Written By: Naz Haider | Updated : June 20, 2017 11:22 AM IST
A few months ago, I got embroiled in a heated discussion in one of the mommy groups I am a part of, and the problem was, I was in the middle of the entire thing. What set it off was a question I had posted and my subsequent comments. Here's what started it all. I have a toddler who is very inquisitive and often asks me questions that throw me off. One day I saw her in front of a mirror, curiously examining her facial features. Seeing me, she asked me who put her nose, eyes, lips, ears and other parts of her face on her face. Not knowing better, I told her that mummy'd make the face of the baby when the baby is in the mum's tummy. I was expecting her next question, how. So I told her that we take a little bone, muscles, and skin and make it to look like the way we want, and that is why she is so beautiful and perfect to me.
Then came the next question - can I exchange my eyes for yours? Or can we swap our noses? My immediate answer was no, to which she replied, then why did you not make my eyes like yours? I did the best thing I could do, and tried to deviate her attention to something else. But I did post this question, asking for help on the mommy group. I asked them how I could answer such questions from my child without introducing the concept of God, and that's what started it all. A few mums were furious that I did not want to introduce my child to the concept of god! But I have my reasons and I am clear about it.
Firstly, I want my child to question everything, exactly like the way she does. And I help her find her answers, the scientific reasoning, in books, encyclopedias or even on the internet. I don't want her to stop all that. If I had simply attributed everything to God, I wouldn't have had a discussion on DNA and how it is the blueprint for our looks and personality with her. I don't want her to learn about god and stop analysing things just because 'god made it so'.
Besides, she can discover her spirituality herself when she's older and ready. Whether or not I am religious or spiritual should not dictate how she sees god and spirituality. For now, if she asks me (which she does) about who put the planets and stars in the solar system, I try to explain the big bang theory in toddler sized bites, and not just say 'God made it so'. I want her to have an analytical approach to everything, questioning and analysing the everyday things that she comes across. The concept of god I feel is too much for a young, inquisitive mind like hers.
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