3 months after my son was born into this competitive world, he smiled for the first time. It was 20 days before it said he should, in Dr.Spock's Book! And I was ecstatic! I felt I was grooming a genius who'd keep the same fast pace and get right on top, in no time. I could hear the applause as he stepped up the podium to receive the award. I could see people swarming to congratulate his proud parents. I could feel the excitement in the air!

I guess it's a typical mother-instinct. A parent-response. But was it practical or feasible to raise a child who'd love doing things ahead of time? A gifted child? A child who loved learning and reading just as he loved playing and running?

That's when I decided I was going to do everything I could, to nurture his curiosity, to inspire his creativity. I cut down my full-time job to that of a consultant to be able to spend quality time with him. Books became a regular diet and the 2 of us read... whenever he felt like it. Whatever he wanted to read... from encyclopaedias to Bedtime Tales. TV time was 1 hour everyday, during which he chose the cartoons he loved to watch, from the newspaper. Nights became book-reading time for the 3 of us, as we each settled with a book in companiable silence.

Paint-boxes and crayons poured his art onto large newspapers spread on the floor. We happily ate the concoction he 'cooked' with raw rice, raisins, coconut scrapings and water with utmost appreciation.

He's 5 now and the euphoria is still high. Everyday, I see him learning new things, doing different things, asking more questions and asserting himself. And we let him do his own thing, learn at his own pace... just anything he wants to learn. I'm glad that today, he's a more confident and curious child with a love for books (he's reading by himself)that're diverse. I guess it's the quality time we spent from the time he was 6 months to today, that really shaped his personality.

At the cost of being cliched, I still support the fact that when parents and kids do anything together, it sure goes a long way in making the child a better human being... academically, emotionally, physically and psychologically!