Akudo Abenogwe-Adebayo: Are You Smarter than a 2-Year Old?

Okay, I’m guilty of helping my daughter out with her assignment! My beautiful daughter is hyper active. She is so set in her ways, she picks out the cloth and shoe she wants to wear, and if you refuse to help her in them, she will surprise you by wearing them herself with a gleeful smile.

She wants to feed herself, she wants to bath herself, she even wants to write her assignment herself, and woe betide me if I insist on helping her, she will scream down the roof. She always wants to write them herself, and if I try to help her, she will concentrate on every other thing but her books – a silent way of telling me she doesn’t need my help with her assignment. Meanwhile, she can only write figure 1 correctly for now, so sometimes, I will angrily collect her books and write the assignments for her!
I know some ‘over sabi’ parents will be quick to condemn and say ‘oh you can’t do that’ ‘how will she learn it if you always do it for her?’ So yes, maybe I need some help on creative ways to get a much too playful 2 year 5 months old girl settle down enough and write her assignment herself.

Something happened recently which jolted my awareness that I had to up my game regarding my kids’ academics, because my little girl is growing and naturally believes that her mummy knows it all. I was home one evening and the kids were playing around me and disrupting everything in the house as usual. Suddenly my daughter came to me and said

“Mummy, let’s say it” when I didn’t pay attention to her, she repeated herself and loudly this time. So I had to carry her brother in my arms and turn towards her.

“Let’s say what?” I asked her.

“Abla” she said looking eagerly at me. Just then, I realised that she had been reciting the states and capital while playing all the while, and now wanted me to recite with her.

“Umuahia” I responded and quickly took the lead to call the states while she tells me the capital of each and we went thus

Me- “Abia” she “Umuahia”

Me- “Adamawa” she dancing happily “Yola”

Me- “Akwa Ibom” she “Uyo”

Me- “Anambra” she “Awka”

Me- “Bauchi” she “Bauchi”

And I went blank. I didn’t only forget the remaining states, I also couldn’t remember the sequence it follows.

‘Yeepa’! I screamed silently, my little girl suddenly stopped dancing and peered directly at me with a stare that brooked no argument

“Mummy continue” she said authoritatively.

Chei! How would I explain to a 2-year plus old that mummy didn’t know the 36 states and Federal Capital of Nigeria. I was racking my brain for a solution when I remembered my phone and dear old google, so quickly before she could spot me, I picked my phone. I smartly hid it behind her brother who was still on my laps watching the Television, I quickly Googled the states and capitals in Nigeria. Sharp sharp it came out and I started afresh with her, this time a lot more confident that she wouldn’t find out that mummy has almost become an olodo.

When they finally went to be bed after an exhaustive unending recitation of the states and capitals in Nigeria, I went through her textbooks in her previous ‘Reception’ class, trying to understand what they taught them and also update myself with the nursery school academic curriculum. By the next evening, I was the first to initiate the states and capital rhyme and as she rhymed away, I smiled to myself, children, it really takes so little to satisfy them.

You can share an experience when you were almost caught by a smart child.