Sabeen shares a very good bond of friendship with her neighbourhood Abeera, who was almost seven years older than her. She visited her home every now and then, with or without any reason. Abeera also enjoyed chatting with the little girl, as she didn’t have any siblings so Sabeen’s presence filled the void.

One day, Sabeen arrived at Abeera’s house, looking very upset. Abeera inquired what was troubling her.

“In this summer vacation, I want to take admission in a camp which is offering fabric and glass painting courses and it is quite near to our house, but mummy doesn’t want me to,” Sabeen said sadly.

“Why doesn’t she want you to?” Abeera asked.

“Abeera aapi, she wants me to learn swimming, horse riding and crossbow shooting and now forcing me to join ‘Summer Fun Club’, which is offering these courses. These courses are a bit expensive and this ‘Fun Club’ is at a long distance from our house, but mummy says that she will bear all of it because she wants me to learn these to become tough.”

Abeera liked Sabeen’s mum’s idea and also wanted Sabeen to develop her skills in swimming, but she realised that this was not the right time to council her because Sabeen was already angry and stressed out. Therefore, Abeera waited for the right moment to talk to her.

The very next day, Abeera went to Sabeen’s house. Both sat on the floor near the TV. Suddenly, Zia, Sabeen’s 14 months old brother came crawling towards Sabeen and put his head on her lap. Zia gestured to be picked up by Sabeen. Abeera was astonished because a baby of 14 months, usually starts to walk a little. She casually asked Sabeen about this.

“Actually, it is all my fault. Whenever Zia tries to get up, I pick him up because I am scared he might fall and hurt himself. He has developed such attachment to me that he never enjoys his toys more than five minutes. I do this all because I love him so much and don’t want him to get hurt by any means. I know other babies of the same age have already started walking, but he still can’t just because of me.”

This was the appropriate moment to tell Sabeen what Abeera was wishing to tell her.

“My dear young friend Sabeen, sometimes little challenges are important for our healthy growth and development of skills. If you had allowed Zia to take steps on his own, he might be walking right now like his age-mates. But you did it just because you love your brother unconditionally ... isn’t it?

“Likewise, your mummy loves you infinitely. She wants you to go through a bit of difficult physical training for your healthy growth. Your intention of picking up Zia was good, without any doubt, but your method was not correct. Likewise, the intentions of our parents can never be wrong. Your mummy wants you to face challenges and test yourself against different situations.

“You can join the summer camp of your mum’s choice and after that you can do whatever your heart wants. This way not only your mum will be happy but you will learn something that you think is difficult and quite challenging.”

Sabeen smiled and understood Abeera aapi’s point.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 20th, 2019