Adam and Mishmish: The joy of learning through music

After Adam was born, his parents Ibrahim and Luma felt that Arabic educational songs are boring and unamusing, unlike English songs. With the help of his Aunt Lina, they decided to compose original songs for him. This then evolved into a project to spread these catchy songs to kids all over the world. We had a chat with the founders, where they talked about how they started, their plans for the future and what it means for our kids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q50WabTeH0Y

We ask Luma some questions about their family and what an interesting family they are! Take a look:

Can you tell us what a typical day is like for you?

Our days are busy. We wake up with Adam at six am, spend the morning together as a family and then we take Adam to preschool. I (Luma) have two jobs. I work on Adam Wa Mishmish, and I work full time with my family at Adnani Group. We run a few investments, including a spa, and we distribute baby products in the market. So I spend most of my day there. What's nice about being in a family business is that my schedule is a bit more flexible, which allows me to leave whenever Adam needs me or if I have any meetings that have to do with the Adam Wa Mishmish project.

Ibrahim works with me on Adam Wa Mishmish full time. He'll spend his day working on more music for our upcoming albums and other things related to the project. Around one-thirty pm Ibrahim picks up Adam from school, leaves him to nap and then takes him to his grandmother's house to spend the rest of the day. I am usually back home by five pm, then I take Adam to the park or a playdate with his friends. After that, I go home. Ibrahim baths Adam while I get everything ready for bedtime. We read a book, have a bottle of milk, brush his teeth and I put him to sleep by 8 pm. This is when Ibrahim and I get to relax a bit and spend some time together. We try to go out on a date at least once a month, which is when we get my sister (and our partner) Lina to babysit.

What does your son think of having a cartoon based on him?

a little boy sleeping next to a cat

[The real Adam and Mishmish!]

I don't think he realizes it. When he sees the cartoon he calls the Adam character "baby" although we always try to point it out to him. Though he loves Mishmish a lot and gets excited every time he sees him. We don't mind that he doesn't realize it. This way it's like any other cartoon he watches, and it makes us feel great when he prefers to watch it over anything else.

What surprised you most about becoming parents?

The extreme love you feel for this tiny human, which translates into extreme worry and the need to give them the best. How when they get sick, it's more stressful for us than if we had gotten sick ourselves. And how inspiring having a child can be. We would never have thought of starting the Adam Wa Mishmish project if it wasn't for our son. He's the most beautiful thing in our lives and the most difficult. We can't take our eyes off of him for a second, and at the same time, we don't want to because we don't want to miss a single thing.

What kind of a dad is Ibrahim?

Ibrahim is the perfect father! When we had Adam, we had a frank discussion about how involved we would both be in his life, and we concluded that the healthiest thing for Adam and ourselves was to divide everything 50/50. We don't believe in the traditional division of roles of a mother and father, and we think that what our child needs and craves the most in his life is time with us. So even when Adam was very young, Ibrahim changed his diapers, gave him baths and played with him. He still does. I feel like the most important thing he does with Adam is play music for him and introduce him to the various genres of music. Adam is very musical and will dance to any beat, whether it's 'Twinkle Twinkle' or 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' and that's all thanks to Ibrahim. He is very animated with him and makes everything fun and theatrical. I couldn't have asked for a better partner.

What values are important to you as a family?

We believe in hard work, putting our best effort into everything and respecting everyone no matter who they are or where they come from. We believe in being educated, open to the world and everything in it, and not being biased to one thing or another, but having an open mind and not being judgmental. We want our son to grow up to be a gentleman who respects women, knows the value of hard work and knows that nothing will be handed to him on a silver platter.

What piece of advice would you give parents in the Arab world?

Being a family unit means working together, having open and frank conversations and being equally involved in the process of raising your children. It's not enough for one to be a provider and the other a caretaker, but both should equally put in what they want to see in their child. Everything is possible as long as partners support each other and we teach our children by example. We need to behave the way we want our kids to. At the same time, it's important to make room for each other and not forget that we are husband and wife, not just Mom and Dad.

Check their website here: http://www.adamwamishmish.com/

And their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AdamWaMishmish/

Adam wa Mishmish family