Rashmi's Space

This is a sponsored post for Eureka Forbes AeroGuard and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com When we think of air pollution, our first instinct is to look outwards – exhaust, combustion, burning fuels, vehicles on the road; the works. But we rarely think of pollution in terms of indoor pollution – inside our homes, inside our offices, inside our schools – and maybe that’s why, we pay comparatively less attention to it. But this weekend, returning from a week away from home, we were greeted with a sight that made me look at indoor air pollution from a whole new perspective! You see, our apartment is close to a main road where hundreds of cars move about all day, every day; and a lot of dust enters our home. We keep getting it regularly cleaned and dusted so as to ensure that there are no dusty surfaces. But this weekend, as we got back after a week out of town, we discovered that the house was dusty despite all our windows being shut tight. Not only that, there was also...

This is a sponsored post for Quaker Oats and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com Ah, breakfast – a meal that we enjoyed as children, tried to skip as adolescents, have practically no time for as adults; and yet, swear by, as parents! Growing up we have all heard our parents insist that we have breakfast first thing in the morning if we have to be healthy; but it is only when we become parents ourselves that we actually understand the importance of it. It is only as a parent that we even begin to appreciate the benefits of not skipping breakfast in the morning! But of course, by then, our children have grown up and decided they aren’t interested in breakfast anymore. The truth is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and has long term health benefits that are second to none. And among the many benefits of breakfast, the most important ones are – Breakfast gives our brain and body, the fuel it needs to face the day. Breakfast provides the es...

This is a sponsored post for Eureka Forbes AeroGuard and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com  There was a wedding in the family last week; and while I had to give it a miss because of my little one’s exams, my parents and extended family attended and enjoyed it! What’s more, the wedding was at my native place, a little village in northern Karnataka, where agriculture is the main source of livelihood. So after the wedding, my brother and cousins spent a day picnicking in our sugarcane fields; breathing in the fresh, dry air that my native is famous for; and sent me such amazing pictures that had me longing for my ancestral village and that picnic! Really, I so wanted my little one to be able to enjoy that clean, crisp air from our fields too! But alas, I am the city mouse and my little one unfortunately breathes air that is polluted way too much. With an apartment close to a busy road and now because of the advent of winters, there is constant smoke and pa...

This is a sponsored post for Eureka Forbes AeroGuard and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com It was just a few days back that our social media feed was full of articles about severe air pollution in our capital city. We were all shocked when the Government declared the 'Delhi air pollution' as an emergency and schools were shut and construction work halted as harmful pollutants reached levels that were more than 16 times the safe limit! Hospitals in the city reported increasing number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases (of which India already has the highest rate in the world – with 159 deaths per 100,000 people even as early as in 2012 according to the World Health Organisation). My little one came home from school one day that week saying they were told the news in their assembly that schools in Delhi would be shut for a week and demanding to know why. I told him it was because of the air pollution the city was facing and the smog that refused to...

A cup of coffee for your little one?  Or how about tea?  No?  How about a chocolate milkshake then? Or may be some soda?  Oh! And some cookies to munch on? Well, that's alright then!