finger placement
April 24, 2012
9 minutes. That’s how long it took Maya to type the first sentence of her book report.
My thought process during that time:
- Wow. It took more than 60 seconds for Maya to type 1/3 of the book’s title.
- I bet she has no idea it’s taking every ounce of control not to wrestle the computer away from her.
- The teacher said that utilizing a computer for this project was optional. So why isn’t Maya giving me an option here?
- We’re still not done with the title and it’s nearly minute 4. At this rate we’ll be done with the other 5 sentences in approximately 6 and one half hours.
- I am a terrible mother. I should be applauding my child’s perseverance. What’s wrong with me?
- I hope her fingers aren’t sticky.
- Stop thinking so negatively Ameena and give her a compliment! “Good job with your finger placement on the keyboard Maya! Great work.”
- Oh…here’s Ali with a camera ready to document things. Because what could be funnier than thinking “Let’s take a picture of Ameena when she’s in sweats and is ready to smack somebody?”
- Tick Tock. Tick Tock.
- I wonder if Maya would notice if I started thumbing through Marie Claire?
- Minute 8 and we have “A Visit to the Art
” so far. That’s it Maya….just type out Galaxy and tell me you want me to do the rest. Please.
So as expected, Maya asked me to type everything after the title. And as expected I felt relieved. And then moments later I felt totally guilty at my thought process, my lack of patience, and my complete disregard for her attempts to be independent.
As expected.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
Hehe, I love the way you have the magazine so close-but have your arm on top of it and your other hand pinning that one down like you are having to restrain yourself from picking it up.
Such restraint. I’d have to put the magazine in another room.
Now that you point out my hand placement, I am cracking up!
Haha this made me smile, as expected! You should hook Maya up with some Mavis Beacon minigames, pronto. I have her to thank for my 60 WPM speed in 5th grade.
I remember Mavis Beacon suddenly! Such a good idea Nada…
I remember when I first started getting to use the computer for schoolwork. And learning to type… it was rough. Maya is a smart kid- hopefully it won’t take her too long!
I know I should cut her some slack…she’s just 7! I hope she picks it up quickly…
Maya typing out her book report reminds me of how I used to have to handwrite mine. And how when we got a computer, it felt like we won the jackpot!!
And you’re in sweats?! Good job, Ali, because you look good!!!
Thank you Parita! I picked the least of the offensive pictures to put on here…
She’ll get the hang of it. Great that she wanted to try. Some little ones are afraid to try things, but with computers these days, they’re usually ahead of the adults!
Maya is not afraid of computers, thank goodness. I can’t imagine how kids who are will get through school/work? Everything revolves around a keyboard.
Aw, she’ll learn! I love your inner monologue!
Thanks Emily!
Haha that’s so cute! I have to agree with Nada: Mavis Beacon is where it’s at…I 100% attribute my speedy typing skills to that computer program. The inner geek in me used to have plenty of fun progressing from one level to the next! Speaking of having the option of using a computer, I am continuously amazed by how technology-dependent the world has become. The American School in Mumbai is purely conducted on computer: while most kids get a stationary list consisting of pencils and pens, it’s a requirement for each student to buy a laptop when they join the school! Baller, much?
A laptop is a requirement? Crazy! So how do people who can’t afford it handle back to school shopping? Especially in India where I imagine most people can’t easily afford computers?
Appalling isn’t it! I guess the school fees mean that those who do attend the school can probably afford laptops.
Haha.. I’m like that too, so impatient when helping my kids with their writing homework. Then I feel guilty, then impatient again then guilty again. The cycle continues.
You and Maya both have gorgeous hair!!
The cycle never ends Lydia! I’m glad I’m not the only one caught up in it. 🙂 And thank you for the compliment.
Aw! At least she did the title herself and you stayed patient. Kudos to both of you!
That’s something I guess. 🙂
Loved the monologue! Reminds me of myself and now my daughter! Only I now sanctimoniously advice her to lay off 🙂
Yes…I need to lay off too. Good advice all around!
My son is in kindergarten and learning to type!!! DO I need to say more!!!
Maya is a smart kid, wait for few months (may be year or two) she will be much faster than you…
I think you both did a great jobs on your ends…
He’s learning to type in kindergarten? And I thought 1st grade was early?
Ha, my dad makes me type his emails to family members. They usually end up being Tolstoy length, so I add annoyed asides in parentheses. Find your fun where you can, lol. Btw–your hair looks fantastic in that picture!!
“Tolstoy length.” I love it. My dad’s emails are quite lengthy as well…and he often sends them to me for proofreading!
And thanks for the compliment Liz!
Sweats? No way, those are not sweats. Those are fabulous track pants. And hopefully, there will come a day when Maya can do your work! Think about your efficiency levels!
Indeed they are sweats…and more specifically, they are my $20 Lucy sweats. 🙂
Can’t wait for the efficiency levels to increase!
sounds frustrating, you are just refreshingly honest, don’t feel guilty! I hope she gets an A+ on that report!
Thanks Daisy. I am in a permanent state of guilt it seems…
Dear, Ameena,
you say what we all think. You are not a terrible mother…just an honest one. ❤ x
Thank you my friend! Good to know that others think this way!
