All Entries Tagged With: "Parenting"

You know that the bond between a mother and a daughter is indeed very unique, and nothing can ever break it. But once your daughter grows up and becomes her own person, this bond is often tested to its limits. Yes, it remains the most complex of all relationships. Despite mothers and daughters sharing a special bond, there are some complex emotions that play a role in this sacred bond.

Most of us take our role as a parent too seriously. We feel completely responsible for our offspring’s welfare. We consider it our duty to guide them in all aspects of their lives. After all we are the parents; we know what is best for our children. If we will not guide them, who will? [...]

The title may seem as if I am going to talk about being professionally busy or posing as such. No I have another story this time. These are the two words I hear very often nowadays and I am prompted to talk about some of the incidents that I have experienced.

Becoming a parent is embarking on a journey that never ends. Parenting may take different forms and functions as time progresses, but I believe no one ceases being one. Long after your child outgrows you, and leaves you, you remain the parent that loves and cares for him as much as when he was still a baby.

The truth remains that adolescents deal with their own demons in their own way. To be accepted by their peers means a lot to them. They need to belong in their peer group. If they harbour a poor body image, or any other perceived inadequacy; it can play havoc with their mental peace. They encounter enough pressure in their own little worlds. All they need from us is complete acceptance. Accept them for what they are.

I recall the haunting song in the hindi film Masoom, which has this line, ‘Tujse naaraaz nahin zindagi, hairaan hoon mein. Pareshan hoon mein. Jeena ke liye, socha hi nahin, dard sambhaline hongein’. This means, “I am not angry with you, life. Just puzzled and vexed. I never thought that, to live, one would have [...]

“Pull Over Ma’am….” Not words anyone that I know would like to hear on a bullhorn behind the car. But come to think of it, maybe hearing the command at a really high decibel is the only way that we’ll ever move our foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal and pull over. [...]

In a family where communication has not been encouraged and allowed to flourish, this becomes a bubbling volcano. Soon it erupts, ignited usually by the youngsters as the elders are conditioned to control emotions and reactions.

There are many of us who have been blessed with a single child. As parents we are happy with our one blessing and may have opted out of an addition to our family. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to such a situation. The advantages — we can focus on our one child and [...]

Parents were amazed by the simplicity and honesty of the responses which usually focused on everyday things. The kids were more interested in feeling good and connecting with their parents than they were in expensive toys, computer games or big houses. The children said they were happiest when the family played games together; hugged and showed their affection regularly; communicated openly and showed interest in each other

For a mother every living day is a special day and yet as Mother’s Day comes around every year, nostalgia take over and I start taking a trip down memory lane. Sweet memories of my childhood home, the adjoining houses, the vast greenery, the simple pleasures of getting around the kitchen table to enjoy a [...]

The phone rang just after I had finished the lunch hour at work. The familiar residence number flashed on my cellphone. I took the call while I walked from my desk to a corner in the office for that much anticipated 5 minute conversation with my ten year old son. “Hey mom,” he said, waiting [...]

I am not a professional expert on perfect parenting, so this article is not about how to bring up a child. This is not advice on how to become good parents. I am simply describing a few experiences which my friends, relatives and I have had as parents over the years. If the person reading [...]

Do we teach the right things? I recall an old Tamil film called Kaliyuga Krishnan. The story was rather simple but very interesting. There is this impoverished man who keeps bemoaning his fate and cursing Krishna. One day Krishna appears before him and challenges him. The Divine One offers to give the man all the [...]

My kids have known this always. My wife always sides with them. So she does too. I denied it for a long time and pretended to love it. But today I am announcing it. I do not understand rap.

“Rap is a way of life bro’. Wanna rap? You gotcha live like us – the ghetto clothes. You gotta dress right … like a gangsta. Give attitoood and you’ll get it.”, the guy offered me the first AHA experience about Rap. He should know. He was the young 20 something who was being interviewed as he stepped off his stretch limo. I had gone to drop off a hysterical gang of teenagers at this Rap Concert. (Is that an oxymoron?)

In the recent article “The Three Email Challenge” The author, Abhijit Bhaduri makes mention about how many teenagers continue to express deep angst at the enhanced generation who have now taken over as Facebook users. The statement struck a deep chord of identification with me as I experience it everyday. My son who is experiencing [...]

Marriage and becoming a father happened to me at a relatively young age. Before I knew it, I was a “father” and expected to act like a “dad.” I have been trying to figure out what that means for the past 17 years and am still as lost as ever. However, the journey had several [...]

What’s the best way to raise a child? A million dollar question, which unfortunately has no right answer. Each child is unique, thus no set of rules can apply to all. However there are a few things that you should keep in mind to be on your way to becoming a better parent.

At home, getting into a battle of wills is not something that’s new or rare. Regardless of the size of your family, the possibility of ruffling up each others feathers is always present. Instead of trying to eradicate conflict all together (which would probably be impossible), you should instead focus on how to recognise its [...]

Becoming a “real” dad was a combination of slow and natural process of “awakening” and conscious self-reminding, self-training, or self-conditioning that I am already a father and I have to change my ways. Not all of them are pleasant, or voluntary, I’m telling you.

Super moms are supposed to be good jugglers so we juggle a job, home, a child and a husband. Super moms are always on the go, so we drive our kids to soccer, ballet and museums. Super moms are known to be social, so we choose play dates on weekends instead of sleep. Sometimes I wonder, if we are secretly vying for the “super mom” label?

The children of today and their parents are subject to innumerable stressors and pressure cooker like circumstances of a competitive, crazy world. Managing daily life itself is a stupendous task. There seems to be no time or patience for anything or for that matter any person out of sync or even slightly out of alignment [...]

When I was young I had to ride my bicycle to school.  During the winters I had no gloves and when I got to school, my hands were frozen for a long time afterwards.  Imagine writing an exam paper early in the morning with stiff fingers and a time constraint. I first saw television when [...]