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On October 15, Kuklachev’s Cat Theater turns 25! Father of many children Yuri Dmitrievich Kuklachev told Woman’s Day about his childhood and debunked five myths about parenting.
October 14 2015
Less than a month ago, the Kuklachev Cat Theater became the first in the list of the 50 best Russian theaters, according to Internet users. Now the brainchild of a talented feline “educator” celebrates its quarter-century anniversary!
Yuri Kuklachev – happy husband, father and grandfather
Myth one: fear is good motivation.
– I hated the Soviet school. How did the teachers work there? They influenced the child with fear. Here is a teacher sitting in a class one-on-one with you, no one is there, and she knows that she can give a deuce. Now he will take it, check it, but your task has not been completed, and that’s it, kaput to you, you are a mediocrity! This is one of the reasons why, right after the 8th grade, I left to study at a vocational school. Fear is a complex and destructive feeling. I had a cat named Bobik, who worked in the arena for ten years, and then during a rehearsal he got scared of a bursting balloon. And that’s all. The animal developed such stage fright that I had to give up this number and rehearse a new one. It’s the same with children. You can neither shout at a kitten to become an artist, nor swing, so as not to scare. So why do adults think that fear will have a beneficial effect on a child? Or these vestiges of the Middle Ages – babies, hoks and hedgehogs who will come and take the child if he does not eat, brush his teeth or clean the room? What nonsense! I never told my children horror stories. Nothing good will come of them! Yes, you will force the kid to do something, but he will not do it because it is right or useful, but out of fear. And who will grow out of such a child? The child must, on the contrary, be protected from fears. Afraid of the dark? Come up with a protector, remember, together with your baby, an animal that lives at night, for example, an owl, or a strong and brave bear. Buy him a stuffed animal and agree that as soon as you turn off the light, his friend wakes up and protects the child while he sleeps.
Spouses Elena and Yuri Kuklachev together at home and at work
Myth two: praise only for good deeds
– Remember what the child says if he is scolded? Most often, a simple phrase “You do not love me.” I remember how my mother, if she scolded for something, then she would always embrace and say: “Yes, you are my dear.” And dad did not scold at all and always encouraged me, even if I didn’t succeed. I entered the circus school five times, and when on the fourth I came home upset, lamenting that I can’t do anything, I can’t not be a clown to me, my father said: “Yura, there is a person who believes in you, no matter what, – this is me. And as long as at least one believes, then you will achieve success. ” I grew up in an atmosphere of love, my children – Dmitry, Ekaterina and Vladimir, grew up in an atmosphere of love, my grandchildren – 13-year-old Nikita and 10-year-old Nastya – grow up in an atmosphere of love.
Grandfather Yura with his granddaughter Nastenka
The third myth: if you do not know how, we will teach, if you do not want, we will force
– I cannot be called a trainer, because cats cannot be trained. I am an educator. Working with cats, I start playing with them, captivating with the process, so that the animal likes it. And the children are waiting for the same, I assure you! We play chess with my granddaughter, I succumb to her on the sly, and the game becomes exciting for her. She is so happy to tell her grandmother about her victories, although she is not interested in the victory, but my participation in the game. Now they talk a lot about indigo children, and few people think that all children are special, everyone has talent and the task of adults is to help him open up. Just do not impose your opinion on children or, God forbid, realize your ambitions at their expense. The child must decide on his own in life, and the adult’s task is to be there, help and carefully guide. I regularly travel to Kazan, where I work with orphans and adolescents from boarding schools for children. So there was one guy there – Grishka. At the age of 12, he stole 33 Volgas with an ordinary fork, escaped several times, and ended up in a punishment cell because of this. When I first saw him, I was very surprised: all the children I turned to were carried away, and this frowning one was sitting. I approached him: “Grisha, I also stole from my coat pockets at school. But the way you are! In my eyes, you are just a genius, you have golden hands! Let’s try to juggle. ” He tried it and it worked out right away. Can you imagine? Now he is a circus performer. I realized in time that you can make money with your own hands.
Myth four: you shouldn’t talk about adult topics with children.
– I confess, my children were deprived of attention. When my wife and I went on tour in America or Japan for six months, they stayed with our grandparents. But upon our return, we always gathered with the whole family. I remember once we went to Kislovodsk, and at that time there was a war in the North Caucasus. To explain to the children why this is bad, I read Tolstoy’s Hadji Murad to them. He said that he himself worked with Chechens and I know them as hospitable and honest people. Then, many years later, the son said that he remembers that evening very well, the emotions that he experienced then. You know, the atmosphere in the family is very important. You can forget the details of what happened, but you will never forget the feelings that she evoked in you.
I myself well remember Uncle Vasya, who once came to visit and asked me: “Why did you come into the world?” I, a seven-year-old boy, was dumbfounded and said the first thing that came to my mind, “To live.” Then the night did not sleep, I thought, why did I come. At first I decided to be a pilot, but, swinging on a swing, I realized that the vestibular apparatus was rather weak. And he continued to search for himself until he saw a movie with Charlie Chaplin. It was then that I decided that I would become a clown.
It is also necessary to communicate on adult topics in order to protect children from all kinds of dirt. There my granddaughter Nastenka on the first day comes from kindergarten and declares: “Grandpa, and I know where children come from!” And I tell her: “Let me tell you where from.” And I say: “You see – the bed. Mom and Dad laid a clean, clean sheet on her, lay down on it and began to breathe into each other’s eyes, tenderly, tenderly, with love. From this breath your soul was born. Out of love you appeared, and not as you were told in the kindergarten. “
Kuklachev also brings up cats, not train
Myth five: read aloud only for preschoolers
– Academician Pavlov said that it is necessary to read aloud to children, and not only children, until they are 15 years old. It is necessary to gather with the whole family and listen to the fascinating stories of Jack London, Mark Twain, Alexander Belyaev, Jules Verne. My father was very fond of reading aloud. He had a thick volume of Pushkin and a dream to become an artist. Unfortunately, it was not destined to come true, but his desire for acting made a huge impression on me. I still remember how in the evenings he would open his book and begin to read aloud, with expression. In those moments, I felt a very deep connection with him. I read aloud to my children, I read to my granddaughter, she loves Andersen’s fairy tales. You just need to find this hour of time and live the stories of the heroes of the books together, share your impressions, discuss.
Julia Dmitrieva, Ksenia Zolotareva