Rashmi's Space

It was a weekday evening. I was outdoors with my little one. The sun was shining down brightly on us. We were both happy to be out in the open after being cooped up in the house for over a week when the little one had had his exams, and I had been fighting deadlines; not to mention the cold we had both been battling the past ten days. And so it was, that breathing in the fresh early evening air, we were both looking forward to our time out in the open! The little one had big plans of taking his bicycle for a spin. I was planning to take a good long walk on the greens around the apartment complex. He had his helmet and ipod on. I had my playlist ready on my phone. When we stepped out of the lift, we were greeted by the wonderful chirping of birds and a light breeze that was blowing just then. I took a big, deep breath. We bid each other goodbye, and my little one rode off on his bicycle in the direction opposite to the one I turned to, for my walk. All was right with the wor...

We are all taught right from childhood that being merely ‘okay’ isn’t enough. That we should be first in the race, not be in the ‘also ran’ category, because, of course, there is always room at the top; and that we can get there if we can only push ourselves to the maximum possible extent. And we believe this our entire lives and keep pushing ourselves more and more and more. And when we have children, we teach them the same thing. We teach them to be the ‘top of the bunch,’ to ‘push themselves to excel in whatever they do.’ We tell them, “if you want to do something, do it the best, otherwise there is no point doing it!” We tell them, “no one remembers the second best, but no one forgets the best! So be the best!” We tell them, “It is important to be someone people look up to, and not someone who isn’t even noticed!” But have we, even once, thought if it is really necessary to excel at everything we do? Why is it that we have this compulsion to be ‘the best’? And reall...

I remember being fifteen and telling my parents that I wanted to go to an out-of-town college all by myself . The place in question was only a half hour train journey, followed by a fifteen minute bus ride; but it was still a big leap for someone who had spent the first fifteen years of her life living in one place and being chaperoned to any place that took more than twenty minutes to reach. Being a good negotiator (or believing myself to be one) I gave my parents two options – one, let me travel by the famous Mumbai local train to a college that was an hour’s journey; or two, let me travel, (again by the erstwhile local train,) to a college that was a half hour’s train journey followed by a fifteen minute bus ride. I cleverly presented them with these two options, the idea being, that even if they agreed to the one with the least travel time, I would still get my wish granted of going to a college outside of my small town!   The interesting thing was, it didn...

Readers and book-lovers know only too well, the magic that lies in the world of books! And naturally, they love to introduce as many people as they can to it. You will always find them recommending and discussing about books whenever they can. And they are also the ones who carry books with them, everywhere; and at almost all times! Additionally, the reader who is also a parent, knows that a child who reads, grows to be an adult who thinks; and is keen on introducing children to this wonderful world as much as they can and as soon as they can.  But sometimes, well-meaning, enthusiastic parents, get a little carried away and despite having the right intentions; sometimes end up taking some false steps that may actually turn out to be detrimental, more than helpful.  In my journey as a reader, trying to raise a child who adores books, I too have made certain mistakes and have, along the way; put together this list of 10 mistakes to avoid when raising a reader. I have alr...

Remember those carefree days before kids? Late night movies and exotic dinners - remember date nights? Don't get me wrong,  I know, as parents we do have fun with our children all the time! But what if I said you could have your cake and eat it too? What if you could have that date night and have fun with your kids too? Say, what do you think of Family Date Nights?  Many people believe that every couple needs occasional  date nights  to keep the flame going, especially after the kids come along. But some of my friends say, that when they do go out on these dates, they end up thinking and talking about their children all the time; while others say they feel guilty, leaving children with sitters or family members. And what with the holiday season approaching, and the need to spend quality time with children becoming ever so prominent given our hectic lifestyle, occasional  Family Date Nights  seem to be the need of the hour. Now when we say a...

As J. K. Rowling famously says, "If you don't like to read, you haven't found the right book." Being an avid reader and having seen first hand how amazing the world of books can be, I am already a life-long fan; and as a parent, I am naturally striving to inculcate the love for books and reading in my little one too!  Needless to say, I started my efforts in this direction early on. I ensured that my baby was always surrounded by books. I myself read all the time when I was around him, sometimes even read out aloud to him. And my little one was a mere four months old when I bought him, his very own book! When I decided to raise a reader; like most parents, I listened to my instincts a bit and relied on Google a lot. And I thought I was doing a great job, till I realised that every time I visited the mall, my little one happily gravitated towards the toys' section while I wandered the book aisles in search of the perfect books for him!  That is not t...

"These children have parents yet feel orphaned" screamed a headline in the newspaper and I skipped a beat! When I read on, I found that the info in the article was not so much surprising as it was shocking! The article spoke about young children seeking psychiatric help from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans). In majority of cases they evaluated, it was found that parents used inappropriate styles of parenting when it came to raising their children. And this was attributed to the recent trend across the country where working professionals found it difficult to provide effective parenting to their children.  With an increasing number of career oriented professionals in big cities choosing to work full-time, children are left at home almost all day, either alone or with maids in most cases. The decline in the number of joint-families has not helped the situation either; and thus, more and more children are being treated for psycholog...

"Behind every great kid is a mom who is pretty sure she is getting it all wrong", they say. True, parenting is a game of 'wait and watch.' There is no right or wrong here; or nothing that is a sure fire success mantra. Everyone has a different take on on how they wish to raise their young ones. And it is the choices that parents make that impact their children majorly.