"Smile,but don't laugh"

Mummy....., “Smile, but don’t laugh”.

A cute statement,from my 5-year-old daughter Nitya,“got us thinking”.In the last 5 months of work from home, as we juggled with kids & job, we didn’t realize that children observe so much.

They mimic our behavior & even learn, untold life lessons. Nitya has seen us, in around 200 plus online meetings and concluded that in company meetings, we should put a smiley face,but laughing is not allowed.

One of the interesting lessons, Nitya learnt from corporate way of doing things, is to call for a “meeting” to discuss important events.She called for a "family meeting".Celebrations were on cards as Ishu (our son) was turning 1.5 years and she suggested that,we need to decide on theme, food & activities for the family only, party.

 “Thank you everyone, my name is Nitya and today we will talk about the party”, Nitya said with a grim face.

Gayatri, my better half, burst out laughing looking at the enactment. Nitya was quick to intervene and said anxiously, “Mamma, you can “Smile, but don’t laugh”.

We all burst into peals of laughter and Nitya turned red . She was anxious, that we are breaking the rules of the meeting & started weeping.

That’s when I realized, that is how we behaved in the past few days, while conducting our meetings.

Why did I not laugh ever in all the hours spent? Is it not an acceptable form of online behavior ?

Would I look silly and “not so serious”? Would I be viewed as incompetent? What happens in 99 % of our corporate meetings?

We want to reach out objectives, we want to achieve,we want to succeed.We want to find the truth. We want to prove a point;we want to sell ourselves or our idea. Where is the space for laughter?

Isn’t laughter the best stress buster? Isn’t it the most beautiful human expression?

And how did we become so plastic that we need to put on a smile to be accepted by others, but cannot dare laugh our hearts out?

 Were we wrong not to laugh enough, in meetings or should I tell her that “smile, but don’t laugh” is the right way?

I really don’t know. What do you think I should answer her?

Please help a dad.

Do share your comments and experiences.