It's Just like....

My computer has a chess game on it which I never dreamed of trying to play. My eldest saw it on my desktop and kept pleading with me to show her how to play the game, to which I would always respond, “ask your father.” Somehow that answer never satisfied her and inevitably she would always return to me, big brown eyes glassy and pouty peeved look in tow, armor donned to wear down her Mummy’s resistance. Conveniently, I would always have something else to do, I can admit that I was having a hard time letting her know that I could not play the game.

Finally, I declared that I could not play chess amidst my own concerns about the messages I would be sending to a little girl about gender capabilities – I just want these girls to see that nothing is beyond their reach and all they have to is try – but still paradoxically I could not face the chess game. So the other day when my eldest was done badgering me about the game I excused myself from the room and left her with permission to look at the premises of same on her own.

I was in the middle of a task in another room when she entered excitedly. “Mom, Mom” she exclaimed. “I know how to play that chess game it’s just like the Dora and Swiper game.” What did she say? Could she really have figured out how to play such a complex game in half an hour? Does she know that there are chess grandmasters out there who would cringe at the sound of Dora, Swiper and chess even being mentioned in the same breath, much less being likened to each other? Once again, I am floored by the innocence of children and their ability to simplify seemedly complex precepts into understandable terms.

When I checked the game that still lay open on the desktop I found that the computer had made the game so easy that a six year old could grasp it, Bravo. But what this taught me about myself is summed up in the old adage; “Never assume, because you make….” I hope my daughter will always remember this episode and continue to test her curious mind while refusing to accept no for an answer – when appropriate.