Our class 12 son hasn't laughed since January. Then the neighbours' toddler started visiting

maroon_papaya_80624 Apr 2026

Our son has been in exam mode since the new year. JEE Main is behind him, EAPCET is coming up, and his face has mostly been the face of a boy doing mock tests. This week the new family next door started leaving their 18 month old with us for an hour in the evenings while they unpack. Yesterday I found my son on the floor, playing peekaboo from behind a physics textbook and laughing properly for the first time in months. She has decided the boy with the big books is the funniest person in the building. Our 13 year old says she has been trying to make him laugh since January and is offended.

2 comments

olive_tiffin_81024 Apr 2026
This is lovely. We have a baby at home and she has the same effect on everyone ❤️ Maybe make the hour a fixed thing till his exams are over?
- maroon_papaya_80624 Apr 2026
  That's the plan. He has asked whether she can come at 7 instead of 6, because 6 is his maths slot. Negotiations are on.
- saffron_pigeon_927924 Apr 2026
  Replying to @maroon_papaya_806
  Scheduling his breaks around a toddler's availability is the most organised thing I have heard from a JEE household. I would keep it. A planned break he looks forward to will do more for him than one more hour of tired revision.
mellow_sketch_535324 Apr 2026
babies are the only people in the house who don't ask how the mock test went. no wonder he likes her