Caring for others

Recently, Yash had gone on a drive with his grandmother (my mom) and his grand aunt (my father's sis). As my mom stepped out of the car for a quick buy, the following conversation ensued between Yash and his grand aunt:
Y: 'Avva, you can scrunch over to the other side because there is a lot of traffic and ammamma (grandmother) will not be able to get in from there. She can get in this side and later you can exchange places if you want.' (conversation happened in Tamil)
As you can imagine my aunt was left speechless by a 5.5yr old giving her these instructions.

The above was narrated to me when I met my aunt the following day. And yes, it brought the tears of joy :) What i found astounding was two things, he perceived that traffic was a problem for his grandmother to get into the car comfortably and two, he kept in mind the needs of all involved in the solution. He not just understood the problem but was able to find a solution for it too. This is an indication to me of higher order thinking in him.
This incident is not directly related to his being, yet he was aware of it. This indicates an amount of aesthetic development (the educationist in me rearing her head ;) ).
Caring for my aunt's feelings prompted him to add in the end about exchanging places if needed, later.

 I would like to believe that our way of bringing him up had something to do with this, but am pretty sure that somewhere, it is a part of his personality too. During the course of the last few years, we have tried to reinforce in Yash the value of putting other's needs ahead of our own. Not that we are martyrs, but as much as possible, it is a culture that we would like to follow. Vickram, my husband, is the major source of morals and values for Yash. Father and son often have lengthy conversations about what is right and wrong, why we should help others and even to the extent of what is karma. Ask Yash what is karma and pat will come the reply ' You will get what you give.'

There is a homeless old man, who lives near a temple that comes on our way home. We often stop and give him some money that brings this huge smile on his face. Yash has witnessed this exchange many times. One day, he remarked that 'Dad, it is so cold, let us give that old man a blanket'.

Yash is a perfect gentleman-in-the-making! When he gets out of the car, he holds the door for me! When getting into the lift, he holds his hand out to stop the lift from closing. In the evening, when I'm cooking, he wanders into the kitchen and randomly asks me, 'Mom, do you need any help?'. A 5.5 yr old you can understand, is quite fond of TV. He makes deals with his grandmother (my m-i-l) about when he would give her the 'viewing rights' and that too voluntarily! His class teacher from last year had also given me the feedback, he was extremely mindful of other's needs in the classroom.

All these incidents point to one thing.... That caring for others is hardwired into him! As parents, nothing brings us more joy than a child who can bring a smile to everyone around :)

If Yash seems like the ideal child, the dream come true... Wait till you read about all the mischief he gets upto, maybe another day, another post!

Happy Parenting you all!