That's just what we need!

Ever wonder how frequently we use sarcasm in our speech. Its so habitual that you forget who you are talking to. Meera (my 4 year old niece) & Avani (my 15 month old daughter) are frequently at receiving ends from their respective mothers. Sample this:

1. When she refuses to eat - Khana mat kha! phir pet nahi dukhega to kya
2. When she skipped her day naps - Tu so mat! aur phir rotey baith
3. When she's throwing things - Wo tod de tu!
4. When she's rolling on the floor  - Aur poch le purey jameen ko apne kapdo se!

If I were hearing this as a child, it would be really confusing to understand why I am being shouted at, when I am doing exactly what I am told:

1. Don't eat your food
2. Don't sleep
3. Break that
4. Roll on the floor

This is really funny to observer and I guess a bit damaging - depending on how your child takes it. I think its just better to make it very clear on what you expect from your kid rather than getting frustrated and resorting to sarcastic language. Some food for thought...

Does a fox eat grapes?

My niece Meera, who's about 4 and a half, attends kindergarten. She has a story telling session today. Her teacher gave her a short story of Aesop's fox & the sour grapes.

Courtesy here

I asked her if she understood the story - which was funny because she still does not understand the meaning of "understand" :).  So I tried explaining the story in words she would comprehend with a mix of Hindi & English. Got as far as "fox tried to jump, aur fox gir gaya (the fox fell while jumping)". The moral of the story that was given to her was "Try, try, don't cry" - I am sure even a child twice her age will not understand the "sour grapes" analogy that the story hints at.

I found the entire idea ridiculous, trying to have children recite stories when they are not at a stage to understand the language that's used in it. So I gave her my version of the story:

Once a fox was very hungry. He was trying to look for food - he found cheese in the fridge (which Meera likes) but could not open the fridge. He found chuda in the dabba (again something Meera likes) but he could not open the dabba.
He came across a tree that had a bunch of grapes but was very high. He tried to jump (make her jump) but could not reach the grapes (kyonki bahut ooncha tha). Jumped more but he fell down. Then he saw a chicken passing by. He caught it and ate it and said (pat on the stomach) "Yummy".
Moral of the story: Chicken is very tasty

Courtesy here

As to the original question - foxes are carnivores.