Jo Humme Kisi Ne Bataya Nahi - Episode 4 Part 3

   • Jo Humme Kisi Ne Bataya Nahi Episode 4 - p...   WHAT IF OUR FIRST CLASSROOM WAS ONE WE DON’T EVEN REMEMBER — THE WOMB? On 5th September, at Jo Humein Kisi Ne Bataya Nahi, we celebrated Teachers’ Day by going back to perhaps our very first teacher — Maa. Our conversation, Maa — Our First Guru, was facilitated by Dr Suninder Tung, Professor of Psychology (Retd.), Guru Nanak Dev University. She began with a beautiful thought — a Guru is one who removes darkness. And perhaps a mother does exactly that, much before we even understand what darkness or light means. In fact, her classroom begins even before we are born. Dr Tung spoke about “womb ecology” — how the environment within the womb becomes our first informal classroom. An expectant mother’s voice, emotions and experiences are already becoming part of the unborn child’s world. Some of the research examples she shared were fascinating. A song repeatedly sung by a mother during the last trimester can later soothe the baby after birth. Hearing the mother read and speak has also been associated with the development of the child’s attention and brain. Even in premature babies, exposure to the mother’s voice can contribute to development. And then comes perhaps one of a mother's earliest gifts — the gift of trust. A newborn enters a world full of unfamiliar sounds, sensations and chaos. In this new world, the mother or primary caregiver becomes the safety net. Through hundreds of seemingly insignificant gestures, she keeps communicating one message: “I am here for you.” When that response is consistent, it lays the foundation of secure attachment. The first two years of life are particularly important because these early experiences begin shaping how a child adjusts, trusts and eventually understands relationships. Dr Tung also spoke about neural imprinting — how a child is constantly observing and absorbing. Almost as though the neurons are tiny cameras, quietly recording how we behave, speak, respond and relate to others. And so much gets passed on without ever being formally taught. Our values. Grace. Hospitality. Ways of speaking. Ways of responding to people. Psychology calls this introjection — the unconscious absorption of attitudes and values from those closest to us. Even something as ordinary as a mother sitting down and playing with her child has significance. Her participation and the child's response help stretch what the child can presently do towards what he or she can learn to do — what psychology describes through ideas such as actual performance and the Zone of Proximal Development. Perhaps that was the most interesting thought to emerge from the first part of our conversation: Long before a mother consciously starts teaching her child, the child has already started learning from her. The mother–child relationship is therefore not merely emotional. It is an extraordinary coming together of the biological, neurological and psychological — quietly shaping so much of who we eventually become. And perhaps that is why Maa is our First Guru. Not because she sits us down to teach us about life — but because, long before we can read a book, understand a lesson or even speak a word, she has already begun writing on the blank pages of who we are. #MeljolAmritsar #JoHumeinKisiNeBatayaNahi #MaaOurFirstGuru #Maa #OurFirstTeacher #MotherChildBond #ConversationsThatMatter #PsychologyOfMotherhood #TeachersDay #MeljolConversations #ConnectCreateReflectListen