Need 15 Tips to Eat a Biscuit?
Debesh Choudhury, PhD
Information Security Researcher, Academician, Entrepreneur | Password & Cybersecurity, Digital Identity, Biometrics Limit, 3D Education | Linux Trainer | Writer | Podcast Host
It was the last week of December 2014. We didn't go anywhere out. We were enjoying life inside our home. I am not sure about my better half. I was thoroughly enjoying inside. Spending time with our son is always a great enjoyment for me. Then, he was 11 years old.
I vividly remember when he was born as a tiny baby. I had seen him first in the arms of a nurse. Later he was looking cute in his mother's arms. I was a little afraid when I took him in my arms for the first time. I thought I would hurt him. All #fathers think almost the same way. Then, I watched him slowly growing. I was pleased when his first tooth was visible.
Every father thinks almost the same way
Slowly he grew up as a curious kid. He goes to school. Occasionally, he goes for sports training, mainly cricket. Next summer he may go to a swimming camp. He may also learn a little bit of karate. He says he wishes to do all these. But, slowly and slowly. I like that. He often makes fast movements inside the house. I wouldn't say I like that. Because that can hurt him, we all care about our children.
We all care our children
Now, I come back to last December 2014. Every night before dinner, I used to login to LinkedIn for some time. Scan the posts in LinkedIn Pulse. Our son once saw that and asked in Bengali, "??? ?? ???? ?????" (ota ki porcho baba) "What are you reading papa?" Then, he saw it closely and started reading the top titles in the LinkedIn Pulse. "10 tips for ...", "20 words for ...", "40 quotes for ..." ... and so on. His face beamed with smile. He started reading more titles. "It is fun", he murmurs.Children are quick learners
One day, I was trying to type a post. Our son came close and inquired what I was doing. I told him what I was trying. He started smiling. "Papa, what is your title?" I told him that the title was yet to be decided. I was still fumbling on the subject. He smilingly said, "Papa, why don't you write a post and make the title ... 15 Tips How to Eat a Biscuit ... and it will be very new and good ... like the other good posts". I told him that it couldn't be a LinkedIn post. He smiled and asked, "Why?" I told him that eating a biscuit would be too simple an act. It would not require any tip to eat a biscuit. Our fifth grader son again asked smilingly, "Then why are they writing such titles ...?" I didn't have an answer.
Children don't shy away to ask questions
Children don't shy away to ask questions. They have limited knowledge. They are willing to acquire new knowledge. They respect true knowledge. They don't pretend. They don't bother about the position. We, grownup adults, carry inhibitions. We can't come out of our masked personalities. We don't believe in own selves. We follow the "awesome" crowd.
Children can teach how to judge what is true
We may hesitate. But, our children won't. Our children can teach us how to judge what is true and what is false. They can easily sense what fakes are. We need a child's simplicity to acquire true knowledge. Be it science, engineering, arts, music, painting, or social sciences -- we need an authentic approach. It can be simple, but it must be genuine.
As a #father, this was a good lesson I learned from our #son. I am not sure whether it goes well along with the other LinkedIn posts during the week of international father's day. Because this is an incidental gift from a kid to his father. I wish to get your comments.
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Acknowledgment: The author is indebted to his son for the insight and permission for publishing this true story.
The title image is a personal property of the author. Copying is prohibited.
Here are some other posts of the author:
- Why Google and Microsoft Run after Glass and Lens?
- Life Lessons from Penguins
- 5 Reasons Why Big Data is Creating Job Opportunities
- Let's Fix it: Get Rid of Computer Virus for Good
- Big Idea 2015: Make Your Own Tab
- GNU/Linux, Free Software and the Society
- Big Data Care
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Debesh Choudhury is an academician and researcher. He is interested in the science and engineering of optics and electronics. He uses GNU/Linux, Free and Open Source Software for all his works related to computers, whether educational or entertainment, professional or personal.
Thanks for this great , inspiring article “Truth comes out from the children's mouth@ One of the solutions to end violence against children actually comes from the process of involving children themselves in forming solutions. If only we, as humans over the age of 18, would “just” make the effort to listen to children and implement what our girls and boys are telling us and what they are telling each other, we would surely be happier and our children would be happier.
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I help leaders be heard and understood, to get results.
9 年I remember a story that was told at a sales meeting a number of years ago, how a top salesperson was asked to talk to his company about how he was so successful in sales. The top salesperson was having difficulty with writing his speech when his young son walked in and asked his dad what he was doing. The dad explained that he was to give a talk on what he did that made him so successful. The son thought for a while and said "just tell them that you talk to a lot of people every day?"... out of the mouths of babes as the saying goes. Thanks for a great, inspiring story!
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9 年nice article sir. by giving birth of a baby, a woman become a mother. i am not at all undermining her attributes. but to become a father, it is rather a tedious work. because, what ever the formal or informal education may imparted, it is the father whom a child use to follow or replicate, and most importantly, after the demise of father, a son could realize whom he has lost and what kind of crisis he is engulfed with. we may come across numerous phenomenal persona with exquisite wisdom, yet a father who is endearing to his son, have no alternative. i sensed in your writing the conventional values and passion of a father, which enamored me most. thank you very much sir for this wonderful post, which has touched my heart.
Helping mid-sized organizations increase sales and improve customer service since 1993 | #LinkedInLocal
9 年When your children make you think and you can learn from them, it's magical: it means that they are moving up a level in their search for knowledge! I very much enjoyed your article @Debesh (@mentions not working). And thanks to Jim for featuring it in his Top 7!