Sometimes we do things without realizing  that we are actually doing it. Fall into this list, a number of things, that as kids we never thought we would ever do when we grew up. Let me explain this in detail.
What was the question that you hated answering all the time as a kid? Some uncles and Aunts whom we met during weddings and other get togethers always pestered  kids with this question. And that question was ” What do you want to be when you grow up? ”
The same uncle would ask this question to the same child at every get together. So, did that person expect the child to give a different answer each time? Or if he could never remember the answer, then, why did he even ask?
Is a child who is in grade 1 or 2 or even in grade 10 for that matter,  prepared enough to answer that question? Is he mature enough to understand the pros and cons of choosing a particular career path? So, instead of asking what he was going to be, why don’t people ask him what his areas of interest were or what his favorite subjects were ? This is a thought that kept coming to my mind as a child.
My standard answer used to be, “I am yet to decide”. I would probably give the same answer even today. Because I am still working towards finding out what I actually want to be. 🙂
I grew up into an adult dodging such questions and running away from such uncles and aunts. But I was so surprised when I recently caught myself asking the same question to a little boy. I was at a friend’s place and was playing with her son. I was trying to engage him in a conversation while she was attending to some pending work.  I asked him ” So, what do you want to be when you are a big boy? ”
This is one of those things that I never thought I would do when I grew up and here I was, doing exactly the same. I had asked the question before that realization struck me.
He looked straight into my eyes and said ” Animal”. ” I want to be a horse”.
I loved the confidence with which he answered . I did not know what to say. I just gave him a high five. He actually taught me a lesson. Why bother kids with such questions. I am sure I will never ask this question to any kid anymore.
Barney, What Will I be When I Grow Up ?  used to be my favorite book when I started reading books to my kids. I loved the last sentence in the book in which Barney says ” You can be whatever you want to be when you grow up. You will always be special to me. ”
I really hope we can all live by this Barney mantra.
 
 

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