Stumped!!!

This is yet another story of Aanika when she was three and a half years old.
She has a lot of fancy for hair clips. One day she was sitting with many hair clips and counting and playing with them fixing one after the other in her hair.
I knew that it was difficult to ask her give even a single clip from the lot.
But I thought I can outsmart her and manage to get one. I explained to her that I too need hair clip as my hair was long and coming in front of my eyes. I thought that her emotional attachment towards me will work and she will immediately give me at least one clip.
She was quiet for a moment and I thought that my persuation has worked and was waiting for her response.
After a while she told,
"Do one thing. When I go for hair dressing next time, accompany me and I will get your hair trimmed so that you won't need the clip."
I had never expected that I will be stumped so badly by a kid her age!!!

What is your bank balance?

When I was in USA and Aanika was just three and a half years old, she used to sit next to me and keep asking me what I was doing in the laptop. That time, I had not even realized that she was learning many things not expected of a child of her age.

One day, she told me, "Dada, why don't you buy me a toy?"
"I have no money", I said.
"Do one thing", she said and quickly pointing her finger at internet explorer, asked me to click on it.
Her next order was to click on favorites folder, followed by finance folder and HDFC Bank website.
As soon as the HDFC Bank login page opened, she asked me to enter my user name and password and then asked me,
"What is your bank balance?"

I was stunned! Be careful if you have grandkids of her age!!

Too much TV ?

Aanika is 4 years 9 months now and growing by leaps and bounds. And she is learning new things and getting smarter by the minute. And often she will just the "darndest things".

For a while, I have been toying with the idea of writing down these incidents of utmost innocent humor as a keepsake for posterity. And then I remembered this almost-abandoned blog, remnant of an incurable case of writers block I had 4 years ago. It seems like just made for it, like a perfect excuse to get it restarted.

So here is a recent incident. This past Saturday was the 11st wedding anniversary for Priya and me, and we and kids were coming back after a fantastic dinner at Amber in Santana Row. We were quite late in returning and the clock was already showing past Aanika's bedtime. On the way back in the car, Aanika remembers our weekly tradition of watching a kids movie every Saturday, and chimes in "Mamma, we are still going to watch my movie tonight, right?"

Both Priya and I cringe at the question. I attempt to handle this diplomatically "So Aanika, how many times have you been on TV, Iphone or laptop today?"

Out come the fingers, and she counts them off "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6. 6, Daddy 6!"

"And how many times are you supposed to be on TV, Iphone or laptop in a day?"

"Just 1", her voice losing steam as she begins to understand where the conversation is going.

"So then you actually should not be on TV, iphone or laptop for the next 5 days".

Silence.

I persist, "You are supposed to have them just once, you had them 6 times today, so you had them how many more times than you are supposed to?"

"Five", her voice getting even lower.

"So then you should not have them for 5 more days".

After a quick pause, she responds "No Daddy, I should not have them for 6 more days."

"Humh? How do you figure that?" I respond thinking she is mixing up her subtraction.

Back comes the response, "Because I still have to see the kids movie after going home now."