Hey, time is money!! LOL. I have that very same Marie Claire at home…well it’s in my car where I keep them so when I’m out places I can grab it if I need something to read.
Isn’t it a great magazine? It’s the only one that I receive and I love it.
I do the same thing with my husband all the time! He takes so long on the computer, always pausing to ask me how to spell this or that. It’s all I can do to not let my blood boil and try to focus on what he is asking and not just walk away mid-sentence to do something more intersting. Apparently I have no patience. Surprise.
Luckily Ali is super fast on the computer…so that’s one area where I don’t have to lose my patience with him. 🙂
My kids can’t type either – although, geez, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. They’re still figuring out printing and cursive! Anyway, my son, who’s 8, had to type up a report and it was the same thing. Finally I just typed it up for him in his words because I couldn’t take it anymore! I like Mavis Beacon, but there are some typing games on BBC kids, too.
Good to know about BBC kids…I don’t think we’ve hit that site yet. Have you used pbskids.org? Maya seems to love it.
This is exactly how I feel every time one of my parents types anything in front of me.
And Maya easily trumps them on number of fingers used, so you have that going for you.
I wonder if Maya will find me slow one day? The way that we find our parents slow? Scary.
hahaha I feel like this everytime my dad wants to show me something on the computer. It’s like, just let me do it and we’ll get this done SO MUCH FASTER. Whenever he wants to show me a funny email, he scrolls through his entire inbox to find it and refuses to just search the person’s name. It makes me crazy.
Oh how I can relate!! I love this…it’s cracking me up like you can’t imagine right now.
i’m at work right now, and when i saw the picture of the 2 of you, i couldn’t stop laughing. you look so serious – i could just picture you sitting there for 9 minutes staring at her screen. and she looks as though she’s really trying. you both have beautiful hair btw.
i actually learned typing when i was around 12 or 13. there is this program (not sure the name) where you just look at the screen and it flashes the letter and you type the letter and the screen looks like the keyboard. it’s the best way to learn to type if you’re interested.
i think you’re a good mom, and you’re allowed to vent. as long as she doesn’t know what you’re thinking, who cares? 🙂
Thank you for the compliment my friend! And yes, as long as she has no idea what I’m thinking I think I’m safe. I fear the day she can read my blog though…
I think it’s an eastern thing to want your kids to be quick witted and the best of the best all. the. time. Don’t worry you’re not a horrible mother..I can barely sit next to someone else who’s using a computer without screaming “give it to me!” on the inside
It is an eastern thing…funny how I revert to my dad’s background when it’s convenient for me. 🙂
Lol. ONe day Maya shall read this and she’ll have some things to say to you 🙂
I’m very worried for that day….
Hahaha – so funny! That is basically my same thought process when (once in a blue moon) Forrest decides to help around the house. It takes forever, it’s never as clean as I like, and I just want to take over, haha.
So as much as we complain we want them to help..we really don’t because it just takes us longer to do it right. Right? 🙂
Hahaha, exactly!!!
Oh my gosh, I didn’t type any sort of report or paper until I was in high-school. My how times have changed.
P.S. Is that Zooey Deschanel on the cover? If so, I totally would have been eyeing the Marie Claire as well.
It is Zooey Deschanel…and I knew nothing about her until I read this issue of Marie Claire. I was really impressed with her!
Well i have to applaud your patience Ameena. If i were you, I would have definitely wrestled the laptop from my kid.
Thank you Nandita. 🙂
You just need to sign her up for typing lessons this summer. Maybe an entire secretary school?!
Secretary school? I love it. Is there such a thing any more?
Fortunately they get to be fast typists pretty quickly.
I’m sure she’ll get the hang of it soon…poor kid is just 7! And I expect so much already.
So I am the oldest of five… my mom totally typed all of my reports. Handwritten stuff? No problem. Artwork? I got that covered. Typing quickly and with efficiency? You could forget all that mess when I was in school. Also, my mom is awesome.
My oldest had to do a HUGE project a few years ago. Of course I helped. Marker on foamboard- I can remember it like yesterday- me, holding my breath while Andrew painstakingly printed every. single. word. It was all I could do to keep myself from simultaneously screaming and snatching the Sharpie out of his hand.
You are not alone.
Your mom does sound awesome. Saint-like even. I need to take a lesson here…
I fear the days the Sharpies come out. I fear them.
Haha, you should feel guilty but then you are not alone. I am very much like you and that was why my son, Nick did not know how to tie his shoelace at the age if 8. He will not be so independent today if it is not because my Quay Lo stop me from doing everything for him due to me being impatient.
It’s such a challenge isn’t it? Luckily Maya’s grandparents have the patience of a saint (saints?) and they step in where I just…can’t.
Oh man. This reminds me of how I was before marriage with everyone in my family. When my dad would write in caps lock, or mom would search for that one alphabet, or my grandfather would ask something more than twice. I had no patience at all. At all. And the worst part, I showed it. This thought process was out loud. Surprisingly, getting married brought a lot of patience in me, I’m wondering if that will increase or decrease after having kids!? 😀
In some ways I think my patience has increased after Maya…but then in others? It’s decreased. I wish I had better news for you…
It is not fair how pretty you look in sweatpants!
