Monthly Archives: January 2017

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Fun at Weebee’s, Chennai

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I’ve been in India for a few weeks now, and my search for a fun and safe play area for A has been on since I got here. We checked out a couple of playgrounds in Bangalore. While these were fun, I sorely missed A being able to play independently, as they weren’t as child safe as I would have liked, nor did I find enough infant / toddler – friendly activities. 

When we decided to visit Madras, a quick search led me to Weebee’s in RA Puram which among other activities, had a play space and cafe where I could take A. Intrigued, we checked it out on our first day here and I’m so happy we did!

Weebee’s has several different play areas, both indoor and outdoor. Today, on her first day, we allowed A to explore indoors first, where she first explored a section made mostly with foam blocks. There were steps, a slide, a few rocking horses and more. My favorite part was that the space was entirely lined with foam mats, so even when the kids topple, as they are prone to, they are safe!

You see the steps leading up on the right? This led to A’s favorite space of all – a toddler safe ball pit!   She has a small ball pit at home given by her aunt, and she loves them! However most ball pits outside of home aren’t safe for her- too deep, hard flooring etc. Here, there were enough balls to keep her engaged, but not so much that she’d fall. Of course, this space was also lined with foam mats. I loved how the teachers at Weebee’s were so kind with A, encouraging her to throw, teaching her to catch and cheering her on when she got it right!

Playing in a ball pit teaches several skills. At the tip of the iceberg are throwing and catching. Further, you can teach your child colors and numbers, and show them how to sort. The ball pit is great sensory play, and it can be made even more so by adding balls of different sizes, kinds and textures. 

Moving on, there was a room full of fun and educational toys! I saw several favorites like variations of stackers, shape sorters and musical instruments. There were also blocks of various kinds. Needless to say, this was a room full of learning and budding creativity. 

They also had a number of pretend play areas, including a kitchen, a hardware set, and a number of fruits and vegetables plus utensils to pretend cook. Pretend play is a glorious way to stimulate the young one’s imagination, and I love taking her to places that have a dedicated space for pretend play. 


In addition, there was also a reading room, an outdoor play area with multiple play structures, and best of all – a petting zoo, with ducks, rabbits and even a rooster! I can’t wait to take A again to play in the outdoor section!


The rates for the play space are INR 250 for two hours, which I personally think is worth every paisa for stimulating and child proof environment that’ll make learning fun. We met some of the teachers and assistants, and were touched by how thoughtfully they treated the children, guiding and encouraging all the way. A quick chat with the owner proved to us that weebee’s was designed and structured with a lot of care and consideration for the little ones. Also, they have a cafe with some snacks and drinks in case you need some refreshments after burning all that energy. 

I’ve been looking around and felt that a lot of places in India don’t provide the safety and stimulation that the youngest children need, and Weebee’s filled in that gap perfectly for me. Parents / grandparents / aunts / uncles / anyone with a little one in your life, make weebee’s a destination for the child and I’m sure it’ll be a happy day for all! Until then, I plan to visit again as much as I can while I’m Chennai… maybe I’ll see you  there!

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Meta-cognition in infants and toddlers

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A recent discussion with a good friend and colleague brought up the topic of meta-cognition. Meta-cognition is, simply put, knowledge of ones’ own self. There have been arguments about the measurement of meta-cognition. How can we measure awareness of ones’ own self? Can we set guidelines or rules to decide how much one knows about oneself?

I have been fiddling with this aspect of knowledge for years now with no real outcomes. Truth be told, I’d all but given up on ever coming to any real understanding of meta-cognition, for it seemed to abstract to me! However, I recently chanced upon an understanding of meta-cognition in my toddler, A, which then lead to an avalanche of thoughts on different instances where A has demonstrated that she does have meta-cognitive knowledge, or awareness of her own self. In addition, I could also identify future instances where her meta-cognition would prove to be a milestone. Here were some of my thoughts:

  1. Awareness of one’s own hands and feet: At what point does a baby become aware of one’s own body parts? Sure, they look at their hands and feet, but they are not born with the awareness that these are parts of their body. The first time I saw A demonstrate any awareness was closer to 5 months, when she would move her hands and watch the movement (and of course, proceed to eat her hands!) This was one of the earliest demonstrations of meta-cognition I’d seen in her.
  2. Awareness of the child in the mirror: As we had a full length mirror right next to A’s changing station, A has been aware of mirrors since her birth. She was always fond of her friend in the mirror, “they paapa” meaning “that baby”. Of course, she didn’t realize that child was her own self for awhile! A simple test to see when your kid is aware of his/her own reflection is to put a hat on them while in front of the mirror. At some point, they try to take the hat off AFTER seeing their reflection in the mirror. This indicates that the child is aware that the child in the mirror is his/her own reflection.
  3. Toilet training: I would say this is a huge demonstration of meta-cognition. If you haven’t already, do check out the potty training checklist on babycenter or anywhere else. When you read it, you will find several checks that all require self-awareness – such as “Knowing how to pull pants up and down” or “Understands the physical signals that mean he has to go and can tell you before it happens or even hold it until he has time to get to the potty.” By understanding the importance of meta-cognition in this aspect, I have begun rethinking the entire process of potty-training!

As I said, there were way more thoughts in my mind once I saw some clear demonstrations of meta-cognition. I am sure these are aspects you have seen in your child too. I’d love to hear back from you – what are some of the ways you observed meta-cognition or self-awareness in your child? What are some of the methods you would use to measure this? Can you observe in yourself, and other adults around you as well? Do share!