babysitting them i was running a fever and not seeing his mom for quite a long time the kid dials 911 and starts talking to the cop and afterwards he passes on the fone to me...if i didnt die on the spot of shock on coming to know who was at the other end i thank the heavens...i apologized profusely and on hanging up totally blew my fuse!!! oh nowadays i miss those kids and all the trouble they made!!

Fleiger said...

Maybe... It depends on the person. Like I love the kids and babies who can handle themselves. My niece loves the 10 min baby-sitting time I used to get once in a while, where she had a license to do anything except touch my computer and do anything dangerous (like poking her neck through the window grill). It used to be a very peacefulperiod for both of us.

shruti said...

hey tth was sooo cute and funny ,,, I have 2 cousins sisters ..as brattish as u get them .. i genrally dont have food in my mouth when they are around .. scared i might choke myself listenin to the gyan they have to give... i love kids a lot ..but rather prefer them to be a little more innocent .. i guess those days are gone ...

BuD said...

Whooaaa, this is hilarious. ROTFL !!

Gladtomeetin said...

Hey as good as always...But whay all of the sudden getting to know baby psycology ;-))

Kusum Rohra said...

Yeah , i had to bring it down to just chukles, have been thrown out of office lots of times because of the loud unlady like laughter, heheheh. Did you say induction program for the mom :)

HAHAHHAHAHHAAHH

anup.777 said...

this was sooo amazingly funny!!! :) thanks for the smile that's still playing on my face ... hehe ...

Have a gr8 weekend!!! :)

venus said...

this was really funyy silver!
I didn't have a chance to babysit 1yr+ olds in a while, but I do agree with Anand, fear is the key. We used to scare my li'l cousin with 17 horned monster in the attic if she refused to eat :))
Once we also made her believe in this monster with asking her to go upstairs, and one of us jumping on her with darth wader like robe and a black lid of solar cooker dabba painted with pastels as a monster's face,, I know that was cruel, but it did WORK!!

silverine said...

@Jithu: Make the babies first!!! :p
@Jiby: Thank you. Nice to see you more often. Keep blogging. Babies are something else arent they!! Calling 911 and chatting with the operator..thats soo cute :)
@Fleiger: You just can't put do's and don'ts for babies. Toddlers maybe, but babies have a mind of their own :)
@Shruthi: Thank god I haven't got any gyani kids to babysit!!! :)
@Bud: Thanks pal :)
@gladmeetin: Suddenly? No dear these are years of experience. And when Alexis put up a post on kids I was also inspired to write about my exp with kids:)
@Kusum: lol I am cracking up just thinking you going har har in office cos I do the same when I am reading something funny. My colleagues are now used to the chuckles and guffaws that emanate from my cubicle :)induction program Yeah, it was thorough and my Mom tried her best to fail the new mom cos she had got so attached to the baby lol
@Anup: Thanks, have a great weekend you too :)
@Venus: Thank you. Scaring the kid was so mean :) But my brother too has no patience with kids and once scared a kid by putting on gurilla mask and talking in a gruff voice because the kid wouldn't leave his room or things alone :p

shruti said...

okie by gyan i meant talkin about everthing .. u can imagine than can turn u red not actual gyan .. ..

venus said...

i know, it was li'l too hrad on that li'l kid at the very moment, but she was being so stbborn and fussy that we did not have any other option :-S
but we also enlightened her later on, that, there was no monster, and she was old enough to get this facts :)

Dev said...

Hey Silverine... I'm writin ur 85th comment? OMG! No wonder u're #3 on Indian bloggers. :)
Anyway, thnx for droppin by, even if u did make fun of me...*hmph*.
Great blog u've here.... really funny. Read quite a few posts and still ROFL. (Really liked the WinXP one :)) This goes on my blogroll. :D

Nikhil Narayanan said...

hey pal,
u rule!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yesterday, for the first time I saw the "Munch" ad where this girl switches off the TV during a critical phase of a cricket match. Guess who came to mind???

silverine said...

@shruti: Kids are well informed these days I guess :)
@Venus: That was nice, telling her the truth!
@Dev; Welcome buddy. Whenever I see people bathing under waterfals I think "what a waste of some really good water" :))
@Jeremy: Thanks!!! I am getting kinda hooked onto your posts. Read the innerwear post today he he :p
@Nikhil: Thanks pal!!!!
@Browser:*innocent look* Who? :))

Anonymous said...

You are the opiate of the blog masses Silverine. A classic every week.... now that's some talent.

Just keep writing gal :-}

PG

T E Zacharias said...

HAHAHA! :o)) I can SO totally identify with this sceanrio! I used to love kids at a point of time... now I cringe, when my mum tells me to expect kids over... GREAT POST!

Raven said...

BRilliant.. Any other comment would undermine your talent.. Keep up the good work and continue to make this world a funny place to live.

silverine said...

@Parthiv: Thank you :)
@Connor: Thank you, glad to see another exp soul like me :p
@Raven: Thank you for that awesome comment.Nice of you to drop by :)

Ashly said...

man...u rock..................
how do u write like this????

love u and ur writing!!!

M@mm@ Mi@ said...

ROFL..looking after ur own is a total mess...cant imagine what it will be when it is somebody else's...hmmm...

Anonymous said...

I loved reading your Blog. It was belly achingly funny .