Thank you Jeena…you always say the nicest things. 🙂
Ameena stop feeling so guilty. All of us who are parents can relate, trust me your not alone.
With the typing we have our children do “typing with ease” it’s a typing program that teaches them. We start them at about seven or eight. I learned in high school but the thinking here is “why wait so long?” Kids these days are going to use the computer much sooner than high school. Anyhow, it’s been great the kids can type fast and they utilize it for letters to pen pals, etc.
I actually really like this picture a lot, I think it’s precious. Pleeeeease, give yourself some credit you are doing great. You are, really. She’s not a happy, precious girl all on her own you know, she has her two parents to thank for that too. 🙂
Take good care,
Shauna
Thank you Shauna…you too leave the nicest comments.
I’m glad to know that others share my issues with typing (and impatience in general), and I appreciate your kind words about me being a good mom despite my shortcomings. It really means a lot!!
I applaud your patience. I would have given up after one minute tops. Also, so nice of Ali to walk away from his gadgets in time to snap that picture. You may think I’m being sarcastic as usual, but I’m actually glad he did it because I think it’s a great picture.
He didn’t really walk away from his gadget…he had it in his hand as he took our picture. 🙂 He can never stray too far away you know.
And thank you Jenna for the compliment. You are unbelievably sweet!
When I took secretarial studies at school my teacher Mr Smith the @€%#$ announced to the class that I was the most useless typist he had ever seen and would mount to nothing. It knocked my confidence to zilch. Imagine when I went back after leaving school years later and showed him exactly what I’d mounted to. His reply… “I always knew you would” I am a touch typist and practice did make perfect.
But what surprises me is that my nieces and nephews type faster than me with just two fingers. They do assignments, projects and book reports that requires hours of work with just 2 fingers. They just don’t teach the way they used to.
Nice you typed it up for her because that’s what mommies are for. Being a parent is all about patience and perseverance but sometimes even the best of parents run out of it.
Forget the sweats your hair looks fab! 😉
Mr. Smith sounds like the most unsupportive teacher I’ve ever heard of. Glad that you showed him how wrong he was.
And thanks for the kind words and the compliments…they made my morning!
Well at least she tried, you tried, right? Doing schoolwork with your kids is so frustrating. You either give too much information or wonder in the back of your head while they’re not working faster, getting the answer etc. I’m sure my mother didn’t help me write/type things. So you were there, “supporting” her, right?
It’s so hard to strike that balance between helping them and doing the homework. I can’t seem to get it right…
wow, u must have truckload of patience… wonder how long i wudav lasted, probably 2 mins before i shouted in frustration! u shud do a post on how u keep ur cool so admirably, i cud def do with a crash course 😀
I have zero patience! I am in no position to post on how to keep cool. 🙂
You should buy her an online typing program. My oldest is learning through a ‘Mavis Beacon’ Cd I bought for the computer, I like it. She is in the midst of typing a report right now and I am just going to type it for her, her time is better spent learning skills than typing one key at a time the wrong way.
I am sure I would have grabbed the magazine.
Not sure why I hadn’t thought of Mavis Beacon before…you are the 3rd commenter to suggest it! Such a great idea.
I have a few friends that have signed up their 2nd and 3rd graders for a speed typing course . Personally I think Vista has dictation portion so maybe start with cheap headphones so she can talk herself into it before she can type fast. Maybe this way she will also realize how much she says 😉
Talk about a bonus! She has no idea how much she talks…
1. Your hair looks 11/10 in that snap for glossiness and behavior. Yes, even with the clip.
2. I have a wrap-arrangement that is the same color as that top you have. LOVE.
3. In the 8th grade, my brother broke his wrist and Mom had to draw a 36 x 36 to scale map of Africa (with continents and geographical features) by hand. For him. She got a C. Type away.
I laugh at every single comment you leave. Every single one! Love it.
“Behavior?” “Wrap arrangement?” Your mom got a “C?” Hysterical.
She is at least using two hands, not pecking at the keys with one finger of each hand like Mr Glam does. I know that itchy feeling of having to do it yourself. But she is only 7. GG
Too funny! I’m very impatient when it comes to things like this sooo I understand that mind dialogue 🙂
Katie
Hilarious post, and lovely mother-daughter picture! I may have started thumbing through that MC by now. Have not visited you in so long! I missed the laughs.
Ha! I completely understand what you mean. My daughter tests my patience with her home work. She comes up with 1000 questions, most of them repetitive. It takes all of my patience not to scream:-)
It sounds like you had a whole lot more restraint that I would have had. Nick is pretty much that slow at typing as well and it makes me want to pull my hair out!
Without the text it is a perfect mother-daughter moment.
With the text it is Ameena. Unabashedly and adorably.
Thank you Jennie. 🙂
That is so sweet. I can just imagine her sitting there trying her best. Maya is geetting even more adorable (if that’s even possible)
You are so sweet! You will be the best mom…