Personality development

1. Ash ends his queries with a 'Undo-Illayo', 'Yes or No', 'is it there or is it not' etc. And we parents have been forced to give straight answers. No beating round the bush.
2. The nanny tells me that Ash lies a lot these days. "How did this child learn to tell lies?" she asks in surprise. "Dont we lie a lot to him? We tell him we are taking Mira to the doctor when we are actually taking her to Marrybrown or to the church. We hide a boiled egg in Mira's plate and tell him it is only potato. He is clever enough to see through our falsehoods but keeps quiet because he has to be patient till he gets better," I tell her. She has no answer and gives a sheepish smile instead.
3. I often ask Ash if he ate all his snacks and fruits at school or exchanged them with his benchmate for biscuits and junk food.He shakes his head to say no. Not believing him, I say, Kallaa (liar) or Kallam parayallu (dont tell lies). It gets him worked up. "Amma, dont keep saying I tell lies."
4. I remind him about George Washington and the axe, a story I learnt in Class 1 in my ICSE primary school. It is one that influenced me a lot, and I try to keep lies to the minimum :) And I want my son to grow up honest and truthful. The circumstances have not been very conducive but I hope things will improve.